PS 191 Principal Lauren Keville spoke about the school at a meeting this month.
By Carol Tannenhauser
Standing alone, PS 191’s English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency levels, measured by a statewide test administered every spring to students in grades 3–8, are nothing to write home about: 21% of PS 191 students scored coveted 3s or 4s on the 2016 test, compared to 38% citywide. But put those scores next to last year’s and they’re cause for celebration. True, the test changed in 2016, so direct comparisons are difficult, still, the “trajectory” is clear.
“To double our proficiency levels in just one year of curriculum changes speaks volumes,” said Lauren Keville, PS 191’s principal for the past three years, at an informational meeting held at the school’s current building at 210 West 61st Street earlier this month. “Are we where we want to be in terms of test scores?” Keville asked. “No, we’re not. But if we did that in one year, just think about the impact we can have year after year, as we continue to tweak and ensure that our students are getting everything they need.”
That begins with a brand-new, state-of-the art building on 61st Street and West End Avenue, where PS 191 will move in September 2017 – the same time the new District 3 zoning changes go into effect. Keville is hoping to attract families newly zoned for the school, who may be discouraged by low test scores and the fact that the school was once designated as “persistently dangerous,” a label that was disputed and has since been dropped.
But as spectacular as the new building appears to be (below are the first renderings released by the DOE), the test-score improvement predates it. After arriving in August 2014, Keville spent her first year studying the school, “seeing what was working and what wasn’t.” She then made changes in curricula, starting with reading and writing, bringing in the Teachers College Reading and Writing Projects, used by other district schools, including PS 199 and 166.
“We also do what’s called ‘guided reading,’ which involves small-group instruction to make sure our students are making progress,” Keville said. “We’ve done a lot of extra training around that and we’ve seen our students’ reading and writing levels just grow and grow and grow and grow. It’s really quite amazing. A consultant also comes in and works with our teachers around reaching some of our more struggling readers.”
Next came ‘rithmetic. “After a year of doing curriculum shifts around reading and writing, we really dug into our math,” Keville said. “We spent months looking at math programs, visiting other schools, meeting with math consultants. We landed on TERC Math Investigations, which has, honestly, transformed our math classrooms.” Whether it will also transforms PS 191’s math test scores – only 7% of students achieved proficiency last year, compared to 36.4% citywide – remains to be seen.
The meeting, attended by about 30 people, concluded with a Q & A. One woman asked what Keville, who is obviously pregnant, called, “the question everyone wants to ask.” The principal spoke eloquently about her commitment to collaboration on every level of the school and to “distributive leadership,” praising her vice principal and other school leaders. She also said, definitively, that she will be back from maternity leave in time for the move this summer. One gets the sense that nothing could keep her away.
Tours of PS 191 run every Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. “They’re getting fuller and fuller,” Keville said. “There’s a buzz about us. It’s a really exciting time for people to come in and be a part of it and work with us to grow the school.”
It’s a real shame that only 38% of students citywide scored coveted 3s or 4s on the 2016 test
3 means proficient. As in, 3 is passing. Below 3 is failing. West Sider, I would not call 3 “coveted” but the minimum required. The big story should not be that 191 has increased is scores (kind of hard not to, since they were so low to start), but why the DOE is allowed to continue to run schools when two-thirds of the students in its charge fail to meet the minimum proficiency for math and english language arts.
I have lived on the westside my whole life and I have been reading Westside Rag for years. I have never commented on an article, but now I feel compelled to. I am a 4th grade teacher in the Bronx and I teach in an extremely impoverished district. I have been there for 10 years and I have seen the struggles that these children face. It is not as easy to bring test scores up as you think it is. A change in curriculum can help, but there is more to it than just the curriculum. I have had students who cannot do homework because they do not have electricity. I have had to purchase school supplies, clothing, and food for some of my students. I have paid for them to attend field trips because their parents did not have the money to pay for it and I keep a stash of granola bars in my classroom just in case they did not eat breakfast. These are the things that nobody thinks about when they want to bas the schools or the teachers for not doing their jobs. If a child has to worry about what they are going to eat when they go home, I cannot expect them to concentrate when I am delivering a lesson.
Many thanks to LaToya P.
Would add that hardships continue for many students in middle and high school. One such example is lack of access to computers. This means limited ability to do homework, study, write etc.
It is simply not possible for students to do all this at school, during school hours – even assuming the school has the resources which most don’t.
And those of us who have kids know how much time it takes to do homework, and how much many of our kids do at home. Would our kids do as well if they did not have the benefit of a computer etc at home? Not likely.
Also important to remember that many kids in families in very crowded housing or homeless – and lack space/quiet to do homework, study etc.
