Written by Aris Psimos, Principal
Fifteen years ago on a hot summer day in July, I was in the third base coach's box barking out instructions to the boy who would be the winning run if he could score. The score was 1-1 and our Pirates, a baseball team of 13 to 15-year olds were on the door step of accomplishing what everyone thought was impossible, and that was to beat this highly skilled team of "young professionals".
They were not only skilled, they were highly disciplined, they were undefeated and losing was not an option. It was the bottom of the last inning and there were two outs. The count was 2-1 and on the next pitch the ball hit the edge of the plate and bounced to the back of the diamond. From a cloud of dust the "safe" sign given by the umpire made it official that the Pirates had beaten the best team in the league.
Our team was not supposed to win. They were diverse in many ways. They were not handpicked. Many of the players came to the first practice in the spring not being able to catch or hit. Our top pitcher, who pitched that evening, had a short attention span along with anger issues that could cause him to throw the ball over the back stop at any time! The players came in different sizes, backgrounds and experience levels. But the one thing they had in common was they wanted to learn how to play baseball, and there was a team of coaches who had the desire to teach them.
That is why EXEMPLARY ACADEMIC PROGRESS for our school system is so significant. This is the top category given by the state for academic improvement on the ISTEP. We are diverse in the areas of ethnicity. We serve a population of special needs students and our free and reduced rate is greater than the state average. And in many of our schools the transiency rate is higher than surrounding schools in the county. Our teachers who are highly qualified have the skill set to promote academic success for students from all walks of life. Students who come to us below grade level receive an equal opportunity to learn via our "Teach to Mastery" approach. Students are given feedback so they can see and feel proud of the progress they are making. In PTS there is great intensity to achieve our goal to exit students at grade level.
On that July evening EXEMPLARY progress was fitting for the Pirate team because they proved to everyone that all kids can learn how to play baseball and work hard to compete with even the best teams. If one can't catch, hit or field a ground ball they will be taught to levels they did not think possible. The EXEMPLARY label for our school system is special, too, because our kids are performing at levels many thought were not possible. If students have trouble learning in the areas of reading, writing, math or even behavior, they will be taught to achieve in those areas of difficulty. Schools define the community and all members benefit when schools achieve standards of quality.