"Johnson Elementary School faced a perilous situation a year ago when, for the first time, its Standards of Learning test results failed to satisfy federal benchmarks set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Under the stipulations of that law, one more year of subpar results would have made Johnson a “choice” school, meaning that parents would have the option to send their children to another school within the Charlottesville division.

It’s no wonder that Johnson officials and teachers were ecstatic when the school’s 2007 scores came in recently and showed that the school had far surpassed the federal government’s Adequate Yearly Progress benchmarks. Johnson saw about a 20 percent increase from the previous year in both its English and math pass rates.

The Charlottesville school division as a whole made AYP for the first time this year. Only two schools - Clark Elementary and Charlottesville High - did not make the grade.

Title I schools - where 40 percent or more of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch - become choice schools if they fail to make AYP for two consecutive years.

Clark was classified as choice in 2004 after failing to make AYP the previous two years. The school shed that choice title a year ago after making AYP two consecutive years. But because it did not make AYP in 2007, Clark now faces the possibility of returning to choice status if it does not make AYP next year.

Clark’s principal, James Pierce, says the school has taken steps to ensure that does not happen.

“We are attracting and retaining fantastic teachers,” he said. “We are paying close attention to student academic data. And for the first time, we have a comprehensive after-school program, which extends the school day for some kids and provides enrichment for others. That gives important support to those who need it.”

Charlottesville High School does not fall under Title I and therefore is not in danger of becoming a choice school. The school is, however, required to examine different options to improve the math performance of its economically disadvantaged students, according to Harley Miles, the school division’s supervisor of assessment.

Johnson Principal Vernon Bock, who started his job in July, characterized his school’s resurgent SOL results as “quite significant.” Johnson had made AYP for three straight years before failing to do so in 2006.

The 2006 school year “was kind of a bump, kind of a hiccup along the way because we had made great achievement before that,” Bock said.

Eighty-five percent of Johnson’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and 25 percent speak English as a second language. Many schools with similar circumstances struggle on standardized tests, but Johnson excelled on the 2007 SOLs with pass rates of 88.7 percent in English, 86.5 percent in math and 86 percent in science.

Of the 26 Johnson students who took the Virginia Grade Level Alternative assessment - the alternative for students not eligible to take the SOL, mostly for ESL or special-education reasons - 25 passed.

Bock feels that the lack of an “achievement gap” at Johnson bucks nationwide trends.

“You see an achievement gap across the country,” Bock said. “It’s not just a Virginia problem, it’s a national problem. But you don’t see an achievement gap here. I am very impressed with our staff’s ability to really debunk the myth of the whole achievement gap. They work extremely hard at that.“I think we are a model within the community for increasing student achievement from all backgrounds. I’ve had some educators come up to me and say, ‘What are you guys doing at Johnson because I’m not seeing those same results with our struggling, below-grade-level students or our students from economically disadvantaged households?’ My answer is that we have a professional group of teachers who really know what they’re doing.”

As a Title I school, Johnson receives extra funds to provide additional resources and support. Last year, the school became one of only two in the division - Clark is the other - to employ a math specialist. Summerlyn Thompson provided math support for second through fourth grades and this year her responsibilities have increased to cover kindergarten through fourth grade.

“I think what makes Johnson special is that we really do try to individualize the education for students,” Thompson said. “If we notice a child falling behind in any particular area, we will do anything that we can to help that child make up that ground.”

According to several Johnson teachers, the impact of Thompson’s work has been positive.

“It is great to have a fellow educator come in and help me look at lessons that I’ve been teaching for a while in different ways,” said third-grade teacher Laura Young, who has taught at Johnson for six years. “That only makes my teaching stronger. I think she’s helped all of us hone our skills.”

This year, Johnson, which has students from as far away as Somalia and the former Soviet republics, hired Kari Anderson to work as a full-time ESL specialist.

Johnson has long had a significant population of refugee children. That population has continued to increase in recent years - a result of work by the International Rescue Committee’s Charlottesville office.

The refugee population presents Johnson’s ESL program with unique challenges - and opportunities.

“Some of these children who grew up in refugee camps are in school for the first time in their lives,” Bock said. “For some of them, this is their first experience with the English language.”

First-grade teacher Grace Son-Shin feels that these international students create a multicultural atmosphere that expands the horizons of Johnson’s U.S.-born students.

“I have parents who tell me their kid is so excited to have a refugee in their class,” Son-Shin said. “The parents want their kids to be exposed to all these different cultures.”

Bock cited several factors behind Johnson’s relative success compared with many other schools with a similar number of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The most important, he said, is the dedication of the teaching staff, many of whom engage in professional development programs during the summer.

“When I first got the job and came over to meet the staff as the new principal, I had teachers coming over to me after they were introduced as a staff and saying things like, ‘I want all the ESL students in third grade to be in my class,’ or ‘I want all the refugee students in this particular grade in my class,’” Bock said. “And I have to tell you, those are not comments that I’ve heard frequently from educators. I was very, very impressed to hear those things and that shows the dedication and willingness of this staff to work with anyone.”" (Barney Breen-Portnoy, The Daily Progress, September 20, 2007)