Thank you LaToya. I also have been a teacher in under resourced schools and agree there are challenges beyond the curriculum. But it is exhausting to have UMC parents complaining about testing when we need it to ensure everyone is being held accountable for children making(or not making) progress. The tests should be administered differently- not all at once, and not in a way to put pressure on the students. But without the results, we have many who will continue to ignore the needs of these schools and communities. Hard facts will help us make progress.
thank you Latoya for your comments and insight. And thank you for your service.
We always say “thank you for your service” to the military and the police. we should be saying it to teachers, social workers, nurses etc. as well.
teachers all over the city are doing what La Toya is doing. they are under-appreciated and also under-paid.
My child received a 3 on the ELA last year. We are an educated, UMC family. My child is in a G&T class and we are pleased with the instruction at the school. Our child does school work, which is far ahead of anything my husband and I did at that age. Yet, my child received a 3 on the ELA. If my child with all these advantages isn’t scoring a 4 on the ELA, how can anyone reasonably expect LaToya’s students to do well?
The state testing mandate is criminal. No child, regardless of race or socio-economic status, should be sitting for 6 days of testing every year starting in third grade. I have complained to everyone and anyone, including Betty Rosa, MaryEllen Elia, Governor Cuomo, Chancellor Farina etc. and recommend that others do the same. State testing is a waste of time and resources and is basically set up to “fail” all children, but especially those most disadvantaged.
LaToya – thanks for your insight!
And thanks for being a caring, compassionate teacher. Your students are lucky to have you!
It is shameful that children in this country are facing such fundamental deprivation.
don’t look at reality
look at the “trajectory”
You don’t think that progress is a reasonable thing to focus on? I think it would be unreasonable to expect an overnight change. If the progress doesn’t continue, then it is meaningless, but this kind of change year over year IS something to be proud of.
Erica, of course I appreciate the progress. What’s troubling is the lack of clear-headed description of the situation.
You must know that all the hyperbole in the world won’t result in real progress. For that we must address the situation that actually exists.
Sorry for being practical. I know most parents and school administrators would prefer to exaggerate and be hopeful. But that won’t solve any problems.
Erica,
Please don’t characterize me a being pessimistic.
I have been trying to shed some transparency on the District Rezoning for a long time. But now it appears from your comments that you prefer to remain in the glow of the hope.
Good luck
Practical and pessimistic are not the same.
I do not have a child there, so I don’t know what they’ve done. What I do know is that, quite often, children do better simply because they have enthusiastic and focused teaching assistance. My mom, when studying to become a teacher many years ago, noted a study that gave the result that children did better whenever there was a study of a new technique – regardless of the new technique, a result that was interpreted as showing that enthusiasm and heightened attention almost invariably show an increase in results.
Many of these kids are contending with terrible problems that most of the readers of this blog may be fortunate never to know. It is hard for children to do well when that is all the live, and all they know. The more fortunate children who may join the kids that are currently at this school are more likely to bring more to these kids than these kids will ever take away from them. In other words, the kids who are fortunate will remain fortunate and will not likely be harmed by associating with some who have had to deal with more. They may also be benefited with a greater sense of humanity, if their parents don’t stop that from happening.
Or, it may be the end of the world. But you’ve probably guessed which way I see it going . . .
It is well-known that the city changed the scoring of tests, likely to artificially inflate the scores, similar to how it did here. The same was probably done to change the “Persistently dangerous” label. It is hard to trust change in these types of labels and scores when it is well-known that the DOE is manipulating data and changing the way it is scored and interpreted…
>>It is well-known that the city changed the scoring of tests, likely to artificially inflate the scores, similar to how it did here.
The ELA are state-wide tests. Hence, if they were modified to inflate the test scores then a similar effect should be seen overall across the entire state. Not saying you’re wrong, but that this effect should be easily detectable.
Does anyone know anything about the nature of the test or what it tests? And you half-empty fellows should stop trying to show how smart and superior you are. Kudos to the kids and educators at PS 191!
The ELA exam tests reading comprehension and the math exam tests their mathematical skills asa well as their problem solving skills. Last years grade 4 ELA was difficult for my children. In the first reading selection, Tchaikovsky was mentioned. He was not vital to the story and the children could have glossed over the mention, but many of my students looked visibly stressed. Some of the questions were tricky and when I graded the exams, there were short response questions that many children got incorrect. There was even an exemplar piece in the scoring guide that the state told us to disregard because the response was incorrect.
That’s nice but a school should never be in a position where it’s possible to double its scores like that (never mind to do so and still be a roughly half average).
What? Is this Russia?
Last I checked, the principal isn’t using the word “fuller” correctly. ““They’re getting fuller and fuller,” Keville said…” If the principal can’t speak using proper grammar, how can the same be expected from the kids? [And if by chance something is grammatically wrong here, keep in mind I’m not holding myself out to be an educator.] Just saying…