Hawthorne earns national recognition

from the Indianapolis Star

By Bill McCleery

A prestigious award from the U.S. Department of Education has sparked a spirit of celebration at Hawthorne Elementary School in Warren Township.

The school won recognition for two consecutive years of making "adequate yearly progress" under goals set forth by the federal No Child Left Behind law despite serving a high-poverty area.

The award -- formally called the "Distinguished Title 1 School Award" -- essentially declared Hawthorne the state's top model for schools serving low-income populations.

"This year we have 68 percent (of students) receiving the free and reduced lunch," said Principal Phil Talbert, referring to the federal program for students from low-income families.

"The research says high-poverty kids cannot achieve as high as kids from higher-income families, but our kids are scoring as well as anybody else. That's where we're showing it can be done."

Officials announced the award at an all-school assembly Sept. 25. The school's award is more than a plaque to hang on the wall. It comes with a $50,000 check.

"Is that exciting or what?" Talbert said.

School officials attributed Hawthorne's achievement to the staff's emphasis on data-driven instruction. Teachers carefully track students' progress in all academic areas and strategize regularly with one another toward addressing any areas of weakness. Teachers work with each student based on what data they've collected, said Talbert, who has been principal 13 years and spent his entire 34 years in education in the district.

"We don't guess anymore about kids," Talbert said. "We know exactly what they need, and we work toward meeting their needs for each individual student."

A Hawthorne special education teacher said she has implemented the same strategic approach with her students that have proved successful schoolwide.

"I've seen it work with all types of students," teacher Debbie Williams said. "We have a lot of students here (from) poverty, but that's not allowable as an excuse in our school. It doesn't hold us back in any way. We know these children with the right experiences can learn, and they do learn and are learning."

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