Changes by new leader have impact

AIKEN --- Energy. It's the buzzword that colleagues consistently use to sum up Aiken County school Superintendent Beth Everitt's first year.

After joining the district from New Mexico in January, Dr. Everitt began her first month by making the rounds to Aiken's 41 public schools. She made lists on what the schools were doing well and what could be improved.

"Teachers in almost every school knew how to push the rigor, almost like tricking the students into learning," Dr. Everitt said. "I saw some classrooms not on task I don't expect a chair-and-whip kind of teacher, but one that cajoles kids. We don't have time to waste."

Before her arrival, district officials said they were already discussing how to make schools more consistent and successful from kindergarten through 12th grade and beyond. The road to that goal was cluttered with many ideas but no real formula on how to get there, they said.

On Dr. Everitt's inspection of classrooms and curricula, she said she knew what needed to come first. Instruction.

A new focus

Deputy Superintendent David Caver said it wasn't the instruction that changed, but "there's more of an awareness of what our focus is."

Within a few months of Dr. Everitt's arrival, cabinet-level positions, which include assistant and associate superintendents, received new job descriptions. Positions that handled personnel tasks and paperwork were reorganized so educators could focus more on visiting schools and improving instruction.

"It was very clear when I got this job that she doesn't want anybody sitting up in the office," said Kevin O'Gorman, the associate superintendent of instruction, who joined the district in July.

Dr. O'Gorman's predecessors, Cecelia Davidson and David Mathis, were inundated with personnel issues and logistics. Distractions, such as making sure a child had a test booklet, were eliminated from Dr. O'Gorman's job as the head of instruction. Instead, he made sure the teacher had prepared that child to take the test.

Regular meetings among top administrators and principals also changed. Area 1 Assistant Superintendent Peggy Trivelas said meeting agendas were changed to make the passing of information to principals more effective and transparent.

"As a district, we all believe instruction is what matters," Mrs. Trivelas said.

Instruction is now the first issue on all agenda items, administrators said. Each decision they make comes down to how it benefits a student's ability to learn.

"Symbolically, that says this is what is most important and we're going to do it first," she said. "It sends such a clear message."

A foundation

Next, Dr. Everitt moved to improve literacy. The plan includes 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading each day for all grade levels. That feeds into a 120-minute daily total to focus on writing and improving literacy. Her initiative focused on immediacy.

"Something's not just going to happen," she said. "What we have is now, and I hope in two years what we're doing won't look the same because we need to adjust and improve the foundation."

In elementary classes, two partner teachers work with classroom teachers to create "model" classrooms that demonstrate the most effective strategies to help children learn to read. Those lessons are created by the partner teachers' research from schools and districts nationwide and from their own practices.

The goal is to have a model classroom in every school within the next few years.

In high school, principals are initiating High Schools That Work. The program comes from the Southern Regional Education Board and gives high schools a template of effective practices.

Each of the seven high schools in the district found three or four points in which it excels. A program designed to keep students in school and on task is built around the school's strong points.

"I'm about as far from my comfort zone that I've ever been, but it's just a learning process," Wagener-Salley Principal Pat Keating said.

That process, Mr. Keating has found, means laying everything out for his peers and colleagues to see -- the good and the bad.

Learning walks

After a year of low test scores and required state external reviews, Mr. Keating's school and students constantly have visitors.

When Dr. Everitt and the district team visit, though, it's his chance to show off what makes his school a Wagener-Salley school.

As part of her commitment to staying visible and making her team visible, Dr. Everitt instituted monthly "learning walks" with her cabinet members.

"They want you to have a theme that is unique to your school," Mr. Keating said.

The Wagener-Salley visit included the career and technology departments and the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs, which gave the school an opportunity to show off its cross-curricular technology.

"They ask if our standards and purpose of standards are posted," he said. "What that means is, they ask the students: 'What are you learning today and why?' "

If students can't answer the question, the team confers with the principal and teacher to make sure instruction is effective and on target.

"... It's reinforcing and highlighting the good in the district," said Dr. Davidson, now the associate superintendent for administration.

Straight shooter

Principals and teachers acknowledge feeling overwhelmed some days, but most know they are being pushed to better goals.

"Dr. Everitt is a straight shooter," Mr. Keating said. "She talks the talk, and she walks the walk. ... You can tell her what your concerns are, and she's very up-front about it."

School board member Levi Green, who cast one of three dissenting votes to approve Dr. Everitt's selection in January, now says the right choice was made.

Mr. Green said the new level of transparency that Dr. Everitt has brought to the district has given the public a better understanding of what's happening in school and has helped the board better serve its public.

"There's no hidden agendas with her," he said.

Reach Julia Sellers at (706) 823-3424 or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.