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For one elementary school, schoolwide reform has meant major academic improvements along with a physical overhaul. The results look spectacular for students, staff and community.

Story and photos by Maya Muir

ISSAQUAH, Washington—In 1997, Apollo Elementary had just gone through a long period of flux, including changes in staff and grades at the school, and rapid enrollment growth. Staff and parents thought the situation had finally stabilized when they were hit by a new blow: the first year of the fourth-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) tests rated Apollo abysmally low, the worst scoring in the Issaquah School District. Only half of fourth-graders passed in reading and 22 percent passed the math.

"Those test scores shocked us," says Dr. Abby Adams, then school principal. "We had been working hard and had turned in a new direction, stressing the Washington state standards, and already academic levels were rising, but the test results were a wake-up call. We all knew we had to work much harder."

Within a year, Apollo was transformed from an embarrassment to a showpiece; three years later it has become a model school, still improving every year. Washington's nonprofit Partnership for Learning has identified Apollo as one of the state's most-improved schools.

This dramatic reversal has been the result of intense effort by Apollo staff and parents who have worked overtime developing a plan that pinpoints and addresses weakness, that sets higher expectations of pupils and staff, and that encourages collaborations between the community and the school.

And, although it was a major headache for staff and students at the time, a supporting factor in the academic turnaround has been the physical remodeling of the school.

Building a team

The open and participatory process adopted to discuss the kind of physical space the school needed has stayed fresh in everyone's mind. "It took a great deal of teamwork to plan the remodel and deal with the disruption it brought about," says Adams, now Director of Research and Assessment for the district. For close to three years, 30 to 40 people, including teachers and parents from every grade level, met to discuss everything from carpet color to library design. "We operated by consensus," says Adams. "Then we took committee decisions back to staff for final approval."

Apollo's 600 students were included, too. "Every month in assembly, I pulled out the floor plan to show the students what was happening," Adams continues. "Once, the project foreman came in to explain how the heavy equipment worked, which the younger children loved." Aspects of the building process were worked into the children's lessons. Royce Nourigat, construction coordinator for the district, discussed color samples with a fourth-grade class, then listed for them the cost of doors, windows, carpeting, and so forth. Then he had students estimate the cost of building a room.

"We probably created a few architects and engineers," says Doug Snyder, Assistant Superintendent for the district, who oversaw the project. Snyder adds, "If we learned anything from the remodel at Apollo, it was: communicate, communicate, communicate."

"We worked hard, accomplished much — and survived," says Adams. "We realized things could change."

Magnet for community

The result is a warm and welcoming school that has become a magnet for community involvement and an environment that ably supports the kind of teaching and learning targeted by the post-WASL improvement plan adopted in 1997.

"In the old school, the classrooms opened onto a covered, open-air corridor, which in winter was as cold and windy as a Boeing test tunnel," says kindergarten teacher Thom Lee. "It created a sense of isolation," agrees PTA chair Mary Kopacz. "There was nothing physical to draw classes together. It was scary for younger kids."

In the remodel, those corridors were enclosed. The new interior halls were carpeted in soft green-blue, the walls covered with student artwork — not possible before. "Those displays create such school pride and community spirit for kids and their parents," says Kopacz.

And because they were once exterior, Apollo's hallways are wider than those in newer schools. That feature has proved an unexpected asset. Walk down the halls on any school day, and you may find parents of Judy Whipple's third-graders working quietly with kids on individual reading and math. Before the remodel, one-to-one activities happened in the classroom or not at all. Or you might find Cory Walsh's second-graders spacing themselves apart to represent distances between planets in the solar system, or launching "rockets" through straws — and then measuring the distance in centimeters over three trials before calculating the mean. The new hallways provide room for activities that promote active learning.

Inside, double doors open like French doors to join many neighboring classrooms. This innovation was requested by teachers to facilitate team teaching and collaborative learning. Says Judy Whipple, "One year, I collaborated with another third-grade teacher. We opened those doors and combined classes for spelling, which I taught, and reasoning and writing, which she taught. Recently, we had someone from Puget Sound Energy come talk to us about electricity, and someone from a salmon hatchery to talk about the fish. Now it's easy to combine classes."

The single most popular innovation of the entire remodel, however, is the wall-to-wall carpeting that is everywhere but classroom sink areas. Before, the floor was mostly tiled, which amplified noise and echoes, supplemented with small areas of old rug. Fifth-grader Kelcie Walther says with disdain, "That carpet was really, really, really bright orange," a universally unpopular color. Staff and students alike agree that the new teal/blue/green/gray color scheme is calming and warm — and a big improvement over the orange/yellow/olive green it replaced. Teacher Thom Lee also appreciates the way carpeting allows his kindergartners to work on the floor, where they are often most comfortable.

The music room and library at Apollo, newly built in the interior courtyard, are showpieces. Both, like many rooms in the school, have skylights in addition to large windows, maximizing natural light. The library, centrally positioned, "has become the social hub of the school, and makes us more a community," says librarian Lynn Thompson. Cushioned window seats run beneath a bank of tall windows at the back; computers line one wall; soft armchairs invite leisurely browsing. All freestanding bookcases are on wheels so they can be pushed aside to create one large space for special events.

The school's interior courtyard, diminished in size by the library and music room, is now a more intimate space, pleasantly decorated with planters. The bricks that surface it were sold as a fund-raiser for the school; each carries the name of its purchaser, strengthening the community's sense of ownership. "I like the courtyard," exclaims fifth-grader Alex Muir. "My name is on a brick there!"

A remodel this extensive carries a hefty price tag. For Apollo, it totaled $7 million, which was one slice of a larger bond issue passed in 1994 by district voters for school construction and modernization, the latter matched by 20 percent to 40 percent state money. The same year a levy passed to improve technology in the schools, so that enhancement became integral to the Apollo remodel. Old, inadequate wiring was replaced to make possible a computer lab and computers in every classroom. The district's goals for computer use in each grade are easily met in the new building.

Teachers enjoy the access to computers in the classroom and outside it. They report that the new, easy access to e-mail facilitates dissemination of information and conversations between them, encouraging collaborative efforts. In addition, the PTA, which now has an in-school office, has a listserv for the community, strengthening school-community relations.

Improvements in technology have not stopped there. In the remodel, phones were installed in every room, improving communication for parents, who can now easily leave messages for teachers, and vice versa. A sound system was installed in most rooms, making it easier for all students and particularly the hearing impaired to follow their teachers.

Apollo parents have long been involved in the school. Since the remodel, they more frequently use its facilities for their children's extracurricular activities such as Scout meetings and sports. "This is like home to the kids," says Mary Kopacz. "Having many of their nonschool activities here is helpful to them. They know the rules and where the bathroom is." According to Kopacz, even the already-involved PTA has become more active since the school's physical transformation.

The remodeled school has become a center of activity for many others in the community, as well. Apollo is a local voting site. Classes in foreign languages, pottery, drawing, karate, and dance as well as homeowners associations and chess clubs meet there regularly. An active day-care program runs before and after school. The school and the district encourage this use. "In 11 elementary schools in the district, we have 12,000 bookings for community activities for the year," says Doug Snyder proudly. The community-Apollo collaboration has had clear benefits for everybody.

Anyone who walks the halls of Apollo can easily see the pride of ownership — and achievement — by parents, children, and staff. It is evident from the intent faces and the colorful hallways. It shows, too, in the reduced vandalism. Best of all, academic performance continues to rise yearly, assisted by a building that is, in Thom Lee's words, "kid-friendly all over."

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