Super Schools: How some schools are succeeding

Scroll down to see another "Super School", Arendell Parrott Academy

WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT)- Schools across the east are struggling in the classroom and the numbers prove it. 

We've been digging through the data and here's what we found.  According to last year's end of grade test scores in grades K-8 most county school districts in the east are below the state average in reading and math proficiency.  But some schools are excelling and Nine on Your Side's Andrea Blanford went to find out how they do it. 

Washington Montessori Public Charter School is held to the same testing standards as every other state and federal funded school.  But while others are failing to meet standards for growth-Montessori is moving forward.

Music lessons, reading assignments and projects- it's a normal school day built around one very simple concept.

"Children do want to learn,” said Patricia Taddio, Montessori Middle School Co-teacher.

Here at Washington Montessori, you won't find rows of desks or a teacher lecturing from a podium. 

"This should be comfortable,” said Taddio.  “I say we live here because this is a living space for us.  We just happen to be learning at the same time."

It's the Montessori method- taking ordinary habits of children and developing something extraordinary. 

"My third grader when he was in first grade was doing four-digit multiplication.  It's just because he could see what he was doing and he understood what he was doing,” said Leigh White, a Montessori parent. 

"You know we're not here just solely for test scores,” said Head of School Steve Jones.  “We're here to make sure the child as a whole is taken care of.”

Jones says the method works.   The K-8 school made Adequate Yearly Progress last year with an overall 89% proficiency rate.

"You get the parents, you get the child and you get the educators all working together, basically you can get a lot done,” said Jones.

"It's not about me meeting the standards or meeting the requirements for a test,” said Taddio.  “It's about me saying this is what the state believes these children should know.  I don't have a problem with giving them as much information as possible and so it's almost like how could they not meet the standards?"

Students move at their own pace.  Once they master a concept, they can move on to the next.  If a student is struggling, the teacher works with them until they understand.  There are no labels here.  At Montessori, kids with disabilities are mainstreamed into the classroom.  Students help other students learn.

"Montessori education teaches you a lot of confidence and that's going to build leaders after they leave here because they're going to have confidence in themselves from how they have learned over the years,” said Melody Cutler, a Montessori parent.

Washington Montessori is a public charter school.  There's no tuition and it's open for all to apply, but not everyone gets in.  Once a year administrators pull a few lucky names from the lottery.  The rest go on the wait list.

"Some go to private school for a year and wait it out because they really want to come here,” said Jones.

Parents drive from six different counties to bring their children to school here in Washington.

"It's about 35 minutes each way,” said White.  “We are not in a carpool so I drive it back and forth twice a day, sometimes three times a day."

We did the math.  Leigh White spends three hours a day on the road and about $600 a month on gas.  She's not alone.  "A little bit more fuel money is a small price to pay for a good education,” said Kevin Haltigan, another Montessori parent.

It's a small price for a school to feel more "Like home,” said Cutler.  “It's like a family."

Teachers say students leave Montessori after eighth grade and tackle academics wherever they go.  "I haven't seen a student that couldn't succeed at this,” said Taddio.

Steve Jones says there are 294 students enrolled at Montessori.  There are 59 children on the wait list, trying to get in. 

--- Arendell Parrott Academy ---

KINSTON, N.C. (WNCT)- Test scores are telling the story schools across the east are struggling to meet standards for growth.  Out of the 14 eastern Carolina counties we checked, all but two fell below the state average sat scores in reading and math.  As part of a special series Nine on Your Side's Andrea Blanford is taking us inside schools that stand apart.

Melissa Richter’s children only spent a year in Pitt County public schools.  "I think we were just a little nervous about the uncertainty of things,” said Richter.  “We just want to know what direction the school is going in.  What was going to be there for our children in the future?"

Now her 2nd and 3rd grade children ride the school bus from Greenville to Kinston every day.  Destination: Arendell Parrott Academy, a private college preparatory school.  "They love this school,” she said.  “They're very, very happy.  They love every aspect of it."

Here, the honor system rules the classroom and spills out into the halls.  There are lockers, but no locks.  Bookbags go on the floor.

"We're looking to raise citizens who know right from wrong and do right,” said Headmaster Peter Cowen.

The school offers 13 advanced placement classes and emphasizes community service.  Cowen says it's the perfect combination.  "We start the college admissions process with our ninth graders.  We don't wait until the junior year and then say ok, fill out these applications."

Most students graduated last year with at least a 4.5 GPA.  The average SAT scores were well above the national average.

"A lot of it is about relationships, communication and focus,” said Cowen.  “When we get parents on our side, have these fantastic teachers, qualified students, you should expect success at a school."

That formula for success includes a hefty tuition.  Parents pay nearly $7,000 to send their child to kindergarten.  First through 6th grade costs a little more than $8,000 and for high school-parents pay $9,500 a year.  Tack on a supply fee, lunch plan, and one-time enrollment fee and its clear- this education takes sacrifice.  Richter decided it was worth it when she noticed teachers in the public school were teaching to the test.  "They're up against a lot of obstacles and just achieving their academic criteria on a daily basis is difficult for them."

Perhaps no one understands that better than author and educator Ron Clark.  

In his book, The End of Molasses Classes he says schools have become boring and students, in-turn are disengaged. At the academy he founded in Atlanta he brings dynamic energy to the classroom.  "You as the individual teacher can shut your door, look your kids in the eyes and you can make amazing things happen,” said Clark.

He says out-of-the-box teaching methods boost test scores every year.  This year he came back to his hometown of Greenville to encourage teachers.  "I tell my staff you never mention test scores,” he said.  “You never mention to these kids they're gonna take a test.  I don't ever want to hear you say, 'You have to learn this because it might be on a test.'  I want you to teach these kids to love to learn and then the test scores will come."

Clark says it's something teachers should do in spite of state and federal standards.  And no matter where your child goes to school or which educator you ask- parent involvement drives quality education home.  "I don't feel like just our children go to school here,” said Richter.  “I feel like our whole family does."

There were 54 students in last year's graduating class at Parrott Academy, 22 of them had been there since kindergarten.  Cowen says with that long-standing relationship between students and teachers, success is inevitable.