Rose Linda Elementary, the Michael Jordan of Clean Data
It was the upset of the century, folks.
After the results were tallied, the Rose Linda Bulls were in 8th place in the first Clean Data Competition. Many thought they had no chance going into the second running of the Clean Data Competition and paid them no mind, setting their sights instead on Desert Edge Copper.
Big mistake.
Led by School Director Jennifer Wakefield (Mississippi Delta ’01) and rallied by School Operations Manager Robin Peterson (S. Louisiana ’07), the Rose Linda Bulls quietly exemplified the corps values of Continually Increasing Effectiveness (fixing data errors) and Relentless Pursuit of Results (results = a sweet title belt).
To find out more about these come-from-behind champs, the Department of Data recently took a visit to deliver the goods and to see what makes Rose Linda such a special place.
What we found was a school of champions.
Not only did Rose Linda win the second Clean Data Competition, they have also won the past two Resource Room competitions as well. And in talking with Corps Members and staff, it was easy to see that this dedication to winning also applied to the classroom.
Whether it was observing Math-Lit Hour with Darla Bunting (Greater New Orleans ’08 ) and Chris Blankenship (Greater New Orleans ’08 ) or learning about text-to-text connections with Ashley Campos (Phoenix ’08 ) and her fifth graders, it was clear Rose Linda takes pride in everything it does. Not only were the lessons engaging, but Bunting and Blankenship went on at length about using data in their classroom to group students, check for understanding, and individualize instruction. (And we didn’t even pay them to say it.)
How did these Corps Members learn how to do all these things? With a crackerjack staff, that’s how.
In School Director Wakefield, the Bulls have a top-notch former teacher who will be moving on to join the Teacher Preparation Team Design Wing (Translation: “Works on institute all year long”) after the summer. Oh, and in addition to teaching in the Delta and in Arizona, Jennifer also happens to have a law degree.
At her side is School Operations Manager Peterson, a first grade teacher in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana and a native of Phoenix. When she’s not busy winning Institute-wide competitions (or jumping on the full-size trampoline in her apartment in Louisiana), Robin has also been known to hand out TAL-rubric-related awards based on the animal kingdom (such as the Investing Iguana) to Rose Linda CMs.
Completing the wonderful team at Rose Linda are a bunch of staff members who are totally committed to closing the achievement gap. With our own four eyes, the Department of Data witnessed Christine Probasco and Drew Shaw lead their CMA groups in practicing BP-level presentation of academic content (E-1) and Curriculum Specialist Kasey Boike observe data-filled lessons. And when they aren’t leading their school to high student achievement scores they’re doing things like reciting every word to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.” (It was the first song to which CMA Tracey Naylor ever danced.)
Yes, it’s true, data-lovers. The mighty Rose Linda Elementary is Clean Data Competition champions. Their hard work has paid off yet again.
The only question is…can they repeat next week?
Oh, we will win again next week!
I’m so proud to be part of the staff at Rose Linda! Rose knows…data.
I know that’s right! This just proves that we at Rose Linda know how to have fun and still KEEP IT CLEAN!
Rose knows…
LINDA DOES TOO!