State Journal, Frankfort, Sept. 30, 2014

Westridge looking to ‘rebrand’ its image
By Brent Schanding

Westridge Elementary educators are unveiling an ambitious campaign to rebrand the school’s image and boost the academic performance of students who may be struggling there.

Despite ongoing efforts by educators to address deficiencies at Westridge, Principal Kimberly Young said the community often still perceives the 10-year-old school negatively.

District data shows that half of beginning kindergartners at Westridge don’t enter with the skills they need to excel. Only one in five of fifth-grade math students there perform at proficient levels, district data shows. And only a third of second-grade reading students at Westridge show proficiency.

Young said it’s often because many under-performing students lack stable home lives and rely on grandparents or other relatives to raise them.

But Young — who is in her second year as principal at the school — isn’t making excuses.

“It’s not good enough to reach some of the students, we have to reach them all,” she said.

That’s why Young is calling for Westridge educators to work with parents, as well as community, business and religious leaders to turn the school around.

Within the next three to five years, Young aims to enrich the school’s curriculum with a greater focus on hands-on learning — especially in the areas of science and technology. More focus also will be given to clubs and extracurricular activities — such as gardening, robotics and archery — to provide all kids with an outlet to participate in the learning experience.

“It’s not just the standard paper and pencil curriculum,” Young said. “We’re trying out-of-the box things.”

But Young said educators alone can’t execute the plan.

“We’re taking this to the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), we’re taking this to site-based (decision making committee) members,” she said. “We’re also taking this to the kids.”

Magistrates involved

She’s even involved magistrates in the conversation, to fuel the rebranding campaign on a political level.

Young said supporters plan to utilize every avenue necessary to get their ideas out. Educators will additionally promote the rebranding through concerted social media campaign including the use of Facebook, Twitter and other online methods to better engage the community and build momentum around the planned reforms at the school.

Young’s theory: Collaborative input from everyone, even those without children at the school, can and will affect colossal change.

While it’s premature to speculate on the short-term success of the school’s “Reach Them All” campaign (Young still calls it “a work in progress”), board of education members agree that all stakeholders must first be mobilized at a grassroots level.

“Don’t forget the parents who rarely visit the school,” said District 3 Board of Education member BeLinda Henson, whose district includes Choateville and students at Westridge Elementary. “They are crucial.”

Superintendent Chrissy Jones said the ultimate mission of the Westridge campaign is to reach every student at the school, but it will likely have meaningful impacts on underlying levels.

“If we change the life of three families, even that’s success for us,” Jones said.