Yesterday, Tucson Unified School District Governing Board member Mark Stegeman told a radio audience that the district didn’t need to focus on improving its public relations or spin, but offer schools that sell themselves. Rose Elementary School is one such example of what TUSD does right and it has been named a winner of the 2012 NCUST Excellence in Urban Education Award.
This award has been given to only seven elementary schools nationwide. Rose is the first and currently the only school in Arizona to receive the award.
The award is given by the National Center for Urban School Transformation, which partners with San Diego State University to research what makes a difference in education today.
According to the organization’s statement, “C.E. Rose exemplifies what they look for; a school with students who are not expected to excel but who actually achieve better than the state average. Rose went from an Underperforming/Failing school in 2003 to an “A” school based on this year’s Arizona Department of Education classification system.”
NCUST cited four components that stand out in Rose’s transformation including:
• a positive school culture
• a strong curriculum
• quality instruction in each classroom
• support for students who are not yet achieving at expected levels
“Principal Trejo’s success at Rose sets an example for the rest of the district. Although he had substantial support from the state when he first took over that failing school, he does it now through his own initiative, perseverance, hard work, and inspiring leadership, rather than through interventions from the central administration. Rose’s experience reaffirms the critical importance of our principals in the success or failure of our individual schools,” said Dr. Stegeman.
Rose Elementary School is also a “Leader in Me” school, a program based on implementing principles from Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to develop a culture of student empowerment.
“I congratulate you for the achievements and dedication you have given our children. As principal, you have set the role model that inspires not only the teachers, but the students as well. Understandable, it is hard to cross certain hurdles, but you have shown through your patience and devotion that everything is possible,” wrote Joe Flores, a popular community leader and Rose Neighborhood Association Vice President to the school’s principal, Principal Stephen Trejo.
Rose is one of the few TUSD schools where the discrimination though low expectation is not practiced or tolerated. The principal demands much from both his staff and students. The teachers demand much from themselves. The dedication of the current faculty is praised across the city.
Public school activists have pleaded with the district’s administration to duplicate Rose’s practices throughout the district, but grant funding, not academic success drives the current Superintendent’s decision making. At a recent business gathering, John Pedicone was asked why Rose’s successful program was not replicated throughout the district and he responded that “Rose is really successful” but other programs “are really neat.” Pedicone cited the expensive and failing Emilio Reggio program at Ochoa Elementary School.
Rich Kronberg, longtime teacher and pro-public education activist reacted to Superintendent Pedicone’s statement. Kronberg said, “This fatuous comment by Pedicone shows he is so concerned with pandering to certain politicians and ideologues he has lost sight of what works for students. His enabling of critical race theorists like Augie Romero and his insubordinate efforts to undermine the majority among the TUSD Governing Board have harmed TUSD’s credibility with the public. The departure of families leaving TUSD for other districts, charter schools and private schools continues unabated because Pedicone refuses to recognize that silver bullet programs that actually produce academic achievement are about as rare as hen’s teeth. The only program that actually works for students is a quality teacher in every classroom, as C.E. Rose Elementary abundantly demonstrates.”
Only 40.90 percent of Ochoa Elementary students passed the Math portion of the AIMS test compared to Rose’s 73.70 percent.
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