- April 29, 2024
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The Problem: "AA (African Americans) have underperform on standardized assessment for the last past 3 years." From the PowerPoint
The Solution. From the PowerPoint
The FAST Challenge included a reward for students who achieve higher assessment scores in matchups with other students. From the PowerPoint
This story was updated on Aug. 22, 2023
On Friday, Aug. 18, African American students in the fourth and fifth grade at Bunnell Elementary School were called to an assembly in the cafeteria to discuss the group’s underperformance on standardized assessment tests and how they can do better in the future.
Parents were upset about the presentation for several reasons. They weren’t informed about it beforehand; they only heard about it from their children after they arrived home that afternoon. Low-scoring students in other ethnic groups were not included in the assembly.
And the group not only included African American and biracial students who were performing below grade level but also those who achieved passing grades and even high-scoring grades.
Parents complained to BES Principal Donelle Evensen and Flagler Schools Interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore over the weekend and on Monday, Aug. 21.
Moore told the Observer on Monday that the intentions of the presentation, which included a PowerPoint, were good in that the purpose was to motivate students, but the approach was not successful and will “definitely” not be used again.
“There are many things that we could have done differently in order to eliminate some of the frustration that our families are experiencing right now,” Moore said.
In a statement from Flagler Schools that was released Tuesday, Aug. 22, Moore said, “I will continue working with Mrs. Evensen and her team to find more appropriate ways to affect change on their campus, even as we continue to investigate this particular issue. I’m also asking anyone in our community who may have questions, please contact Mrs. Evensen at Bunnell Elementary or myself.”
Moore said that without informing parents of the assembly, they were not properly engaged.
"From this point forward, all of our schools will engage our parents, no matter what group or subgroup their children may be in, in our continued efforts to raise achievement among all students,” Moore said in the statement.
The PowerPoint presented the problem that “AA” (African Americans) have underperformed on standardized tests for the past three years.
“We only have 32% of our students who are at a Level 3 or higher for ELA/Math. We are supposed to have at least 41%,” according to the PowerPoint.
The solutions included each student committing to earning a Level 3 or higher on all standardized assessments, concentrating on scoring 75% or higher on all curriculum-based assessments and committing to maintain high iReady scores within their individual track.
The FAST (Florida Assessment of Student Thinking) Challenge was presented, in which students would be matched up against an opponent; the student achieving the higher English Language Arts and Math scores on the FAST test would be rewarded with a meal from McDonald’s.
Three parents told the Observer that the group was told that students who are not responsible in school are in danger later in life of being shot and killed or going to jail. That statement was not included in the PowerPoint and the parents were told by Evensen that she did not approve that beforehand.
Moore said the district will be investigating that portion of the presentation.
The situation is way crazy. None of this would have been a big deal if they brought everyone into the cafeteria.”
—NICOLE AVILES, parent of a Bunnell Elementary fifth grader
Nicole Aviles, whose child was included in the group, said, “The situation is way crazy. None of this would have been a big deal if they brought everyone into the cafeteria.”
Aviles said she has contacted a lawyer.
One parent who did not want her name used in this story said her fifth-grade daughter was one of six students brought on stage who had scored fours or fives on their assessments.
“That is targeting, making it seem they’re better (than the others),” the parent said.
Danielle Brown, whose fourth grader was included, said she met with Evensen, who told her the presentation was born out of good intentions: to reach out and encourage the group to do better.
We should never take one race out. I don’t think you should tell children, statistically speaking your race isn’t doing as well as other (ethnicities). ... It’s taking 100 steps backward.” —DANIELLE BROWN, parent of a fourth grader at Bunnell Elementary School
“To me, it set up a chance for them to get bullied,” Brown said. “We should never take one race out. I don’t think you should tell children, ‘Statistically speaking, your race isn’t doing as well as other (ethnicities).’ My meeting went well with (Evensen). She realizes it was not executed properly. But I’m not confident it won’t happen again if not every parent knows what went on. It’s taking 100 steps backward.”
Moore said the district reports how all of its students are doing on assessments, as well as subgroups such as students with disabilities, African American students and students for whom English is not their first language. She said the district reviews how students are performing and identifies strategies that can help them perform better.
“After speaking with Ms. Evensen on Saturday, this came from a good place,” Moore said of the presentation. “We could have done better with how we approached this, though.”
Moore said a teacher at BES “came up with the idea of, can we do something we hadn’t done before? ... Can we try just speaking to those students directly? Great intentions, however, when we think about the perception of many of the families that I’ve spoken with, as well as how we typically do things, it does bring alarm to many of our families.
“It’s obvious that that approach was not successful for all of our students or their families,” she said.
