Looking forward

BY ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Saturday, June 04, 2011
6/04/11 at 7:15 AM

Project Schoolhouse: See continuing coverage of Tulsa Public Schools’ Project Schoolhouse initiative.

Teachers at Gilcrease Middle School saw their last official work day of 2010-11 not as an end, but the beginning of the next stage of the school's metamorphosis.

Every locker had to be emptied, every shelf cleared of textbooks and every closet and cupboard excavated of supplies because the school is being relocated and renamed.

"I think change is good, especially with all of the stereotypes and negative connotations that Gilcrease has," said Rebecca Jones, who teaches seventh-grade math. "We will be serving the same students, and so many teachers are moving to McLain, that the only thing changing will be the building. We have made so much progress and can continue on there."

In addition to the shuttering of 14 school buildings, the Tulsa Public Schools Project Schoolhouse initiative will lead to grade reconfigurations at nine others over the summer.

Nearly all sixth-graders in the district will be kept in elementary schools and, like several other middle schools, Gilcrease will be moved into its feeder high school and given the same name as the high school.

In its case, McLain Junior High will be located on the same campus as McLain High School, 4929 N. Peoria Ave.

The Gilcrease building, located at 5550 N. Cincinnati Ave., will become an elementary school.

The consistently low-performing middle school has seen a significant shift in culture from one of dysfunction to one of high expectations after district administrators staged a school-wide intervention due to excessive student discipline problems in early 2009.

New leadership and a sweeping turnover in the school's faculty have been widely credited with the improvements.

"I know the ropes and the students in this area because I've worked at Gilcrease for four years and before that at Monroe Middle School, which closed, since 2001," said Susan Palmer, who teaches seventh-grade science.

"It's a reputation, it's rumors that are this school's challenges. Our teachers work hard and our students work hard. Our discipline is better, and I think the momentum will stay."

Christa Camp, one of a couple dozen teachers who were recruited to Gilcrease by the nonprofit organization Teach for America, just completed her first year of teaching. She attended a seventh- through 12th-grade school in northwestern Oklahoma where she grew up and thinks the concept has more benefits than drawbacks.

"For the students in this community, stability is everything. We will be able to continue our relationship with them. And if they're invested in you, they're invested in their education," said Camp, who teaches eighth-grade history.

Matt Myers was one of several teachers pushing dollies piled high with boxes through Gilcrease's hallways on Friday morning.

The seventh-grade social studies teacher said he sees the move as an exciting, new opportunity.

"We are being really proactive about what next year will look like and taking really, really important steps to ensure it goes well. Our first staff meeting is next week," he said, then laughed as he added, "If I had my way, I would live at McLain this summer, but that's not possible."

Andrea Eger 918-581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Matt Myers, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Gilcrease Middle School, moves his belongings from the school, which is closing this year. Myers, who has been at Gilcrease for the past four years, has been re-assigned to McLain Junior High next year. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

Susan Palmer, a seventh-grade science teacher who has been at Gilcrease Middle School for the past four years, moves her belongings from the school, which is being moved and renamed McLain Junior High. CORY YOUNG/ Tulsa World

Donna McClendon (right), a seventh- and eighth-grade counselor who has been at Gilcrease Middle School for the past three years, is helped by her daughter, Aleah McClendon, 12, as educators move their belongings from the school. CORY YOUNG/ Tulsa World