Carver/Century Leadership Questioned; Principal Reacts
May 16, 2008
He’s given away hundreds of dollars in cash as an FCAT incentive to Carver/Century students. He’s literally burned a wooden “F” in a symbolic gesture. He’s walked in a prayer walk in a pouring rain, and, almost in tears, turned Carver/Century K-8 school over to God. He’s given up retirement to serve as principal for Century’s only school. All in an effort to improve what is, to be practical, about the worst school in the county.
But Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite said he would give it all up if he knew it would improve the school.
“If my leadership is a detriment to Carver/Century, I will be out of there tomorrow.” Garthwaite told NorthEscambia.com in an exclusive interview Thursday afternoon following an Escambia County School Board workshop that saw Superintendent Jim Paul call for Carver/Century’s closure. And it saw some question the school’s leadership.
“But I would love to have another year; we can make progress,” he said. “It’s very disheartening with all the things that are being said about the school.”
“Are we really a failing school?” he asked. “That’s a tough question.”
Garthwaite said that due to the low attendance numbers and the high number of ESE (Exceptional Student Education) students, the school’s average test scores are quickly brought down, painting an inadequate picture of what is really happening at Carver/Century.
At the school board workshop, the leadership of the “F” rated school was questioned several times.
“Who measures how the administration of the school is doing,” Century resident Jack Moran asked the school board, adding that the FCAT grades the students but there does not seem to be any system for grading a school’s administration.
“We have not exhausted all possibilities to change that school,” school board member Claudia Brown-Curry said. “Sometimes you have to change leadership.”
“I just don’t know. It’s really disheartening,” Garthwaite said.
Pictured above: Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite (right, yellow shirt), Century Mayor Freddie McCall (foreground left) and Council Member Sharon Scott (foreground right) listen to the Escambia County School Board Thursday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Paul Calls For Closure of Carver/Century K-8 School
May 16, 2008
Escambia School Superintendent Jim Paul recommended the closure of Carver/Century K-8 School at a Thursday school board workshop, a workshop attended by many supporters of the school.
Paul’s plan says that closing Carver/Century would save the district $680,439 in the first year and send 205 students to Bratt Elementary, Ernest Ward Middle and possibly Molino Park Elementary. The closure could be approved by the board as early as July, and could take effect for the 2008-2009 school year that begins in August.
“You cannot have a community that does not have a school,” New Life Baptist Church Pastor Irvin Stallworth (pictured left) told the board. “I am asking that you take this opportunity to look at the total picture.”
“The town of Century has been through a lot,” he added.
“We are ready to take a stand, and we are ready to stand up for our school,” Brenda Spencer said.
“Century does not ask a lot,” she said. “Is it logical to close our little school…have you considered the physiological effects this will have on our children?”
One board member, Claudia Brown-Curry (pictured left), repeatedly spoke out against the closure.
“When you are talking about closure, you have got to look at more than money,” Brown-Curry said.
She then asked numerous questions of Paul.
“Have you given up on the school,” she asked the superintendent.
“No m’am, I have not given up” he responded. “It has been frustrating for me.” He said that perhaps he had tried harder to improve Carver/Century during his tenure as superintendent than any other school in the district.
“They didn’t qualify for an assistant principal; I sent one up there anyway. They had a curriculum coordinator up there anyway,” Paul said. “I personally don’t know what else I can do in regards with that school.”
Brown-Curry questioned whether Carver/Century’s attendance zone could be redrawn, and if another North Escambia school could be closed. Paul said that would not be a possibility, because if the district forced for students to attend Carver/Century, those students would simply transfer back to their original school. Since Carver/Center is a state rated “F” school that does not make adequate yearly progress, students would be allowed under state law to request a district funded transfer to another higher performing school.
“We have not exhausted all possibilities to change that school,” Brown-Curry said. “Sometimes you have to change leadership.”
“You have got to look at the community. You are taking the life out of the community,” she said. She even suggested that perhaps the district had not done all it could do to improve Carver/Century.
But board member Patty Hightower said the district and many, many volunteers had attempted to improve the school over the past few decades. She said that her church, Trinity Presbyterian in Pensacola, had partnered with the school, providing volunteers and mentors, for the past 27 years.
