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The Thompson Elementary School, in east Arlington, is one of two elementary schools that have not been rebuilt as part of Arlington’s school rebuilding project. Equally concerning, the school has now been designated for improvement under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act based on the 2008 MCAS data.

This is an important local story and one that I will be following very closely over the coming months for a very simple reason. My daughter attends the school and my son will as well when he gets to that age.

Both the condition and performance of the school are cause for great concern. For now, I’m going to stick to the facts. But I can’t promise that this issue won’t lead to activism on my part because I see some disturbing trends in what I have learned to date. I’ll start with a review of the physical infrastructure.

Physical Condition

I received a copy of the statement of interest (SOI) that will be presented to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Contained in this draft are the following statements on the condition of the school:

• The building is 52 years old and much of the infrastructure is original, including the exterior doors, one of the heating system boiler units and the roof over the gymnasium
• The gymnasium roof, “…is considered failed and potentially dangerous”
• Other parts of the roof deck, which is poured gypsum, “has suffered structural water damage and has collapsed in some areas”
• Soffits on the perimeter of the roof, “have collapsed and fallen to the ground below”
• “There is no fire protection system”
• Steam pipes from the boiler have ruptured in the walls
• Some classrooms are overheated. The gymnasium is so cold in the winter that students have to wear winter clothing to take physical education.
• “Classrooms only have two outlets”
• Teachers have to rotate equipment to avoid blowing fuses
• There is, “no effective security system except at the front door”
• 10 days ago, “there was a smoke fire in the Teachers’ Room … and no alarm sounded”

Despite these issues, there was actually a discussion in the School Facilities Meeting Group in Town Hall this week about whether or not to submit the SOI with Priority 1 designation. What’s Priority 1?

Replacement or renovation of a building which is structurally unsound or otherwise in a condition seriously jeopardizing the health and safety of school children, where no alternative exists

By the way, I was at that meeting and told the committee that there was no doubt in my mind that this was a priority 1 situation.

MCAS Results

The 2008 MCAS results are very concerning. In order to meet NCLB rules, each school needs to show Anticipated Yearly Progress  (AYP). AYP means, very simply, that MCAS test scores should not decrease from year to year. In the case of the Thompson, they decreased for the second year in a row for low-income students in English Language Arts. I’ve received conflicting information about the mathematics scores, but it appears they have declined for the first time, also for low-income students. Because of this, the school now is required to develop an improvement plan and is designated ‘Improvement Year 1.’

Futhermore, the school is a Title I school. When a Title I school doesn’t meet the AYP, it is obligated to offer all the students the opportunity to attend another school in the district that is meeting the AYP. Indeed, all parents at the school were sent a letter explaining which other Arlington schools they could move their kids to.

Next Steps

Both the Thompson School principal, Sherri Donovan, and the Interim Superintendent of Arlington Schools, Kathleen Bodie, will be meeting with parents this coming Monday. I will be there and I expect there will be some very hard questions asked. As mentioned above, I plan to continue to follow this story.