Belle Chasse Primary School (BCP) in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, is 60
miles north of the mouth of the Mississippi River, at the head of the
Plaquemines delta formed by the Mississippi on its way to the sea. When
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, the parish suffered
drastic impact from the 150 mph winds and pervasive flooding.

Two-thirds of the school community---students, teachers, staff members,
and administrators---lost their homes. The Plaquemines Parish school
district lost six of its nine schools. When Belle Chasse Primary
reopened in October 17, 2005, it was the district's sole functioning
elementary school. The resulting new school community that included a
large number of students and teachers from the delta's destroyed
schools.

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="3.986111111111111in"
height="2.576388888888889in"}Given all that students, faculty and staff,
and their families had been through, officials at the Louisiana
Department of Education offered to waive the fourth grade LEAP21
(Louisiana Education Assessment Program) proficiency targets for the
year. School leaders declined, determined to hold all their students to
the same high standards they always had. When LEAP scores were released
in fall 2006, BCP's fourth graders scored third highest in the state in
mathematics and sixth highest in English language arts. The school had
the fewest number of unsatisfactory scores (4%) of any other school in
the state.

How does a school get through such an enormous crisis so successfully?

**Safe, Respectful, Responsible**

When the district created a new school out of an existing K-12 school in
1994, Belle Chasse Primary presented a rare opportunity to design a new
school from the ground up. High expectations---for behavior, for
learning, for teaching---underlay every aspect of the new school's plan,
but in order to meet them, school leaders first committed to creating an
environment of trust.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.2958333333333334in"
height="2.967361111111111in"}Then-principal Cynthia Hoyle and her
colleagues knew they wanted their school to be a strong family, bound
both by love and clear rules. The love is expressed in hundreds of ways.
It is seen in the principals knowing every child by name, the weekly
notes school leaders send teachers, the practice of placing a napkin at
every child's place in the lunchroom and the willingness of the school
community to take care of its members through times both happy and
harrowing.

At the same time, the school rules are clear. Good discipline is a
striking feature of Belle Chasse: blue and green tape stripes the
hallways so that students always walk on the right-hand side; they need
few reminders to stay quiet in the halls. All students wear blue and
green uniforms (a parishwide policy adopted in 1998), keep their voices
down in the cafeteria, and unfailingly address adults as "sir" or
"ma'am." Even teachers adhere to a dress and behavior code.

The school rules have, over time, became codified into three simple
sentences: "Be safe; be respectful; be responsible," which even
first-graders can recite by heart. Today, these rules are inextricably
linked to the school mascot, a brown pelican, "Bella", named by a former
student. Students wear "Bella bands," colored plastic bracelets, as
rewards for good behavior, such as working intently for a period of
time, or showing kindness to a teacher or other student. Bella bands
qualify students for extra privileges; during the visit, a Bella band
opened access to a large basket of chocolate. One student swiftly
returned his unopened chocolate when he realized he had forgotten to
wear his Bella band that day.

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="3.685416666666667in"
height="2.472916666666667in"}The school devotes a portion of the first
few weeks of school to discipline procedures, involving the enrichment
(art, music, physical education) teachers in helping students interpret
the Bella rules. During the visit, the health teacher led third graders
in a discussion of the effects of drugs, tying the discussion to the
Bella rules by asking "Is this being safe? Do you think this would be
respectful to yourself?"

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="2.9in" height="2.234027777777778in"}The
school's co-principals, Trish Haydel and Shelley Ritz (Mrs. Hoyle
retired from BCP in January to become a district-level coach), explain
that their students spend much more time on task because teachers deal
with a relatively small number of discipline issues. Most parents
support school's strong discipline measures, seeing them as effectively
keeping their children safe, while also teaching them good personal
habits, such as keeping track of their belongings and treating others
with respect. Classroom observations confirmed that very little teacher
time is spent on discipline.

