Overcoming stigma

A dark cloud of sorts has been hanging over Trace Crossings Elementary School for several years, and parents, teachers and administrators say it’s time for that cloud to go away.

Superintendent Kathy Murphy said the school has been suffering from a perception problem based on unfounded beliefs about the quality of education offered there. And administrators and teachers are eager to share what they say is the reality at their school. 

From their standpoint, Trace Crossings has just as much, if not more, to offer students as any other elementary school. A talented and experienced group of teachers is using innovative programs to help children learn and progress at admirable rates, Principal Carol Barber said.

Much of the perception problem appears to come from the school’s test scores, which have been lagging behind many other Hoover schools in the past decade. Lower test scores mean lower rankings on websites that rate schools, and that concerns parents who rely on those websites to pick where their children will go to learn.

It’s of particular concern to parents who fear their communities may be rezoned from a higher-ranked school to attend Trace Crossings. During a recent meeting to discuss rezoning, parents at Deer Valley Elementary voiced their worries for the quality of education being offered at Trace Crossings and the prospect of their children being rezoned there.

The GreatSchools website gave Deer Valley a 10 out of 10, while Trace Crossings was rated 5 out of 10.

Barber said it’s important for people to consider test scores in context and remember that there is more to a school than its test scores.

Testing Trace Crossings

But Barber said she is proud of the test scores at Trace Crossings.

The most recent ACT Aspire test scores, released publicly by the state in the second week of November, showed:

► 51 percent of Trace Crossings fourth-graders showed proficiency in reading, ranking eighth of the 10 Hoover elementary schools.

► 43 percent of Trace Crossings third-graders showed proficiency in reading, ranking ninth out of 10 schools.

► In math, 53 percent of Trace Crossings fourth-graders showed proficiency, ranking last among Hoover’s elementary schools

► 55 percent of third-graders showed proficiency in math, ranking last among Hoover schools.

That may not look good, but Trace Crossings did outperform statewide averages in reading and math. The statewide average proficiency rate was 38 percent in fourth-grade reading, 35 percent in third-grade reading, 48 percent in fourth-grade math and 54 percent in third-grade math.

More importantly, people have to look at the demographics of the school and where the students at Trace Crossings started out, Barber said.

Forty-five percent of the students come from low-income families that qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and “that’s going to impact test scores,” Barber said.

Some of these students don’t have access to a lot of printed materials at home and did not have the advantage of preschool, so they start out behind some of their peers, Barber said. Plus, a high percentage of them live in apartments, and students from apartments often are more transient, which has a major impact on a child’s learning, Barber said.

“Our test scores are not going to be the same as Greystone and Deer Valley” because the demographics are different and the children are starting out at a different level, she said.

But that is not a reflection of the quality of teaching taking place, Barber said.

“There are lots of children who have had very limited experience with reading and math, and they [teachers] are working diligently with those children to bring them up to what is expected of third- and fourth-graders,” Barber said.

Measuring student progress

Schools also conduct what is called a “gains analysis,” which measures the progress a child makes from one year to the next.

Eighty-three percent of Trace Crossings students grew by at least one grade level in reading, which ranked second among Hoover’s 10 elementary schools, behind only South Shades Crest Elementary.

Seventy-seven percent of Trace Crossings students grew by at least one grade level in English, and 75 percent grew by at least one grade level in math, ranking fifth among the 10 elementary schools in both subjects.

Trace Crossings ranked second in the percentage of students growing at more than one grade level in English, and ranked seventh and eighth in the percentage of students growing at more than one grade level in reading and math, respectively, data shows.

Students are given very individualized instruction, based on their needs, and are making good progress, Barber said. That applies to both students who are behind and those who excel, she said.

Beth Wood, president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Trace Crossings, said the school has everything that she and her husband want for their children. That’s why they built in that area.

“The quality of education at Trace is comparable or even better, in my opinion, than other elementary schools in the Birmingham metro area,” Wood said. “Plus, our extra-curricular activites are outstanding … Both of my children have thrived and continue to thrive because of what Trace has done and continues to do for each of them.”

Bumpus Middle School recently held the induction ceremony for its National Junior Honor Society, and a large percentage of the students who came from Trace were inducted, Wood said.

What Trace Crossings offers

Barber said Trace Crossings has so much to offer students.

Ninety percent of faculty members have a master’s degree or higher, including three who have education specialist degrees and one who has a doctorate.

Nine achieved certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; two teachers have won the Presidential Award for Math and Science Teaching; two are published authors; and one – Minette Wiggins – was the 2015-16 Alabama Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Trace Crossings has many innovative learning environments, including a Maker Studio that provides students with hands-on applications of engineering and robotics skills. Students get to work together and use creative thinking skills to solve problems.

In one project, kindergartners were asked to determine which animals might make a good pet and which animals might not. One of the animals they had to consider was a cow. Many of the children had no first-hand interaction with a cow before, so they used a 3-in-1 projector to project a proportionately-scaled cow image on the floor and then used building blocks as measurement tools to see how big a cow really is compared to other animals.

