What's new at Southeast Davidson schools?

By SUZANNE NORMAND BLACKWOOD sblackwood@tennessean.com 259-8268 • August 1, 2008 New principal takes over at Apollo Middle As the new principal of Apollo Middle School, Ron Woodard has three main items on his agenda. "We're hoping to increase student achievement, parental involvement and community support," he said. The school did not meet average yearly progress in reading or math under the federal No Child Left Behind benchmarks. Woodard, who was previously an assistant principal at Maplewood High School, said he would be focusing on ways to make sure that doesn't happen again. "We hope to use a variety of methods to meet our goals," he said. "The first step is to build a sense of pride and continue in the great tradition this school was founded upon." At Thomas Edison and Mt. View elementary schools, Principals Ronald Powe and Kim Fowler are hoping to raise the bar for their students. First, said Powe, following in the tradition of the school's namesake, "I want to highlight the fact that we have a science and math fair." This year, though, "we want to enhance our emphasis on science and math," he said. "We want to take it to another level, not just within the school, but to competition at the district and state levels." Powe said there would be interventions, not only for students who are not meeting the benchmarks in reading, language arts and math, but also for students who are exceeding them. "We want to bring the floor up, but we also want to raise the ceiling," he said. Powe said the school would be using TCAP and other test scores "to validate our teaching, but also to help us hone in on areas where we might not perform as effectively as we would like to." A change for both Edison and Mt. View this year is Mt. View lost some of its English Language Learners to Edison. Previously, ELL students were assigned to certain schools that served as ELL centers. Now, they go to the schools for which they are zoned. Powe said some faculty members are being trained to work with ELL students. "We want to welcome parents and students who traditionally have gone to an ELL center," he said. Apollo Middle School Address: 631 Richards Road Phone: 333-5025 Web site: www.apolloms.mnps.org Principal: Ron Woodard Enrollment: 450-500 students What's new for 2008-09: Apollo has a new principal and three new faculty members for science, art and language arts. Mascot: Astros School colors: Red, white and blue Optional shirt colors: Red, blue and green Orientation: 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Aug. 4 Thomas Edison Elementary School Address: 6130 Mt. View Road Phone: 501-8800 Web site: www.thomasedisones.mnps.org Principal: Ronald Powe Enrollment: 600-625 students What's new for 2008-09: Edison has a new assistant principal, Rebecca Welch, because former assistant principal, Robin Shumate, is now principal at Lakeview Elementary. The school also has a new reading specialist, ELL teacher, music teacher, band teacher, second-grade teacher and first-grade teacher. Mascot: Lightbulb Motto: "Where Bright Futures Grow" School colors: Red and yellow Optional shirt colors: Red, yellow, black and pink Mt. View Elementary School Address: 3820 Murfreesboro Road Phone: 641-9393 Principal: Kim Fowler Enrollment: about 850 students What's new for 2008-09: Mt. View has a new math specialist; three new fourth-grade teachers; a new PTA president; and a new PENCIL partner, Vastland Realty. The school offered the SMART program for kindergartners last year but will expand it this year to include first-graders. The program, which is based on the multiple intelligences theory, uses different learning stations that require kids to use their motor and sensory skills. The school will offer BrainPop, an online animated educational site in English and Spanish that helps students with science, reading, writing, social studies and health. Parents will be able to access the program from home. The school also has a new computer lab, and all classrooms will have LCD projectors. Mascot: Mountain lions School colors: Green and white Optional shirt colors: Green, red, yellow and pink Preview night: 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 7