Schools push for better results

Principals driving higher achievement in some buildings

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Sep 3, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Laid up after three foot surgeries last fall, George Middle School Prinicipal Beth Madison spent some time in the school wheelchair and discovered the joy of being eye to eye with students. So she created a mobile office, allowing her to sit and work anywhere in the building.

L.E. BASKOW / TRIBUNE PHOTO

Forget an open-door policy.

Beth Madison, principal at North Portland’s George Middle School, has no doors.

She does have wheels, though.

And she’ll use them this school year to cruise the halls, pop into classrooms, keep tabs on the cafeteria at lunch hour and, in general, be everywhere at once.

That’s because she’s converted her old office into a conference room and turned an old walker into a mobile principal’s office, equipped with everything she needs: her cell phone, laptop with Internet access (since the school has Wi-Fi coverage), convenient holders for her coffee cup and walkie-talkie, and a comfy seat to boot.

While her first improvised roll cart didn’t have space for a laptop, “I liked it so much that I created a second one that has a desktop for my laptop and papers, too,” she says. “They are very cool and the kids like it that I’m shorter than they are when I’m sitting down and cruising around.”

Madison’s wheels appear to be taking both her and her school somewhere fast — the progress made at George Middle School over the past year is evident.

After five years of not meeting federal benchmarks set by No Child Left Behind, students at George this past year increased their scores dramatically, nearly enough to escape the federal “sanctions” list — a list that means potentially closing or restructuring a school.

George met all of its achievement standards but fell short because its attendance rate for special education students was at 90 percent, missing the target by just two points.

Madison isn’t deterred. She plugs on, busily preparing for the new school year that begins Tuesday.

Making a comeback?

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