Mission Possible: New principal has high expectations at 'very challenging' school

COLLIER COUNTY — On the first day teachers reported back to school this year, Parkside Elementary's leadership team pulled on trench coats and tactical outfits and slipped behind a screen on stage in the cafeteria.

In front of the screen, the school's new principal gave teachers a presentation about expectations.

"We need to know that the mission is possible," Tamie Stewart told them.

Then, music from "Mission Impossible" filled the cafeteria, and the costumed team — the school's assistant principal, counselor and academic coaches — stepped into the audience.

As the surprised teachers laughed and clapped, the group passed out "top secret" envelopes listing the day's activities.

The skit was Stewart's first opportunity to introduce the theme she picked for Parkside this school year: "Mission Possible." Stewart hopes the concept will energize the school, which for years has scored at the bottom of the district's 48 schools in state accountability measures.

It was also her first opportunity to formally introduce herself.

Stewart moved to Parkside this year from Lake Park Elementary near downtown Naples, which, with her as principal, earned mostly top marks from the state for the last three years. Since the state first began doling out schools grades in 1999, Lake Park Elementary has scored below an A just three times, earning B's in 2011, 2001 and 2000.

Parkside Elementary, which opened in 2007, scored D's on the state Department of Education's school grades for the last three years, and C's in the two before that. It is one of four Collier schools that, because of its grade record, will receive visits from state employees this year.

Parkside serves 763 children who live in Naples Manor, a historically low income East Naples neighborhood off of U.S. 41 East.

The school is what the superintendent calls "very challenging."

Among its challenges: a steep number — nearly 97 percent — of economically disadvantaged students, and a similarly high number — more than 86 percent — who don't speak English at home.

At Lake Park, on the other hand, about 47 percent of students are economically needy, and 74 percent speak English at home.

Despite the new challenges she faces at Parkside, Stewart is upbeat.

"Our focus," she said, "is that we can raise student achievement, that we can build a school community. It's to do everything that we can for our children."

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Stewart kneeled next to a table of students busy putting together multicolored math building blocks.

"What are you making?" she asked on the first day of school.

Stewart spent the day popping into classrooms, watching quietly as teachers led students in activities. In one classroom, students illustrated stanzas of a poem. In another, they sat attentively and listened as a teacher read a book written by last year's students.

In some rooms, the students hardly noticed the principal. In one, several of them crowded around her, showing off shapes they pieced together and reaching out to touch a sunshine stuck to the antennae on her school radio.

In the hallways, Stewart complimented students, who walked by in hushed lines, hands behind their backs. She said hello to a girl she met earlier that day, remembering her name.

"There's nothing like the first day of school," Stewart said.

She looks forward to it each year.

Before becoming principal at Lake Park Elementary, Stewart taught at Shadowlawn Elementary and served as administrative assistant and dean at Osceola Elementary.

"It sounds cliché, but for as long as I can remember I wanted to be an educator," Stewart said, adding another cliche: she loves working with children and having the chance to change their lives.

Lake Park Elementary was Stewart's first opportunity to serve as principal. This summer, after four successful years there, she got a call from Superintendent Kamela Patton's office.

She knew what it was about. During a subsequent meeting with the superintendent and her cabinet, Stewart said she was willing to go wherever she was needed.

"Wherever I could help, I was ready to do that," Stewart said.

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Four other principals had similar conversations with Patton this summer.

The superintendent made 12 changes to school principals for the 2012-13 year, appointing seven new principals and moving the other five, including Stewart, to different schools.

Parkside's former principal, Jan Messer, moved to Shadowlawn as part of the shuffle. Christopher Marker, previously an assistant principal, took over for Stewart at Lake Park.Some of the assignments filled positions that opened after retirements and relocations. Others, like Stewart's, are aimed at improving student performance.

"Sometimes it's about matching a skill set of a principal to where that school is," Patton said.

Research shows that after teachers, principals have the strongest impact on student success. A new principal, Patton says, brings a fresh perspective and new set of experiences into a school.

"What happens is, you can come in and bring some of those experiences, and walk in and immediately help," she said.

Patton credits last year's moves, which affected 14 schools, as partly responsible for the district's jump from a B to an A. Two elementary schools, Golden Terrace and Golden Gate, improved to C's from D's with new principals in place, she said.

But some question Patton's decision as related to Parkside.

Susan McManus, president of the Education Foundation of Collier County, said her organization had been anxious to see the longer-term results of a parent engagement program the former principal implemented last year. The program, which included student-led conferences and classes for non-English speaking parents, saw nearly 100 percent participation. School employees drove golf carts over to the homes of students whose parents didn't show, and held conferences there.

"We wish we could have seen it work," McManus said.

Still, the foundation supports the district's decision and the new principal, she said.

"We're very interested in making sure we continue our support there," McManus said. "Even though you shift leadership around, we stay very close with that."

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Continuing and building upon Parkside's parent engagement programs is one of Stewart's goals for the year.

Another is to promote enthusiasm, partly through the "Mission Possible" theme.

"I think when a staff has that enthusiasm and that energy and that passion for teaching and for children, undoubtedly it trickles into that classroom and it trickles down to students," Stewart said.

She also wants to improve student learning and achievement, especially in reading and math, which should give the school's grade a boost. Stewart hesitated to name a specific school grade as a goal, but said she would love to see Parkside move up a couple of letters.

Shifting criteria has put higher grades out of reach for schools in the past — last year, grades fell at thousands of schools after the state Department of Education changed the requirements partway through the year.

Parkside's D doesn't show the hard work put in by its students, Assistant Principal Ron Roderick said.

"Everybody in this neighborhood, they deserve better than that," said Roderick, who has been with Parkside since it opened. "That's not a reflection of this school."

Roderick said Parkside just barely missed a C. Had the standards stayed the same, it would have nearly scored a B, he said.

"These kids are learning so much each year," Roderick said.

With the school's theme in mind, the assistant principal said he has no doubt student achievement will see a boost this year.

"Everything is going to be possible this year," he said. "We're going to get it done. We're not going to be a D school this year."