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Kendall
Whittier Elementary
Tulsa, OK
Judy Feary,
Principal
Dr. David E. Sawyer,
Superintendent
Kendall Whittier is a pre-K through
6th Grade elementary serving 1.035 children in a
community based school in the Tulsa Public School District. It
is one of the largest elementary schools in the state of
Oklahoma and serves a diverse student population which is highly
mobile. The enrollment is 59% Hispanic, 17% Caucasian, 12%
African American and 12% Native American. The school was
designed to be the cornerstone of its neighborhood
revitalization plan. Many of its students live in poverty with
95% qualifying for free or reduced lunch programs.
Kendall Whittier was born out of the
collaborative vision of community members and Tulsa Public
Schools as a replacement for two aging and overcrowded school
buildings. Administration, teachers, families and the community
decided that a year-round calendar would be beneficial to their
students.
In 2002, when district officials
decided it would be more cost effective to have all schools in
the district on a traditional calendar, the administration,
teachers, families and community members fought to have Kendall
Whittier continue to be year-round. They prevailed and have
served as the model to bring five other schools onto the
year-round calendar in Tulsa.
The staff has the expectation that
everyone can and will learn. They believe the high expectations
yield high results.
From the 2002-03 school year to the
2004-05 school year the API composite score rose from 900 to
1218. In math the scores rose from 1018 to 1248 and in reading
there was an increase in API from 797 to 1255. In addition, the
attendance rate is showing a steady increase and its mobility
rate has decreased from 92% to 63%.
The Kendall-Whittier vision is to
become a “Lighthouse to the Community,” serving the needs of
their students and their families. |
