By Michael Morton
“There has been marked improvement since Mr. Gordon and the new administration were put in place, Price said, referring to first-year Principal Carleton Gordon. “The school is really going in a positive direction.”Before Gordon and his team took over, IS 59 had suffered through a string of principals and other administrators, with students fighting and running in the hallways not an uncommon sight.”There was no sense of stability,” said Price, who lives in St. Albans and serves on the school's parent-teacher association.Gordon came on board last fall, following an academic year in which the school made gains in math test scores and addressed overcrowding but saw English test scores fall and suspensions rise, according to a school report card issued in March by the Education Department. In state and city English tests, the number of students scoring at Level 3 or 4, the highest categories, dropped from 35 percent to 32.4 percent between the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years, although those scoring in Level 1, the lowest category, also fell from 16 percent to 14.1 percent. As part of the exams process, IS 59 was labeled a school requiring academic progress for the second year, this time because not enough of its special education students were tested in English. IS 59 students performed better on the math tests, however, with Levels 3 and 4 scorers rising from 24.8 percent to 28.1 percent and Level 1 scorers dropping from 33.5 percent to 31.7 percent. In other sections of the report card, the percentage of fully licensed teachers rose, catching up to the city average. Capacity was also brought down, from 104 percent to 95 percent. Suspensions, however, jumped from less than one per thousand students to more than 96.Gordon said the school was in a transition period at the time with its leadership. But with the exception of an isolated incident in January in which a student brought a gun to school, Gordon said safety had been addressed.”The teachers have said it's been like night and day,” he said. “We came in as a team and we were consistent and we were firm and fair.”Price said Gordon had succeeded because he had imposed discipline on the students and was honest with parents.”He has a no nonsense style,” she said. “He doesn't sugarcoat anything at all.”IS 59 has received help this year from City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), state Assemblyman William Scarborough (D-St. Albans) and state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), who have funded an after-school program. “The school has taken a very significant turnaround,” Scarborough previously told TimesLedger.Beginning this fall, administrators will also create new, smaller academies in the sixth grade, then expand the program to include the whole school. The initiative is expected to provide smaller classes and more individualized attention.”These smaller learning environments, they get to know their learning style and how to work with them,” Price said.In the meantime, Gordon is hoping to see a seven-percentage point increase in math scores and a six-point rise in English results, with only the state math exams May 10 left. Once the test results are released, they will be incorporated into next year's report card for IS 59.. The assessment may offer further proof of the school's turnaround and what progress, if any, has been made toward shedding the label of requiring academic progress.”That was last year,” Gordon said. “All I'm doing is looking forward”Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