“It was very meaningful for the kids,” kindergarten teacher Celeste Burton said.

The Maker Studio was one of 12 “success stories” showcased at the School Superintendents of Alabama’s 2015 fall conference.

Trace Crossings also converted a science lab into a Maker Space with hands-on science projects and has a Maker Square that focuses on math enrichment.

“What we’re really trying to do is the application of math and reading through science,” Barber said. “Kids love science.”

The children may not even realize the things they are doing are educational, she said. “They’re just having fun. They think it’s just play, but it’s strategic, organized play.”

Trace Crossings has an extra multi-purpose room in addition to the gym, two children’s kitchens, an outdoor learning lab in the woods, a garden, a playground that includes soccer fields, a special preschool playground and two computer labs, Barber said.

There are also a variety of clubs for students to join, ranging from guitar, food and clay clubs to a robotics team, choir and GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math and Science).

“From a facilities standpoint … we  have a lot of resources that other schools don’t have,” she said.

Samford connection

One of the most unique features at Trace Crossings is a partnership with the School of Education at Samford University that immerses third-year education students in the classrooms at Trace Crossings. The education students are partnered with teachers and assist in instruction for struggling learners and students who need an accelerated experience, Barber said.

This year, there are 42 Samford education students helping out at Trace Crossings, she said. Three Samford professors teach some of their courses at the Trace Crossings campus as well.

The fact that Samford has continued this program for five years at Trace Crossings speaks to the quality of the school, Barber said.

“I don’t think Samford would risk their program in any way, shape or form with partnering their students with any teachers of lesser quality,” Barber said.

Karen Birkenfield, one of Samford’s education professors who teaches at Trace Crossings, said the partnership is a great benefit for the university.

“It’s a great place for us to see good, quality teaching,” Birkenfield said. “There’s a focus on student data – mining down on areas where students need to grow and then utilizing our students to make that happen. That’s exactly what we want our students to see.”

Birkenfield said she would not hesitate to send her child to Trace Crossings if she had an elementary-age child.

“It’s a creative environment for teachers to do the things they need to do to make that learning happen, she said. “This is one of the best things going on in our department.”

Barber said there are numerous Trace Crossings teachers who have children there as well. “These are educators who would never compromise the education of their own child,” she said.

Assistant Principal Amanda Stone is one of those educators. Stone could send her second-grade son to another school, but she likes the educational tools at his fingertips at Trace.

Enrollment drops

Enrollment at Trace Crossings has dropped tremendously over the past 12 years. The school had 1,008 students in 2003 and was split in half to 545 students when many were rezoned to the new Riverchase Elementary in 2004. 

Enrollment climbed back up, but dropped again to 520 in 2011 when the entire fifth grade was moved to the new Brock’s Gap Intermediate School.

Enrollment stayed steady in 2012 but has dropped each year since, according to enrollment numbers provided to the state. This year, the school reported 425 K-4 students. A separate preschool program has 65 pre-K students there.

Some parents who pushed for rezoning to change the student body makeup – and test scores – at Trace Crossings have said people were moving out of their school zone or sending their children to private school due to concerns with test scores.

Barber said no parents who switched to private schools or decided to homeschool told her they did so because of concerns with the quality of education.

Some have speculated that racism or classism caused parents to move, as the school has had a majority of minority students since 2013 and greater numbers of low-income students enrolled.

Barber said no one has given that reason for leaving, and school officials see the diversity in the school as a plus. The school is now about one-third white, one-third black and one-third other races, she said.

“When a child comes to our school, it doesn’t make any difference what race or nationality that child represents,” Barber said. “It’s our obligation to teach that child and teach that child well. Every child that walks into our school is going to get a quality education based on his or her needs.”

The school’s diversity gives each child an opportunity to interact with children of different races and backgrounds and prepares them better for the real world, Barber said.

Overcoming perceptions

Brian Pierson, president-elect of the Deer Valley Elementary PTO, said he doesn’t have an issue with the quality of instruction at Trace Crossings.

“I’m not sure what the problem is, other than just a stigma – that perception that people have,” Pierson said. “I don’t have any reason to think there was lesser opportunities than there are at any other school. I feel like the city has the same standards for all their teachers.”

However, “it’s a touchy situation when you’re dealing with people’s kids,” Pierson said.

Many people, including Pierson’s family, chose where to live in part because of where they want their children to go to school, and they don’t like the idea of someone else changing that.

Test scores are one of the most common tools used to evaluate schools, Pierson said. Short of visiting the school and meeting the faculty, it’s hard to show those other variables, he said.

That’s exactly what Barber and Wood want people to do – visit Trace Crossings and see for themselves what the school is like. They have a lot of pride in Trace Crossings.

“’For those students that are rezoned to Trace, I’d be happy to speak to each and every one of the parents,” Wood said. “’Trace is the Place’ is our current motto. I stand behind that motto 100 percent.”