“What has changed in those 27 years? Not much,” Hightower said. “We’ve tried different leaders…you cannot fault the Carver/Century faculty at all. I don’t know what the right answer is.”
She said perhaps improvement would come “If we put them in a place where there are more opportunities, in a larger school…That is what I am leaning toward.”
“We can work hard, but we’ve got to work smarter,” Brown-Curry said. “Just to give up on some children…I just can’t buy that.”
“The reality is we have too many schools,” board member Jeff Bergosh (pictured left) said. Bergosh has openly called for Carver/Century’s closure. “We have to make tough decisions in the face of this budget crunch.”
“When you throw dollars at a school over and over,” he said, “it does not guarantee success.
“We’ve got to motivate them,” District 5 board member Pete Gindl said. He suggested that perhaps taking the failing students from Carver/Century and putting them with higher performing students at another school would serve as that motivation. “But there’s nothing wrong with those children.”
Board member Gerald Boone, who sat quietly during most of the Carver/Century discussion, said that perhaps the closure could be delayed for a year to fully look at other options.
“But little by little, the hurt goes away,” Boone said. “That will happen in the event Carver/Century goes away.”
“It is not about the people that live in that town,” Bergosh said. “It is about that school.”
He said nearby Bratt Elementary is consistently an “A” rated school, while Carver/Century is consistently a failing school.
“Bratt is 10 to 14 miles away, but it is a world away in performance,” Bergosh said. “If you look at a student going from an ‘F’ school to an ‘A’ school, I don’t see that as a negative.”
Pictured top of page: Century Mayor Freddie McCall addresses the Escambia County School Board, asking that they save Carver/Century K-8 School. Pictured below: Many Century residents were among those in attendance at Thursday’s school board workshop. NorthEscambia.com photos.
Northview Holds Performing Arts Concert
May 16, 2008
Northview High School Performing Arts presented a “Farewell Concert” Thursday night. It featured both guitar and chorus students.
The show included some folk, some jazz, some blues, some country and lot of 90’s rock, under the direction of Scott Slay.
It was called a “Farewell Concert,” Slay said, as a farewell to the seniors and to school for the summer.
Click here for a photo gallery from the concert.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
National Guard Visits Library
May 16, 2008
The Atmore unit of the Alabama National Guard visited the Century Branch Library Thursday afternoon.
Children at the library had the opportunity to learn about the National Guard’s duties and some of the ways they protect American freedom. They also had the chance to climb inside an Humvee.
For a complete photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, and submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Storm Destroys McDavid Homes, No Serious Injuries
May 16, 2008
Valerie Lollie stood in the living room of her McDavid home about noon Thursday, her five year old daughter in a nearby bedroom. The rain had started, and the wind had picked up outside just a bit. Moments later, her daughter was screaming for help as the home’s roof began to lift away and windows exploded.
“It was bad,” Lollie told NorthEscambia from her heavily damaged living room. Her home was one of two in McDavid heavily damaged in severe weather, damaged to the point that the county says they are not livable.
“I heard this noise; it sounded like a tornado freight train coming,” she said. “Then the pictures fell off the walls, and glass shattered everywhere.”
“‘Mommy, mommy help me,’ is what I heard next,” she said. It was her frightened daughter Brianna screaming from the bedroom.
Neither Valerie or Brianna were severely injured as their home was damaged around them, other than Valerie suffered some cuts and scrapes from broken glass.
Ten people are homeless following Thursday afternoon’s McDavid storm. In all, the storm damaged seven houses, and lifted the roof off part of Watson’s Convenience Store. The damaged homes are all located near Watson’s, just across North Century Boulevard from the McDavid Volunteer Fire Department.
The American Red Cross is assisting those displaced by the storm with a place to stay for a few days.
“I don’t know what we are going to do next,” Lollie said. “We did not have any insurance.”
There were no serious injuries, McDavid Fire Chief Eric Gilmore said.
The National Weather Service is expected to visit the area on Friday to determine if the damage was caused by a minor tornado or straight line winds.
About 200 McDavid area homes lost power in the storm, but all were restored Thursday afternoon except for the heavily damaged homes.
For a photo gallery of the storm’s aftermath, click here.
