Rhode Island’s Top High School: East Greenwich High School
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
East Greenwich consistently produces phenomenal results on NECAP tests and the SATs, both gold-standard markers of accomplishment. But it was a better student-teacher ratio and larger per-student budget that gave the final push to this school of an enrollment that hovers around 750 students.
"East Greenwich High School was a perfect size," says Giulia Basile, an EGHS alum and student at Brown University. "Not too big, not too small." Basile adds that her teachers managed to maintain great relationships with students while simultaneously pushing them to succeed. "I was challenged," she says, "but I never felt like I was part of a hyper-competitive environment. The students and the teachers worked hard but still could be relaxed and have fun."
"The school has a lot of high-achieving students which tends to drive the overall gestalt of the place," says Elizabeth McNamara, mother of an EGHS grad and a current student. "My children have had some very good teachers and have benefitted from the school's relatively small size. It combines the best of public and private in that way."
Beyond the numbers are parents and kids who have often come to East Greenwich for the schools, and have stayed, prospered, and supported those institutions. Elizabeth and John (Jay) Gowell did just this 17 years ago with their then-infant and toddler children, and look back on a high school that propelled their eldest, interested in language and arts, to Georgetown University, and her younger brother, a math-oriented boy who graduates this year from EGHS, also to Georgetown this fall (their third enters EGHS next year).
"My kids have had terrific experiences," says Elizabeth Gowell, who points out that not only were her children supported in academic ways that lead to high scores such as the ones in our rankings, but that gave her kids opportunities to expand their horizons. "My daughter was connected through her Spanish teacher to an Arabic tutor in the community," she says. "And I think that having some strong art teachers within the school, having a curriculum that allowed her to balance that art with academics, was really important," she says.
Gowell's son was able, with the commitment of the school, to study Latin for four years at EGHS. An aspiring science student, he also enjoyed the fruits of a recent push in East Greenwich to upgrade facilities district-wide: in this case, a renovated science lab that was funded through a $52-million town bond approved by East Greenwich voters in November, 2008.
"The voters overwhelmingly approved it," says Elizabeth's husband Jay, who serves as Chairman of the East Greenwich Public Schools Building Committee. "That's a thing we're really proud of in a difficult economic time," he says.
Next on the list at EGHS, funded by the bond: a facelift to the entrance to the school, which, says Elizabeth, will present an exterior more in keeping with the excellence contained within. With a ranking like number one, that's just bonus.
Watch East Greenwich kids react to the news, here.
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Comments:
Doreen Gardner
11:07pm on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
While it is easy to blame the teachers and the schools, there is much more to the story that many people do not understand. For example, I was appalled to learn that students who are not proficient in English are required to take the state assessments in English after being in the country for just one year. Their test results are not valid, yet are used to measure a school's performance, and will be a basis for teacher evaluation.
When I worked as a special education diagnostician, administering a test in English without adequate English proficiency was illegal and I could have been sued for doing so and using the test results. While all school districts have some ESL students, there is a disproportionately high number in urban districts, so I don't think it's really fair to compare the scores of urban and non-urban schools as long as the English language learners are tested on the NECAP.
Urban schools also have many issues that are not so common in non-urban districts, but have a very negative effect on school performance. These schools deal with students who are hungry, have little parental support, don't attend school regularly, and frequently change schools. These are all beyond the control of the schools and the teachers. It costs more to educate students in urban schools because of the needs of the population, and there are more state and federal mandates they need to follow- for example they need more teachers for the English language learners.
While it appears to some people that private and charter schools are more successful, part of the reason for that is that these schools get to select who can attend. If a student does not work up to the school's standards, they can be asked to leave. Public schools do not have that option.
Frankly, I do not understand why the urban school teachers have not been more outspoken about these issues. It really is not fair to use invalid test scores as a basis for the evaluation of schools or as part of their teacher evaluation process. Beyond that, many of the reasons for the low test scores for many students are far beyond the control of the schools..