By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
How do you turn a school that is below academic standards into a place where students are academically successful? Most likely, you will need to make some changes.
Moving into their 15th year of educating students, changes have been made at Ambassadors Prep Academy in Galveston. One of the leading changes was bringing in Rachelle Joseph-Beafneaux to serve as the superintendent/principal.
“I walked into an underperforming school and our goal is to be acceptable by the end of the year. We’re going to go from being an ‘F’ campus to a ‘B’ campus,” said Beafneaux.
Business Manager Destin Simmons has been with the school from its inception. She remembers her pastor’s vision: “He wanted a school for students who were falling through the cracks,” said Simmons.
With the hard work of a group of people from Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, the school was born and has been housed in what once was Galveston College since 2007.
Beafneaux brings to the pre-K through 8th grade campus her decades-long career in education as both a teacher and an administrator. She is known regionally for walking into underperforming schools and leading the school towards academic success.
Through her years in education, she has employed methods which have built her reputation. The students of APA are now the beneficiaries of her talents.
Not all the teachers are certified. 100% had degrees. 75% are certified teachers in the state of Texas and the other 25% are in a teacher certification program. There are more skills and knowledge that the teachers must have so that they can meet the needs of the students.
“It’s amazing what she is doing,” expressed Mrs. Hall the 7th and 8th grade English and Social Studies teacher. “I am enrolled in three online classes for professional development because of her leadership,” she added.
The change that Hall is most excited about is data-based teaching and learning. “The kids are excited as they watch their progress while we go along,” said Hall.
Data-based teaching and learning is simply what one would expect to do when you have a problem with anything. First you have to diagnosis the problem so you can fix it. In education, this brings in the big T word: Testing.
Each student attending the school was given an academic test at the beginning of the school year to determine what the student doesn’t know. From the results of the testing, Beafneaux is insuring all students spend one hour a day devoted to working with a staff member on their individual learning needs.
Each day at 1:00pm, all students in all grades are immersed in an intervention block. Each student’s individual academic gaps are the sole focus for 60 minutes. The children are organized in small groups of 3-5 students. A qualified staff member works with the students to bring improvement in the areas that are needed.
Students, staff, and parents are all engaged in tracking their academic growth with carefully kept charts and records, like what you would see when a sick patient goes in for medical care.
The students will be tested in the middle of the year to gauge their progress and again at the end of the school year. This is just one of the tools Beafneux is using to reach the school’s academic goals.
While Beafneaux tries to step aside so that she is not in the limelight, she doesn’t miss a beat of what is going on with the students and staff at her school as she totally believes in the mission of the school.
“At APA charter school, we are equipping students with what matters most: the tools to learn and grow both in and out of the classroom. Our students have access to teachers and adults who uplift and believe in their ability to succeed. Our school believes in the partnership with our parents and community to create better futures for our students. Our vision is: Every Student… Every day, Elevate and Empower!” said Beafneaux.
Not everything will change. Parents who have grown to love the smaller class sizes afforded at APA are delighted to have that aspect remain the same. The hallmark of the school, experiential, holistic learning with lots of real-life teaching activities, will also continue.
Looking to the future beyond bringing the school up to acceptable standards, Beafneaux would like to expand their extracurricular activities. “I would like more STEM projects in our after-school program and I would like to start a robotics program,” said Beafneaux.
