Conventional wisdom would suggest that students from poor households aren’t as adept at learning as their better-off peers. But the performance of a school in Pine Bluff provides a lesson in not becoming trapped in a way of thinking that might not be all that wise.
Friendship Aspire Academy, a Pine Bluff charter school, was recently ranked as one of the top 10 elementary schools in the state for statewide English language arts growth based on ACT Aspire test performance.
That comes, as our story pointed out, despite the fact that the school serves a high percentage of students who participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program.
The school, which is located on South Hazel Street, also was ranked first in the Central Region for similar criteria.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Principal Jherrithan Dukes said he understands how significant it is for his students to dismantle what could be considered the stereotype of a child raised in poverty not being able to excel academically.
“That’s exactly what I shared with my staff,” Dukes told our reporter for a recent story. “Anytime we receive a reward, they’re the first ones to get a chance to know because they’re the ones that put in the work. ‘Beating the Odds,’ I don’t want them to take offense to it, but at the same time, it says a lot about what people think what our population of students should be able to achieve. However, it’s very important that we as the educators and the leaders of the school that we don’t buy into that stereotype, because if we do, our students will not be able to achieve at such a high level.”
He makes a wonderful point. If teachers start the school day with the attitude that their proteges can’t succeed because they are poor, absolutely no one is surprised when those students don’t succeed.
“We did set out to achieve at a high level,” Dukes said. “That was a goal we had internally, from the district office to the school level. All of our teachers knew what we were going for. I’m not going to say we didn’t have a choice, but everybody was committed to what the plan was for our students.”
The growth scores for 2021 were calculated by the Arkansas Department of Education, with the numbers reflecting how much the students improved from 2019 compared with how much they were expected to grow. Because of covid, there was no such testing done in 2020.
Word of the school’s success with students must be spreading. Friendship Aspire had students in kindergarten through third grade last school year and has now added a fourth grade. And the school has plans for putting a campus downtown because of an overflowing waiting list.
When one speaks of the quality of education in Pine Bluff, the news is generally negative. It’s a pleasant surprise to hear that a school here is topping the charts when compared with other schools in the region and the state.
Keep up the good work, Mr. Dukes, and thank you for showing that the potential that young people have is not predicated on their financial means.