The Barack & Michelle Obama Academy (BAMO) has once again made major strides in student achievement with the help of increased family engagement, community partners, dedicated teachers, and a significant shift in school culture.
Over the past 10 years, the school has gone from one of the lowest-performing schools in the state to a beacon of hope in the Jackson Cluster.
“When I came over to what was then D.H. Stanton Elementary School, we had a lot of work to do,” BAMO principal Dr. Robin Christian said. “When I first got here, people were not proud to come to BAMO. This was a school that people didn’t want to go to.”
At the time, the school was labeled a turnaround school and on almost every list from the district to the governor’s office. Teachers would burn out quickly. A lot of students were being suspended, and something needed to change.
“The first thing we had to do as a leadership team, myself, the assistant principal, and some coaches, was really decide what are we going to do to make sure that teachers feel supported, valued, and that they can trust the administration,” Christian said. “I had to get the right people on the bus.”
In addition to shifting the culture among the staff, there was also a need to recalibrate the image of the school in the minds of the parents and the community. Alicia DeCriscio, a BAMO parent with three current students at the school and a graduate in middle school, has witnessed the school’s transformation over the years.
“I was part of the team with the PTA charged with kind of reteaching parents in the community how to be involved and that they were wanted,” DeCriscio said. “Principal Christian understood that you’re not going to move the needle if your parents aren’t involved.”
The transformation of BAMO didn’t happen overnight, but with increased parent and community engagement, attitudes in and around the school began to improve. After receiving a grant for family engagement, the school held a Georgia Milestones Carnival for students and families. While the kids played games, BAMO teachers and staff met with parents and shared advice on how to help prepare their children.
“We worked together to really turn that around with family engagement nights, and it was amazing to see her staff be all-in and the community partners,” DeCriscio said. “It was all hands on deck.”
BAMO has been the beneficiary of many community partners who have volunteered their time and resources to help the students and teachers. Whether it’s through supporting family engagement events, providing lunch for teachers, or assisting with transportation, the community partners have left a tangible impression on the school life at BAMO.
BAMO had made great progress, improving from single-digit proficiency to double-digit proficiency. Then, the pandemic hit, and the work had to start over.
“Once again, the team galvanized and we decided that we would have to just take the same approach,” she added. “Since then, we’ve been able to improve student achievement and that’s been through the work of a lot of partners, team players, and very committed teachers. This is the year that we actually did better than before the pandemic. We still have a long way to go, but we have once again increased student proficiency just as we did prior to the pandemic.”
BAMO reported the highest increase for English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency (+19.3 points) on the Georgia Milestone Assessments (GMAs) for 3rd-5th grades in APS from 2022-2024. The school also reported the most increase in APS (+13.3) for ELA proficiency from 2023-2024 on the GMAs for 3rd-5th grades. Since the Readers are Leaders initiative began and shifted the way schools approached teaching literacy, every grade level at BAMO showed improvement. Third and 5th-grade students at BAMO had the highest decrease in the percentage of beginning learners in APS traditional schools (23-24) in ELA and Science.
Average daily attendance at the school jumped from 51.4% in 2022 to 71.9% last school year. The school began the 24-25 school year with over 90% retention of teachers from the previous school year and retained 100% of new teachers.
“When teachers feel like they have the tools that they need to move student achievement, they move a little different in the building,” Christian said. “I can see a difference when employees bring their kids to work. That tells you something: if they bring their own child, then they believe in the school as well.”
The students noticed the difference in the school as well. DeCriscio said the older children notice a much calmer environment in the school. Social Emotional Learning, restorative practices, and familiarity with returning teachers have influenced the atmosphere within the school.
“This year it was like a 90% retention rate or something over that, and kids notice that too,” DeCriscio said. “That’s hard when you have teachers that you like and know, and then they leave. That contributes to behavior, test scores, and everything that goes into a successful school.”
The achievements at BAMO are a testament to the work of the school staff, families, and community partners. When the right people are on the bus, progress is attainable.
“When you see that kind of work happen in the building, you really want to stop and celebrate the players who made it happen,” Christian said. “It’s almost a tale of two different schools within three years with the growth even in the primary grades. We’re very proud of this work at our school. Our teachers are proud. Our parents are very proud.”