**A School Shaped Like a Hand**

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="1.8458333333333334in"
height="1.5833333333333333in"}The Belle Chasse building is shaped rather
like a hand, with an administrative core from which radiate four
hallways, each dedicated to a grade level, although with the increased
population, a series of modular classrooms now stretch out across the
grounds to accommodate some third and fourth grade classes. The
hallways, including those of the modular units, serve as galleries for
student work, from poems and mathematical patterns to portraits of
characters from fables.

Every morning students produce and broadcast a television show from the
the administrative core. The student anchorpersons report on the weather
and school news, celebrate student achievements, and lead the whole
school in reciting the pledge of allegiance, the school motto, and the
"Star Spangled Banner." During the visit, students closed one morning
session by reciting a rap song they had written about the upcoming state
LEAP tests.

In a first grade English language class, students rotated through four
stations: one group worked with a teacher, another read independently
and worked at computers, a third group read aloud quietly, and a fourth
group worked with a paraprofessional staff member. Students in the
teacher's group received her attention in equal measures, and she
punctuated the discussion with follow-up questions, pressing students to
explain how they knew what they were asserting. The teacher set a timer
for a specific interval of time with the promise that if students stayed
on task and didn't "go crazy" the whole class would earn "Bella points,"
for good behavior. Students expressed concern for each other in a number
of small ways, from reminding one another when it was time to switch
stations, to refraining from interrupting while another student was
speaking.

![](media/image9.jpeg){width="3.4819444444444443in"
height="1.89375in"}In a third grade English language class, the teacher
read aloud to the class, interrupting herself frequently to prompt
students to complete the sentence: "A good reader always..." which
students answered by calling out "Asks questions!" Students and the
teacher completed this call-and-response numerous times. The teacher
also stopped to ask specific questions about the text to check for
students' understanding.

Fourth graders studying English worked as a large group to brainstorm an
outline for an essay on, "If I were the principal of Belle Chasse
Primary for a week," responding with animation to each student's
suggestion, offering positive feedback and relating suggestions to other
things the class had learned. After the teacher led a short discussion
on transitions in writing, modeling the use---and non-use---of
transitions, students worked on their drafts independently, free to use
the class-generated outline in whatever way was most useful to them.
Instead of guiding students to write a certain way, the teacher asked
them questions about their brainstorming and writing processes. As she
circulated the room, having students read her their first two
paragraphs, she reminded students to check their work before she read
it. When similar problems emerged in several students' work, she paused
to clarify points for the entire class.

**Part of the Community**

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="2.9340277777777777in"
height="2.428472222222222in"}Belle Chasse is fortunate in having
extremely strong community support. Chevron, which has a chemical plant
in Belle Chasse, has donated thousands of dollars to upgrade the
school's computer equipment. Every classroom has at least three
computers and an interactive whiteboard; the school also has a rolling
laptop computer lab and three full computer labs, each equipped with 25
computers and a range of instructional software. Over the last ten
years, the Belle Chasse PTO has raised more than a quarter of a million
dollars for school improvements. Several years ago, some 500 community
volunteers built a new school playground, a complex wooden structure
with plenty of room for climbing and playing, in five days. In another
area of the 35-acre school grounds a new multi-use building, with a full
proscenium stage and dressing rooms, is under construction.

![](media/image13.jpeg){width="2.785416666666667in"
height="2.0993055555555555in"}In turn, Belle Chasse extends itself to
the community. Babysitting is always available at parent meetings where
students regularly receive homework help and, if necessary, dinner, too.
When some parents needed guidance on how to help their children study,
teachers organized field trips, taking parents around to local libraries
and other good study venues. Parents know to expect weekly feedback on
their children's work every Tuesday (parents of younger students receive
daily notices), and parents have the telephone numbers and email
addresses of their children's teachers. Several parents concurred when
the parent of a child with disabilities observed, "Every kid has a goal,
and every child is acknowledged for achieving their highest level." One
parent described Belle Chasse as having an "open parent policy"---they
feel welcome at Belle Chasse. The school's very active PTO solicits
"wishlists" from teachers, asking "What can we do for you teachers to
help our kids?" and raising the necessary money. Some of that money goes
into enrichment activities; it also finances individual tutors for
students who need more support and an after-school program that runs
until 6 p.m.

