Citrus Avenue Elementary School, located at 1350 Citrus Avenue, has found a variety of problems in the 2016 school year, with changes in principals, low test scores, and outraged parents threatening the education of its students.
“I can’t say that I really feel like I’m sending my child to the right school,” said Stephanie Harrower, who has a son attending Citrus Avenue Elementary School.
According to GreatSchools.org, of the 21 elementary schools located in Chico, Citrus Avenue Elementary School has the second-lowest rating. The school has also received poor ratings by 21century.com, Redfin.com, and Schooldigger.com.
Both parents and websites have expressed concern over low English and math test scores, and ineffective teachers. The recent change in administrators has also upset parents because of the lack of effectiveness.
“Replacing someone isn’t fixing the problem," said Tom Betran, a parent of a third grade student at Citrus Elementary. "Thinking like that is why we have problems in education."
The school’s former principal, Shirley Williams, left at the beginning of the 2016 school year, and Rachel Tadeo was appointed. Tadeo said she believes the programs she has set in place will increase the students test scores.
Citrus Avenue Elementary School’s English Proficiency tests averaged 29 percent, compared to the state average of 44 percent. The Math Proficiency tests for the state averaged 33 percent, while the school scored 29 percent.
“We are continuing to use the district system regarding tests, but are promoting greater English proficiency through our teachers,” Tadeo said.
Tadeo plans to increase the effectiveness of the teachers by cutting classroom sizes and increasing the number of staff. Tadeo hopes that the smaller classes will allow children to better connect with their teachers.
John Wates, a kindergarten parent, is unsure that Tadeo has taken proper measures to increase the students test scores.
“The test scores aren’t low because of the kids. It’s because they aren’t being taught properly,” Wates said.
The school has 21 teachers for its 394 students, with an estimated 14 teachers working full-time. Parents have been outraged at the limited resources to students because of the lack of teachers, which has yet to be addressed by the school.
“How are the kids going to learn when the teachers don’t want to answer their questions. We need full-time teachers. Our kids deserve it,” said Stephanie Hunt, whose daughter recently enrolled in the school.
Robert Codell, whose son has struggled at the school, stated that he believes the difficulty his son has had is due to the uninspired teaching staff.
“My son doesn’t feel like the teachers want to teach him, because they don’t. If we pay them, then they’re going to do their job,” Cordell said.
According to Cordell, by increasing full-time teachers, students will benefit from being able to use them as resources for learning. The additional funding to the English and math departments will provide children with more accessibility for learning by giving them better educators.
This differs from Tadeo’s plan of increasing the number of staff and cutting classroom size as it does not reduce the student to teacher ratio. Instead, the number of teachers would stay the same, but would be given better incentive to encourage students success.
While Cordell and Tadeo differ on their ideas to reform the schools teaching program, both agree that the low test scores are the primary issue afflicting the school.
By Kenta McAfee