JACKSONVILLE – The rock seemed to come out of nowhere, startling the boys walking home from school in the calm of an October afternoon. It hurtled inches from Michael Palmertree’s shoulder, hitting his friend, who fell unconscious with a wound to his head.
Michael checked to make sure his younger brother, Johnathan, was unharmed. Then he reached for the cell phone his mom had given him for emergencies and called 911.
It didn’t occur to Michael as an ambulance arrived that the rock had been intended for him or Johnathan, but his mother knew better. Tammy Alam had been worried since the start of the 2016 school year that they had been targeted by bullies. That’s when she enrolled her boys at their district school after relocating the family from Maine.
At first, she told herself it was because they were new to the school. She encouraged them to ignore the taunts and name-calling. But as the bullying escalated – tripping and shoving in the hallways, ripped backpacks – Tammy became convinced the abuse against 11-year-old Michael, who is part white and part African-American, and 7-year-old Johnathan, who is part white and part Asian, was racially motivated.
On the afternoon of the rock throwing, Tammy realized further discussion with school personnel was useless. She considered homeschooling, but as a single mom working full time, she worried she wouldn’t have enough time. Then she remembered the school three miles from the family’s apartment, which she drove past every day.She learned from Duval Charter School at Westside’s website that it’s a tuition-free public school for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, with a low teacher-student ratio and mandatory uniforms. The school is governed by Renaissance Charter School, an organization founded by Florida-based individuals concerned with providing quality school options. It’s a member of the Charter Schools USA family of schools.
Tammy was impressed to see the school attracts a diverse group of students. Seventy-seven percent are minority; 74 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
She reached out immediately to Octavius Davis, the school’s enrollment administrator, who arranged a transfer for Michael and Johnathan within 48 hours.
“He was extremely proactive,” Tammy said. “He knew this was a serious situation.”
She didn’t know what to expect when the boys began attending Duval, but she saw a difference right away.
“They were coming home excited about school instead of stressed out,” Tammy said. “They just seemed more comfortable.”
Duval Charter principal Tania Woods isn’t surprised at the contrast. She’s heard similar stories from other families who comment on the school’s relative calm. While she’s quick to acknowledge there’s no magic bullet for eradicating bullying, she credits her teachers and staff for maintaining order.
“We set the tone from the beginning of the year and let our students know we expect them to respect themselves, their teachers and each other,” Woods said. “We never assume the children who come to our school already understand that expectation, so we take the time to explain it to them.”
Duval Charter students are introduced to a different character trait each month, Woods explained. Teachers provide positive reinforcement when they demonstrate it.
“We correct any negative behavior, but we focus on the positive,” Woods said.
She thinks the uniform policy helps with discipline by reducing the chances a student will stand out based on how he or she is dressed. When distractions are minimized, Woods said, academic achievement generally improves.
Tammy agrees. In the two months her sons have been at Duval Charter, she says, their progress has been marked, which is especially gratifying given their history.
Both Michael and Johnathan experienced seizures as toddlers. Their pediatrician could find no cause, but they led to developmental delays. Michael, recently diagnosed with a visual impairment, struggles with math. Johnathan, who has some difficulty with speech, struggles with reading.
Tammy is especially impressed with the attention the teachers pay to her sons’ special needs. With about 30 percent of their students qualifying for some type of accommodation, the teachers are well versed in how to provide for children who need additional support.
Tammy also appreciates the smaller classes and opportunity for personalized tutoring, which has already benefitted Michael and Johnathan. But the biggest difference, she says, is the level of communication at the school.
Her sons’ teachers are in touch with her daily via Class Dojo, a communication app they use to share information and provide updates. She hears regularly from them via texts, emails and phone calls. And she has the chance to speak face-to-face with administrators who are always willing to chat in the carline.
“They see all that my boys can be,” she said. “They care.”
Despite her sons’ improvement, Tammy recognizes they still have some catching up to do. She’s working closely with their teachers, who have provided her with strategies to help them at home, a huge change from what the boys experienced last year.
“They had been slipping through the cracks at their old school,” Tammy said.
Davis, the enrollment administrator, says he refuses to let that happen to Michael and Johnathan. He continues to keep tabs on the boys, especially Johnathan, whose classroom is across from his office.
“I’m a proactive parent myself,” Davis said. “I’m very glad to see they’re having a positive experience.”
For Tammy, that positive experience means focusing on where her sons are struggling and harnessing their strengths – and perhaps most important, making sure they’re safe when she’s not there to protect them.
About Florida’s charter schools
Florida is home to more than 650 public charter schools in 46 of its 67 districts. They enroll more than 280,000 students, 62 percent of whom are black or Hispanic. More than half qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches. As of September 2017, the state classified 171 charter schools as academically high-performing. More information is available from the Florida Department of Education.
I am so glad to see Duval Charter School in the spotlight!! The school is sincerely a blessing in disguise!! It encourages parents to be active and a part of their child’s education. I love the uniform policy, the mandatory volunteer work, and seeing all the adults engaged with the children, not because they have to be, because they genuinely want to be! From daily updates of your child’s accomplishments and the many ways to strengthen their weaknesses and the overall acceptance is a very child friendly atmosphere. The schools are incredibly clean and organized. The staff is always smiling. I actually know faculty and staff members names because they know your children and the parent! The best part from a parent perspective, the level of communication is beyond extraordinary and the model of the charter school should be an example of what Duval County should aim for!!!