Schools are the center of the community and when schools are transformed in positive ways, communities are transformed. The continued rise of poverty is not surprising when policies and practices that could contribute to eliminating poverty are not addressed well. The foundation of systematic oppression is rooted in practices that contribute to a system becoming self-perpetuating because the conditions are institutionalized and habits are formed that are not interrupted.
However, if habits are changed and practices that previously contributed to maintaining impoverished communities are replaced with practices that remove barriers instead of creating them, many more schools nationally would be transformed. This would ultimately give an opportunity for a new system to be created.
By creating new systems of success in school districts, we can begin to break the cycle of oppression and poverty. Jennings School District remains a work in progress, but the strides that have been made dispel myths about possibilities in urban schools.
Recently, my husband and I attended a Disney movie that described the enforcement of systematic oppression so simply. The main movie character in the film “Tomorrowland” described the act of feeding two wolves. One was light and hope, and the other was hopelessness and despair. Too often we feed despair and hopelessness and we give rise to the conditions creating hopelessness and despair. The question in the movie was – which wolf are you going to feed?
When I began as superintendent in Jennings in 2012, we choose to feed hope and light, resulting in an entire community working together to improve the conditions that give rise to hope and light.
As a wife of one of the decreasing number of OBGYNs who still accepts Medicaid and the parent of an amazing daughter who is majoring in public health at Saint Louis University, I often see the clear correlation between the investment in people and successful schools. The investment in teachers contributes to their efficacy and ultimately their positive outlook for students for the future.
The impact of the investment in mental, physical and social public health care for families in high poverty schools has a direct impact on parental school involvement and student performance. Health care for the poor is too often the emergency room and if schools are going to improve, they must invest fully in all aspects that contribute to the whole child and family developing.
Changing districts from within
In 2014, Jennings School District, which borders Ferguson, reached a 91 percent four-year graduation rate, which is often unheard of in communities with 98 percent minority students and with over 80 percent eligible for free lunch. In 2015 in Jennings, 100 percent now receive free lunch under the new free lunch plan.
In various ways, we give the message to our community that we expect that our students graduate prepared for the future and our practices are aligned to that message. It is imperative that district leaders set high standards and be unapologetic when working to reach those. New policies are also helpful but the practices and habits are most important.
In Jennings, we reduced staffing expenses in central office and redirected funds to support in-school discipline models to prevent students from being placed out of school for minor infractions because we believe in restorative discipline practices. Compared to 2011, more students remain in school and more receive mental health counseling when there are infractions that require for students to be removed from a classroom.
That is an example of a change in mindsets and practices regardless of missing reform policies and funding to tackle that issue. Changes in school systems must come from within the system using the resources available. Waiting on politicians to change or fund policies can be a slow process, and the urgency of improving systems of support for schools is critical. Additionally, politicians are so far removed from the schools, that well-intended policies often adversely impact high-poverty schools.
Therefore, school leaders have to focus on internally creating new habits, changing mindsets and new practices become the outgrowth. In every school turnaround I have led, we examine habits first and work with a team to create new habits by changing mindsets.
Examples: In 2012, we opened the school district’s food pantry. In 2013 we began employing 30 percent of staff as residents and alumni, and we expanded mental health services at every school. In 2014, we made a commitment to expand the work with local partners in placing every 2015 graduating student in a postsecondary institution or in a job.
The school system has a direct impact on systematic oppression, because the school has direct influence over the outcomes for youth within the community it serves. Since 2012, in Jennings violent crime statistics are down while it has risen in surrounding communities, and housing values in Jennings are up based on assessed valuation. The school system has directly impacted the health and well-being of the families in Jennings and in return, the social, mental and physical health of the community overall has improved.
Feeding a system of positive support and possibilities can create a new system reflecting back hope, access and opportunity. Schools that do not become directly involved in implementing restorative practices that positively contribute to the physical, mental and economic health of the entire community will not improve in sustainable ways at high levels.
I have been actively involved in eliminating achievement gaps in schools for 21 years, with 18 of those years being in leadership and the majority of that time has been as a superintendent. As a native of St. Louis, I returned to work in Jennings School District to demonstrate that a complete turnaround model in a school district could impact and transform an entire community.
The transformation did not require removing the majority of people serving the district in past years, despite what most underperforming schools systems do when systems have new leaders. The majority of the staff members and the board in Jennings have remained in the district, but mindsets about Jennings have changed.
