Parents find a way to help their children learn
- February 15, 2015
- / Reggle Dongan
- / early-learning,report-pensacola-education-2015-part-1
When the state Department of Education released FCAT grades in 1999, the good news was that only two elementary schools received failing scores. The bad news: Both of them — Spencer Bibbs and A.A. Dixon — were in Escambia County. Vouchers were offered to students at both public schools. Nearly 50 students and their families chose to attend one of a few nearby private schools. What about the hundreds of students who remained at the schools rated as failures? Sam Mathews had an idea. Mathews had spent decades studying, learning and teaching about human behavior as a psychology professor at the University of West Florida. He got in touch with the Escambia County School Board. The board asked him to find answers to the looming questions about failing schools, student performance and what could be done to make them better. School Board members approved $17,000 for the project, says Cary Stidham, a former board member. “I don’t remember many details about the study, but I do remember hoping that it would provide some data to improve failing schools,” Stidham recalls. Mathews and Leticia Freeland (now Groves), a UWF graduate student, spent part of a school year observing and analyzing classrooms, performing field studies and interviewing parents and caretakers. Their mission: Examine the differences between high-achieving and low-achieving students at a school rated as failing. In the 47-page report, “A.A. Dixon Elementary School: A Study of School and Families,” Mathews concluded that students under some of the most difficult circumstances can perform and excel in school with the right resources, support network and attention, regardless of their socioeconomic level and family dysfunction. The study emphasized the importance of parents’ attitudes, and their activities in the home to support children’s success in school. “As a friend of mine says, ‘It’s not rocket surgery, and it’s not brain science,’ says Mathews. “Everybody knows this, and you got to have data.”