The Decatur Daily
By Bayne Hughes
Staff Writer
Combining achievement with successful education programs earned banner recognition for one Decatur school.
The Council of Leaders in Alabama Schools organization recognized Oak Park Middle School with its “2008 C.L.A.S. Banner School” award.
The school is among 14 schools out of 175 applicants receiving the honor, which recognizes schools for their outstanding programs. The goal of the group is to find programs worthy of study by other school administrators.
The group also recognized Tanner High School. Decatur Superintendent Sam Houston nominated Oak Park.
Oak Park offers a variety of programs aimed at different academic levels and interests.
Decatur High School and Oak Park are partners in the International Baccalaureate’s Middle Years Program for grades 6-10. The two schools began implementing the program two years ago and are waiting on application approval, which Oak Park Principal Dwight Satterfield expects this month.
If approved, Decatur’s three middle schools and two high schools would be the only schools in the state offering the Middle Years Program.
A program highlight is that students learn about different cultures and languages. Oak Park is one of the few middle schools in Alabama that offer Spanish language classes.
If a student is struggling academically, Oak Park’s intervention program offers help. Using their planning period, teachers pull the students out of an elective or physical education and work with them on their problem subjects for up to an hour a week.
Oak Park students with an interest in the outdoors and the environment can go to Nature’s Classroom in Mentone or participate in oceanic studies at Dauphin Island.
The gadget-minded student can compete on the award-winning robotics team, while the math whiz can get ahead with geometry at the high school.
Programs mean nothing without achievement. Oak Park achieved adequate yearly progress two successive years on the state’s accountability testing. The school received the “Closing the Gap” award for its Hispanic scores and the “Advancing the Public Schools Challenge” as part of the state’s accountability testing recognition.
Oak Park is the only middle school to twice get the state attorney general’s Alabama Safe Schools Award of Excellence. The school’s PTA also received the state PTA’s “School of Excellence for Parental Involvement” award.
Satterfield credited his staff and parental involvement in the school for its success.
“It’s a thrill to be recognized by our peers for doing good work,” Satterfield said. “By no means are we satisfied. We always have areas of improvement. That’s why we come to work every day.”