UNC System officials tour ECU Community School
UNC Board of Governors member Phil Byers, center right, talks to a student at ECU’s Community School. (Photos by Kristen Martin)
Officials from the Board of Governors and UNC System toured the ECU Community School on May 6 to learn about the school’s achievements since it opened in the fall of 2017.
Phil Byers, UNC Board of Governors member, along with system staff members Dr. Andrew Kelly, senior vice president for strategy and policy, Julie Kowal, UNC system associate vice president of P12 strategy and policy, and Albert Dupont, laboratory schools project director, interacted with children from kindergarten through fifth grade during the visit.
As the group visited various classrooms, they watched students learn about weather patterns, antonyms and math equations. Throughout each classroom, the one constant was the students’ level of engagement and enthusiasm for learning.
Before the tour, Community School Principal Tracy Cole gave a brief presentation on the school and its role in the community as well as the progress it had achieved so far.
Cole said the school has met several goals including academic growth for the 2017-18 school year, a decrease in overall student referrals and a decrease in the number of days students had been suspended.
“Growing and developing our students is key,” Cole said. She detailed how the community school model is attempting to become a proactive system to better help students. This model employs wraparound services that allow teachers to focus on teaching while still providing all of the services children might need.
Wraparound services are provided to students and their families through the school’s Integrated Health Collaborative (IHC). IHC services include home visits, Friday Backpack Pals, food from food banks and churches, and a full-time nurse and a full-time social worker on campus to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of students. The school also seeks to engage parents and earn their trust with several family nights throughout the year, starting with an open house in August. These events feature games, health screenings and student projects.
UNC Laboratory Schools Project Director Albert Dupont helps a Community School student with a math problem.
During her presentation, Cole showed examples of one student’s growth through his artwork. At the beginning of the school year, she needed to ask him what his drawing was and what the words on the page said. By February, the student’s artwork had improved and he was able to write in clear sentences with spacing and punctuation.
Byers was pleased with the progress the school had made. “What you’ve got here is nothing short of a miracle,” he said. “We have to figure out how to duplicate what you have here.”
The school has improved students’ lives both academically and in other ways. “I’ve heard more than one student make the comment that this is the first place they have felt successful,” said Dr. Malinda Pennington, special education director and teacher.
The school employs five teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade, a special education teacher/director, curriculum director, four teacher assistants, school nurse, school social worker, administrative assistant and principal.
The ECU Community School is one of several laboratory schools established in response to legislation from the N.C. General Assembly. According to the UNC System, the purpose of lab schools is to improve student performance in low-performing schools and provide training for future educators.
-by Kristen Martin, University Communications