Pictured above: Valerie Lollie in what remains of her living room at her McDavid home. Picture below: A view of the outside of the home as Escambia River Electric Cooperative workers work to restore power to the neighborhood. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos.
Carver/Century Closure: We Invite Your Comments
May 16, 2008
With the possible closure of Carver/Century K-8 School before the Escambia County School Board, we invite your comments.
Whether you support or oppose the closure, we want to hear what you have to say. If you are an Ernest Ward, Molino Park or Bratt Elementary friend or foe, we also want to know what you think, as those schools may be impacted by the Carver/Century closure as well.
This is your chance to be heard (don’t forget that the school board and many in the school board’s Central Office read NorthEscambia.com). Email your comments to news@northescambia.com or use our contact form.
We reserve the right to edit comments for length. Keep your comments clean, with nothing vulgar and no racism. No harassment or personal attacks, although you may express reasonable, non-slanderous personal opinions about public officials. Comments will be posted in the next few days at the sole discretion of NorthEscambia.com. You must include a valid return email with your comments. That email address will NOT be published.
Storms Damage McDavid Homes, Store
May 15, 2008
Several McDavid homes were damaged in Thursday storms, and the storm ripped part of the roof from Watson’s Convenience Store. Two of the homes were seriously damaged and are not livable.
There were no injuries in the storms, which struck just after noon, according to McDavid Volunteer Fire Department Chief Eric Gilmore.
The area was under a tornado watch at the time, but it has not been determined to be a tornado. The National Weather Service will visit the area on Friday to make an official determination.
NorthEscambia.com will have a complete story posted Friday morning, with a complete photo gallery and an interview with the resident who was inside one of the seriously damaged homes.
Fire Departments Respond To Call At Century Woods Apartments
May 15, 2008
Several North Escambia fire departments responded to the report of a fire at Century Woods Apartments early Thursday morning.
The first fire units arriving on scene at about 6:50 reported light smoke showing, but the fire turned out to be a pan on the stove that had been extinguished.
The Century Volunteer Fire Department, McDavid Volunteer Fire Department, Molino Volunteer Fire Department and the Flomaton Fire Department were called to the fire, but all of the departments except Century were quickly canceled.
School Board To Discuss Closing Carver/Century K-8
May 15, 2008
The Escambia County School board is expected to discuss the closure and consolidation of Carver/Century K-8 School at a budget workshop scheduled today.
Superintendent Jim Paul is expected to present his proposal to close Carver/Century as part of his budget reduction plan, according to Associate Superintendent Ronnie Arnold.
“The superintendent was asked by the board to bring back scenarios to achieve consolidation for the 2008-2009 school year,” Arnold told NorthEscambia.com. “We are simply starting a discussion, looking at the logistics, the pro and cons, we are not voting to close the school at this meeting.”
Arnold said any vote to close and consolidate Carver/Century would be a “two meeting process to take any action.” He said that the closure would have to be discussed at two advertised meetings — most likely the June and July regular school board meetings — before a vote could be taken.
“Really, this meeting is just a starting point in the discussions; there is no master plan. This is just a workshop,” he said. “I want to let people know that there will be plenty of opportunities to be heard at meetings and public hearings.”
The meeting is taking place at 11:30 in Room 160 of the J.E. Hall Center at 30 East Texar Drive in Pensacola.
NorthEscambia.com was the first media to break the Carver/Century closure proposal story Wednesday afternoon, and we will have complete coverage today. Click any story title below to read more of today’s coverage:
- Carver/Century Closure: Students Would Likely Move To Bratt, Ernest Ward; Possibly Even Molino Park
- Carver/Century Closure: School Board Members React
- Carver/Century Closure: School Reaction
- Carver/Century Closure: You Can Attend The School Board Meetings
Woodward Named PE Association Principal Of The Year
May 15, 2008
Molino Park Elementary School principal Alice Woodward was honored as the “Principal of the Year” last night by the Escambia Physical Education Association.
Woodward received her award at the EPEA’s 13th annual awards banquet last night at the University of West Florida. The event was held to show appreciation to all physical education teachers, worksite wellness coordinators, school nurses and other school personnel in Escambia county for their efforts in promoting physically active and healthy lifestyles during the 2007-2008 school year.