Discussions are focused on high-performing models of success and are filled with a focus on possibilities for a better future. Every board meeting is focused on an academic state standard. Staff development focuses on standards and social justice training, and central office staff is highly visible daily in schools.
And it is paying off: Jennings moved from meeting 57 percent of the state’s accreditation standards in 2012 to meeting 78 percent in 2014.
Dismantling racism to improve schools
The first training I have given leaders since my first year as a superintendent many years ago in Virginia is on dismantling racism. That training is given to leaders in every system I have led. Privileged individuals having an understanding of equity and the importance of increasing access and opportunity for the underserved is essential in changing mindsets. Reform begins with beliefs, and the belief system to bring the unheard voices to the table to improve access and opportunities has to be unified and clear for all leaders.
The approach in Jennings to the unrest in Ferguson is an example of the unified work in this area. During the Ferguson unrest, the Jennings educators focused on the message of showing the importance of education, and they reinforced the importance of this message by staying in school and creating a list of demands they wanted addressed for the Jennings community. Students and administration marched to the police station before school to meet with top police officials.
In December 2014, students presented three demands to police officials in that meeting. The demands were to increase minorities on the police force, increase community policing and require body cameras. St. Louis County Police leaders agreed to all three demands.
In 2015, the local police department’s minority recruitment expanded, community policing expanded, body camera purchasing began and the Teen Police Academy tripled in enrollment, with Jennings teens making up the majority of the academy.
Partnering to address poverty
In Jennings we view unemployment and housing problems as part of our responsibility to address and we began employing eligible alumni and residents as one strategy. We also began community service cleanup efforts, and we are currently examining ways to repair homes in need through our schools.
We also partnered with the St. Louis Food Bank to provide 8,000 pounds of food to families monthly. Any family in need of groceries uses the school system as their source for free groceries. The food bank focuses on produce and vegetables that are often the first items removed from the diet in a high poverty household.
The district also partners with agencies to create recreational facilities in the community to improve health outcomes. Unlike many high-poverty districts, in Jennings middle-school students have recess because we believe physical activity and the promotion of physical health is vital to reducing obesity and chronic conditions in our community.
Since the community is limited in recreational facilities and has no local library, in 2013 the school system began opening on Saturdays until noon and during the week until 6 p.m., where we serve dinner at all schools. Likewise, in 2013 we redirected funds to opening a pool at the high school and building new outdoor recreational facilities at the high school, which allows the community members to utilize those spaces.
Achievement Gap is economic gap
The academic achievement gap contributes to an economic gap that will adversely impact the forecast for the future if it continues to widen at the current rates. Therefore, the achievement gap is a problem that everyone must seriously contribute to fixing. Simply put, the illiterate student who does not successfully graduate and get a job will become an adult that contributes to the rising poverty and is much more likely to contribute to statistics of crime and incarceration.
According to research by DeNavas–Walt on income, poverty and health insurance, 22 percent of children in our nation (or 16 million children) live in poverty. As low-skilled jobs that previously supported middle-class households 50 years ago become minimum-wage jobs, the working poor has increased and affordability of postsecondary school decreases. As the income gap rises, the opportunity gap also rises.
Interestingly, in 1964 President Johnson focused on investments in early-childhood programs like Head Start and on stabilizing families, but currently those same programs are often reduced by states. As a result, many urban districts don’t have quality early-childhood care and preschools or Parents As Teachers programs are cut.
While Missouri has funded many priorities this year, the continued federal funding gaps adversely impact high-poverty schools overall. Currently, some federal grants provide funds to schools based on poor performance, and those who improved lose eligibility. It is our hope that behaviors and mindsets change in this regard.
In Jennings, recognizing funds are limited and are low compared to needs, we redirected funds away from needs that we could temporarily eliminate to ensure we maintain a free full-day preschool and kindergarten in all elementary schools, despite the cuts.
The fact that prisons are predicted based on the illiteracy rate in elementary schools is a clear indicator that we understand the correlation, but steps to change the outcome have not been successfully taken.
As Ronald Edmonds, a researcher on effective schools, stated way back in 1982, “We can, whenever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of importance to us. We already know more than we need to do that. Whether or not we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact we haven’t so far.”
Tiffany Anderson is superintendent of the Jennings School District.
