Latest news with #Danville-Neel
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
It all adds up for Danville-Neel: Math interventionist helps boost school's state report card grade
Feb. 19—The teaching staff at Danville-Neel Elementary knew they had a lot of work to do when they heard they received a C on the state report card two school years ago. Not only did they improve, but they scored 17 points higher last school year — marking the most growth of any school in the Morgan County Schools district — and are listed among the top 25 improved schools in Alabama for the 2023-2024 school year. In math, they saw the greatest improvement of any school in the state, resulting in them being recognized by Gov. Kay Ivey in her State of the State address this month. Principal Tara Morrow said they could not have achieved such success without the assistance of dedicated teachers like Math Interventionist McKenzie Henderson. "She was a huge part of that," Morrow said. "She is the unofficial math coach for this school, and she is phenomenal." Henderson, 42, grew up in Hartselle and graduated from Hartselle High School in 2001, where she was a gymnast and played on the first state championship softball team at the school her junior year. She attended Wallace State Community College for two years before transferring to Athens State University to earn her bachelor's degree. She then earned her master's degree at the University of West Alabama. — Inspired to teach But even before she graduated high school, Henderson knew what her destiny was just from watching some of her family members. "My mom was a teacher, and I spent my summers and every opportunity I could going to her school," Henderson said. "I was always around it. Just different people in my family were teachers, but my mom was the inspiration for me to become a teacher." Henderson said her mother, Mitzi Peek, began her career teaching at Decatur City Schools but finished her career teaching the last 10 years at F.E. Burleson Elementary School in Hartselle. Although her talents in math instruction were vital in increasing Danville-Neel's math proficiency last school year, Henderson said math was not her favorite subject while she was a student. "I would probably say I was more of an English person; I liked to write," Henderson said. "My first teaching job was teaching the talented and gifted program here and then I transferred to West Morgan Elementary to teach sixth grade math when I was 22 years old. I actually loved it and had really great administration there and great teachers to work with that helped me. It really wasn't until I transferred back to Danville-Neel four years later and I was in third grade that I figured out what I really liked. I really liked the third grade curriculum and the (Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative)." In her 20 years of teaching, Henderson said her favorite thing about the education field is the relationships educators develop between their students and their families. She said being the math interventionist for grades kindergarten through fourth has allowed her to stay in touch with many families throughout the years. One such example is a former student who had to repeat the third grade twice. "Another teacher had him, but he came to me his second year," Henderson said. "Just the growth he showed from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, knowing how hard it was for him his first year of third grade. I guess that kid stands out because I built such a great relationship with him; I knew anything I would give him, he was going to give me 110% on." Henderson said the student later struggled in fifth grade and his family remembered her dedication to his learning, and so they contacted her to tutor him the rest of the school year. "Once they are mine, they're kind of always mine and for that parent and that kid to come back and ask specifically for me to help him again," Henderson said. "That's why that kid sticks out." — Route to improvement During the 2022-23 school year, Danville-Neel Elementary received a 77 on the state report card and both Henderson and Morrow said it was a new low for the school. Morrow said her school had consistently maintained a B average before that school year and said the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning for three years and the result of the disruptions was eventually a C on the report card. "It was a wake-up call for us," Morrow said. Henderson said not being in school hurt foundational math building skills for young students and there was "no consistency" during this time as several math teachers had come and gone at Danville-Neel during the pandemic years. Following Henderson's suggestion, teachers at the school began teaming up and teaching classrooms together at least once a week, ensuring no student was left behind and every question was answered. "We had it to where a teacher taught all the math for the fourth grade and so we changed it to where two people partnered up," Morrow said. "I think that was huge and McKenzie coached those teachers because neither one of them had taught just (strictly) math." With an improved grade of 94 on the state report card, both Morrow and Henderson agreed that Danville-Neel is now back on track. Henderson lives on a farm in Danville with her husband, Kirk, and their two daughters: Callie, a senior at Danville High, and Kinley, a freshman at the same school. — or 256-340-2442.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor recognizes Danville-Neel Elementary for math turnaround
Feb. 6—Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recognized students from Danville-Neel Elementary School during her State of the State address Tuesday for its striking gains in math proficiency. "These students made the highest math gains in the state last year, jumping up a whopping 35 percentage points," the governor told the crowd before asking this year's fourth graders to stand at the event. "Boys and girls, congratulations on this achievement. ... It is because of the great work of teachers and communities, like Danville-Neel, across this state that Alabama saw the largest jump in math scores in the country last year." She said when she took office, Alabama ranked 49th in reading and 52nd in math. Today it is 34th in reading and 32nd in math. Morgan County Schools' Danville-Neel did it by using two math teachers, a math interventionist and an administrator determination to improve math skills. "We just had a low year and so we weren't happy with that and so we just decided we needed to make some changes in who was teaching math and strategically plan with some small groups how we do the math instruction," said Principal Tara Marrow. "They had a mission, and they stuck with it. They never let up and the end result was the highest gains in the state." She said a lot of kids fear math and a lot of times their teachers also have a fear of it. "You have to get past that," Morrow said. Specifically, they found ways to make math relatable to the children and to do teach it in ways other than how it has always been done, she said. "The expectations from the state have changed for the way math is taught, so you have to make the changes," Marrow said. "Every child doesn't learn it the same way, so you have to present different methods for them to be able to learn how to do it. You have to embrace that, and our teachers have done an amazing job with that." She lauded teachers Kim Wenzler and Camille Broadfoot and math interventionist McKenzie Henderson. "The math interventionist is phenomenal in working with kids and helping close gaps (in learning math)," she said. "She is also just really helpful in coaching the teachers and providing some really good modeling lessons for them as well." To make the change they needed a plan. "We mapped it out the first of the year," Henderson said. "We do team teaching here. We wanted to increase scores, so we mapped it out and looked at the standards and we kind of did co-teaching together and put two classes together at one time and that was fun. We worked very hands-on and with small groups. They worked really well as teachers and we had great students and, in the end, we had great success." The kids also learned important lessons from getting to see the governor and getting recognized. "The kids got to see that hard work pays off," Henderson said. The school was only allowed to bring 20 students to the Capitol, so the class drew names. The kids were told to dress like they would for church. "So the boys wore jackets and ties and the girls dressed up — it was really cute," Marrow said. "They did a good job of representing us well. We were one of the top 25 schools in the state for growth overall for reading and math, but fourth grade had the highest growth in the state of any school in math." When they got to the Capitol on the bus the governor fed them Chick-fil-A, then they got to go in her office and take pictures with her. "We got to sit right by the stage and when she recognized us, the kids got to stand up and they got a standing ovation," Marrow said. "They treated us very well. It was a really good day." "Obviously it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to go and meet the governor," Henderson said. She said the state superintendent spoke to the kids and there were lots of judges and others there to congratulate them. "It was neat to have that kind of recognition," she said. "For 9- and 10-year-olds to see the benefits of that was pretty awesome. They felt like superstars for the day." She hopes the current class will continue to make gains that will carry over and continue to improve their standing in math. "It was amazing," said Morrow, who attended along with teachers and Morgan County Superintendent Tracie Turrentine and her staff member. "It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of these kids and for us adults as well." The governor called the educational efforts the "Turnaround Schools Initiative" and said it is delivering real results. "Schools that were once among our lowest performing are now outpacing the average growth rate at other schools," the governor said. "Thanks to this initiative we will no longer have failing elementary schools in Alabama." State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, sponsored the Alabama Numeracy Act in 2022, which put more focus on math education in early grades. — or 256-340-2361
