Our People
More than 72% of Green’s 8th-graders scored basic or above on the math section of the LEAP test in spring, 2009, 13 percentage points above the state average and 43 percentage points above the Recovery School District average.
In Ms. Atkinson's kindergarten class at Ashe, there are 114 vocabulary words on the board and a countdown – “Six days to graduation.” Philip and Eldrick are working with word flip books while Aairon, Brendan, Mark and Ikeeve color in lions and elephants and giraffes. They all take time out to demonstrate to a visitor their skill at writing their names. Other children are in reading groups in corners of the room or playing educational games.
At the same time, a school and an elementary generation away, Green 8th-graders are reviewing principles of physical science in Mr. Sexton’s class. Seventeen students are gathered around a “momentum trough” where silver balls bump each other. “Why did only one ball move?” asks Mr. Sexton, illustrating ways to understand that energy is neither created nor destroyed. “Or what if I chose three balls – what is going to happen?” As another student reads aloud from the handout, Mr. Sexton moves through the classroom watching his students, getting people back on track when necessary. Next is an illustration of balanced and unbalanced forces. Mr. Sexton calls up Ronnie and their two “bodies in motion” run into each other to demonstrate differences in force and direction. Then the animated teacher walks slow or fast to show changes in velocity and cites examples from the world of NASCAR.
“This is the first class since the hurricanes where I could feel the New Orleans Charter Middle School excitement,” says Mr. Sexton, who taught at Green’s predecessor NOCMS. “First we let them know our expectations. They’re bright kids – they come to know that actions have consequences. They’re really smart, and the LEAP scores bear this out. We work extremely hard; the scores show them that hard work pays off.”
