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DONNA WINCHESTERAs James B. Sanderlin Elementary awaits its first FCAT results, its principal acknowledges the rocky spots in its first year.
ST. PETERSBURG - James B. Sanderlin Elementary, which opened with such promise last August as a primary years International Baccalaureate school, is like a paint by the numbers kit on a slowly emerging canvas.
It could end up a masterpiece. Or it could be a child's painting that only a mother could love.
The picture that ultimately emerges from Sanderlin will give a key glimpse of the school district's future.
In the heart of Midtown, Sanderlin is one of only two new elementary schools built as part of the deal that ended court-ordered busing for desegregation. If "controlled choice" - the new way of matching students and schools - is to work, Sanderlin must succeed.
A month from the end of the school's first year, that painting is still not finished. But each day another brush stroke helps complete the picture:
The school opened last August with 544 students, far under its capacity but reasonable for a new school. Fewer than half that number - 248 - had made it their first choice.
Since then, nearly one in four of the students who started at the school has left. Some moved out of the district. Some switched to private schools. Others simply wanted different public schools.
Of the third-graders - all of whom came from other schools - 21 had already been held back, and seven of them had been held back twice.
In its second year taking applications, the school had about the same number of kindergarteners making it a first choice both years. Judging from that, word of mouth after the school had actually opened neither helped nor hurt.
Sanderlin has no trouble receiving enough applications from African-American students. It does less well with others.
On Monday, the school is supposed to get its first-ever FCAT results. It will learn how its third-graders scored in reading and math. In June, the school will receive its first grade from the state.
There is another element: time. Can the principal wrestle the school into the shape she wants while it still has the warm glow of newness?
And there is an intangible: perception. Can the principal persuade enough people that the school is on the path to greatness?
Denise Miller, a longtime administrator who served as principal at two schools before being assigned to Sanderlin, successfully sold the primary years IB program to scores of parents before the application deadline.
Using charts and PowerPoint presentations, she conjured images of a liberal arts curriculum with a hands-on approach that encourages children to ask questions. She explained how teachers would integrate lesson plans in all academic subjects, emphasizing world citizenship.
In a bit of irony, the school at 2350 22nd Ave. S is across the street from Lakeview Fundamental, a highly successful program with a big waiting list in an old school building.
Sanderlin, with its spanking new school and program, hopes to achieve the kind of popularity that Lakeview already has had for years.
In retrospect, Miller realizes she may have sold the school too well. A large number of parents of children with special needs saw Sanderlin as the answer they had been looking for for their sometimes high-maintenance children.
A disproportionate number of emotionally handicapped children - and until recently, the lack of a behavior specialist - siphoned off Miller's time. That distracted her from focusing on the primary years IB program and sent her home tired and occasionally bruised after working 12-hour days.
She did double duty as assistant principal because the district did not give her one. She brought in her elderly mother to answer phones in the front office. Other times, she used personnel from a temporary employment service.
"This has been the most physically exhaustive year of my career," she said during a rare break from her hectic routine. "It's been Mr. Toad's wild ride. I'm continually asking myself, "What's going well? What's going poorly?"'
Her greatest concern has been the families who have left. More than 20 families have transferred to other nearby public schools. Another 20 left for private schools.
"A lot of parents got frustrated because they were unhappy with the discipline issues their children's teachers were dealing with," Miller said. "I tell the parents, "Remember, this is a public school. We teach all kinds of kids."'
A goal from the beginning has been to build a culture for the school - a sense of "the way we do things around here," Miller said.
A school newsletter congratulates students for their accomplishments. Staff members conduct regularly scheduled workshops for parents. Key phrases, such as "Work hard, think hard, and grow lots and lots of brain" are repeated like mantras.
Having the luxury of hand-picking her teachers has helped.
"I have such an incredibly awesome staff. They're here because their hearts are here," she said. "Despite the very serious issues we deal with, the staff has a commitment to working with the kids."
Although they believe in the school and its staff, St. Petersburg City Council member Richard Kriseman and his wife, Kerry, transferred their daughter, Jordan, to Shorecrest Preparatory School at the end of October.
"It wasn't a positive learning environment," Mrs. Kriseman said.
"There was hitting and biting going on. My daughter was coming home every day not talking about what she was learning, but talking about who was getting into trouble and what they got into trouble for."
She recalled a morning when a substitute failed to arrive to teach Jordan's kindergarten class.
"Dr. Miller was not aware of the situation because she was restraining a child," Mrs. Kriseman said. "The parents kind of organized the class, and the kids actually did know their jobs and their routine. But if we had just dropped them off in the car line, those kids would have been sitting in a dark classroom."
The Krisemans had originally planned to send Jordan to private school, but heard the buzz about the new primary years program. They attended an open house at Sanderlin and fell in love with the program and with Miller.
"The whole package on paper looked excellent," Mrs. Kriseman said. "The bonus was the facility, which was excellent. That's why we made the choice to give it a try."
The family's decision to leave was difficult.
"We actually had a little bit of guilt," Mrs. Kriseman said. "We still have tremendous respect for the staff and for Dr. Miller. It was just a personal decision we had to make for our family and our child."
Despite problems at the school, other families are staying put.
Amanda and James Zondervan were happy with the magnet program at Bay Point Elementary, where their son Jamie was a kindergartener last year.
Then they heard about Sanderlin and gave up their coveted magnet seat to try the new school. Jamie began first grade there in August, and their younger son, Nolan, who is autistic, entered kindergarten.
They were thrilled when Jamie moved out of a remedial reading group, began reading on grade level and then progressed to second-grade level. Nolan began to thrive in his varying exceptionalities class.
Mrs. Zondervan is well aware of the behavior issues that sometimes get in the way of her children's instruction, but she doesn't see leaving the school as an option.
"Being a first-year school, we're going to have problems. We've brought kids in from all over the county," she said.
"I can take my kids and put them in a private school, or I can keep them where they are and they will learn to appreciate there are differences in people."
Despite the school's challenges, Miller and her staff have managed to do much in a short time.
Still, Miller struggles with conditions beyond her control. More than 70 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of poverty. Six therapeutic foster homes within 2 miles of the school funnel children to it.
"So many kids have so little experience," she said. "Some have never been to the beach. There are some who do not have books in their home. Some people think their parents don't care about the kids, but they're working two jobs to put food on the table and trying to figure out how to get day care."
In June, the school will receive its first letter grade from the state. Depending on its test scores, it might be labeled a school that failed to make adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
As a Title 1 school, Sanderlin could be sanctioned in two years if the children do not measure up to nearly impossible standards for academic achievement.
In the same year, Miller will be racing against the clock to pass a rigorous International Baccalaureate inspection that will certify the school as a bona fide primary years IB program.
"When days are really tough, I'll go into a classroom and just breathe in the aura," Miller said. "Sometimes I get tired, but I believe that if you use a positive approach, it pays off. It just takes time."