Its Own Yardstick for Success

Hoffman-Boston Focuses on Small Strides Even as It Fails by Federal Standards

Bernard Posey, 7, slowly writes his name -- b-e-r-n-a-r-d -- on the white board in the bright reading room at Arlington's Hoffman-Boston Elementary School. His reading teacher, Cynthia Chiu, then writes it, too, but capitalizes the B.

"Notice any difference between mine and yours?" she asks him brightly. His face, under a mess of black curls, lights up. He tells her the answer.

"Yes, that's awesome!" she says. He gives her a big smile.

It's a small but important victory for Bernard, one of four students who receive daily, one-on-one tutoring from Chiu, a Title I reading specialist. It's the kind of victory that can't necessarily be measured in test scores, educators say.

Hoffman-Boston Elementary is one of 146 Northern Virginia schools that failed to meet federal guidelines under the No Child Left Behind Act, nearly double the number last year.

For many schools, the most serious penalty is usually negative publicity. But for Title I schools, which receive federal money based on their poverty rates, penalties are imposed when the schools fail to make what the federal government considers adequate yearly progress (AYP) on standardized tests. Making adequate yearly progress means that a majority of students -- as well as various subgroups, such as Hispanics and blacks -- pass the reading and math exams.

Schools that fail to make such progress for two consecutive years in the same subject must offer parents the option of transferring their children to other schools. The more years a school fails to meet the targets, the more stringent the penalties. Eight of the county's 11 Title I schools failed to make adequate yearly progress.

But for Hoffman-Boston, which missed its targets for the fifth consecutive year, time is running out. If the school does not make adequate progress next year, it faces drastic consequences, including staff changes, restructuring or a transfer to private ownership.

Teachers and other school officials said they are focusing on the small strides students are making and improving upon their successes.

"I can't stress about that," Chiu said after her session with Bernard one morning last week. "I can't waste my energy on that. I need it for teaching."

The school, in the shadow of the Pentagon in a traditionally black neighborhood, has made gains, just not enough. Its challenges are many.

For example, 70 percent of Hoffman-Boston students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, twice the percentage needed to qualify as a Title 1 school, Principal Yvonne Dangerfield said. Many of its students' parents work second jobs to make ends meet; many don't speak English.