Aquila Makes Math, Literacy Gains Despite Principal Turmoil

At Monday night's school board meeting, Interim Principal Clarence Pollock presented the school's gains in teaching reading and math, made despite the of the former principal last month.

Using a nationwide standardized test called the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) test, given three times a year, Aquila's students jumped from 54 percent proficiency to 67 percent proficiency in math, and 55 percent proficiency to 61 percent proficiency in reading. Pollock pinned the increase on a range of new instructional approaches that tailored teaching to individual students' needs.

Still, Pollock and Olivia Tolzin, Aquila's International Baccalaureate program coordinator, acknowledged that the gains were not enough to meet the district's self-imposed goals.

"We're not there yet," Tolzin said, "but we're getting a lot closer than we were."

Tolzin said the discrepancy between math and reading gains was due to last year's heavy emphasis on math-related professional development for teachers. This year, Tolzin said, the school was emphasizing reading-related professional development, hopefully giving similar results in reading next year.

Tolzin and Pollock said the progress in literacy and math reflected work that has gone on all year.

Last month, the school's former principal, Freida Bailey, was replaced after a group of Aquila parents for fostering a damaging school climate and failing to combat bullying. While Pollock and Tolzin declined to comment on the impact the changes had on the teaching staff, Pollock said that he has been "very impressed with the hard work and determination to get (underachieving) students moving from point A to point B.

"Teachers are focused on the students," the interim principal added. "I think we're moving in the right direction. And that's not all on my shoulders, either. Together, we're moving forward."