Akron Life September 2023

“We’ve had a change in leadership, and you have interim principals come in. You have COVID, and then you send home children that are used to getting hugs every day and learning together as a family,” says Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation. “It was like a perfect storm for us.” The I Promise School has seen some post pandemic recovery. On the state math test, fifth graders rose from 11.5 percent to 23 percent proficient by 2022-2023. But other scores plummeted. Eighth graders started at 17 percent proficient on the Ohio math test their first year, but over the past three years, not a single one passed. It’s difficult news, but other eighth graders in the bottom 25th percentile districtwide are not far off. Only 5 percent of those students scored proficient in math, according to APS. Yet progress has been made, as 42 percent of I Promise School eighth graders met typical growth goals in math, according to APS iReady data. I Promise School gets more than $1.4 million annually from the LeBron James Family Foundation for extra teachers, tu tors and other supports in addition to the same government funding as other public schools, and at the July 24 meeting, the Akron Board of Education president posed the point that those extra resources haven’t led to better results. “We know the gap widened as kids age up. It’s a battle we fight everywhere. We know that math nationally took a dip over the pandemic, especially in urban settings,” says Keith Liechty-Clifford, director of school improvement for APS. “We’ve said a long time, It’s gonna take a while to hit those achievement marks . If we hit growth marks, and we continue to close the gap, we’ll see that achievement go up.” Davis understands pulling together the lowest performers means that achievement scores will take time to rise, so she is focus ing on growth. In English language arts, 54 percent of all I Promise School students met typical growth goals and 27 percent met stretch growth goals beyond that, and in math, 48 percent of all I Promise School students met typical growth goals and 12 percent met stretch growth goals beyond that, according to APS iReady data. “Growth data points are really encourag ing because they’re showing us that we are filling in gaps the kids have, that they are

growing at a more than expected rate in some cases,” Davis says. The I Promise School needs stable leadership, a fresh start and someone who understands the extra needs of at-risk students — Campbell says Davis is that person. With a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in special edu cation from the Ohio State Univer sity, Davis has been with APS since 1998. Her tenure includes working as an intervention specialist, teaching and leading most recently as principal of Bridges Learning Center, which serves students with emotional or

behavioral needs. Campbell observed Davis at Bridges and says her strong track record of positively educating the whole child makes her a perfect fit for the I Promise School. “That intervention specialist, that work at Bridges — all that equips her with a greater toolbox and more tools to reach all of our kids,” Campbell says. “I want every child to wake up excited to go to school … because we have a leader creating that culture.” To close gaps, Davis aims to fortify social-emotional learning, create defined intervention systems in the rigorous STEM curriculum that

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akronlife.com | SEPTEMBER 2023