Richmond School image on upswing in St. Charles

When students fled the building when school choice was offered, Richmond Elementary instantly became the St. Charles Unit District 303 school with an image problem. But big gains in recent test scores for students who stayed may paint a new image of the school.

Richmond Elementary is ground zero for bilingual education in the district. Last year, more than 60 percent of the students came from low-income households. About half the students in the school had limited proficiency in English. And more than half of the students in the school were Hispanic.

Those numbers haven't drastically changed even though the number of students transferring in and out of the school stands at more than 27 percent.

All of those demographics represent teaching challenges. Throw in the change to a completely different state test and Richmond kids saw their test scores nose-dive after the 2007 school year.

In 2007, 67 percent of students with limited English proficiency and 75 percent of all Hispanic students met or exceeded state reading standards. In 2009, only 26 percent of limited English students and 33 percent of all Hispanic students hit that mark. Math scores also plummeted by 10 points.

Something had to be done. For Richmond, that meant a makeover of the bilingual education curriculum. Now students' needs are identified better, the curriculum is tailored for their individual needs more than ever, each student has reachable learning goals to inspire them, and parents have been brought into the learning process as a key ingredient in the school environment.

The result? The school this year saw nearly a 20-percentage-point increase in the number of students with limited English proficiency meet or exceed state standards in reading. Likewise, the percentage of Hispanic student population that met that mark increased by 15 points.

The district said this week that even though test scores for those student populations fell with the dawn of a new test all around the state, no one has bounced back like Richmond.

As far as the image problem, Principal Guillermo Heredia told school board members the school is creating a new sense of community and family by embracing the diversity in its student population.

“We are different,” Heredia said. “Our school is different, but that is our strength. Our test scores were seen as a weakness. Now, this improvement is something to celebrate.”

Comeback: Limited-English students' rating jumps 20 points