The school takes part in community activities, such as the annual Orange
Festival, and fund-drives for needy students in developing countries.
Teaching students kindness and giving back has always part of the
school's "original DNA", as it were. "Even a five-year old can give
something back to society," says co-principal Haydel. Every year the
school raises money for a charity; earlier this year, students and their
families raised \$25,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation for children
with terminal illnesses.

**A Community** **Based on Trust**

![](media/image12.jpeg){width="3.498611111111111in" height="2.025in"}In
the early days of making Belle Chasse a family, a "nurturing system," as
Ms. Hoyle describes it, building trust was critical. She and the faculty
and staff did "lots of activities"---beginning with scrubbing down the
new school, which was not quite finished when school started---to
develop strong bonds, she says. What really brought them together,
however, was a series of sudden, tragic deaths. "We got so close we
really trusted each other," says an administrator. "We were like a real
family."

Ms. Hoyle, who came to the principalship of Belle Chasse from the
position of school librarian at the former K-12 school, put herself
through a rapid and rigorous learning experience in order to become the
principal she wanted to be. The day after she was named, she arranged to
"job shadow" a principal in nearby Jefferson Parish whose work she
admired, taking his ideas and practices and making them her own.
Although she "used the resources I could get my hands on immediately"
rather than go back to school, she created a range of learning
opportunities. She read extensively and reached out to peers; in1998 she
co-founded the New Orleans School Leadership Center," modeled on a
principals' academy developed at Harvard University.

![](media/image14.jpeg){width="1.7222222222222223in"
height="1.3020833333333333in"}At first, she says, her responsibilities
were strongly operational, dedicated to getting the school up and
running smoothly. She regularly visited classrooms, she said, checking
to see what students were engaged, but an epiphany---prompted by her own
continuing professional development efforts---led her to begin asking,
"What are they engaged in?"

![](media/image15.jpeg){width="4.011111111111111in"
height="2.6173611111111112in"}Later, with the strong support of the
Plaquemines Parish central office and the BCP school board, she became
one of seven Louisiana principals to take part in a School Leadership
Center program on principal learning walks. The program, underwritten in
large part by the U.S. Department of Education, trained administrators
in "what to look for" in classrooms and how to use their findings to
drive professional development offerings. For Ms. Hoyle, it was a way to
ramp up what she could offer the profession.

Belle Chasse has an extremely supportive central office and a highly
engaged school board. Both were receptive to Hoyle's bringing in coaches
and other experts who guided her, then the Belle Chasse Primary faculty,
in learning how to identify good teaching, foster it, and leverage it
throughout the school. Indeed, the district staff is reachable at all
times, including weekends. The superintendent and assistant
superintendent conduct regular visits, aiming to be in at least one
school every day.

The Learning Walks became tightly focused on three questions: "What is
the teacher enabling? How is the teacher enabling it? Will the student
be able to transfer that knowledge to another situation?" Observers,
whether teachers or administrators, used formal checklists in addition
to recording anecdotal impressions; these regular observations served as
the basis of discussions, led by the curriculum specialist, at weekly
grade-level meetings. Belle Chasse was beginning to use Learning Walks
widely when Hurricane Katrina touched down on Plaquemines Parish, and
they continue today, even more regularly.

**Katrina**

Belle Chasse students, teachers, and staff dispersed across the country.
When the school reopened seven weeks later, the first order of business
was to scrub the school clean again. With schools closed throughout the
parish, BCP had to learn how to build a new, much larger community,
quickly. Instead of 650, nearly 1200 students returned to attend Belle
Chasse Primary; eighty teachers were suddenly added to the staff, and
the school's proportion of students who qualified for free or
reduced-price lunch jumped from 54% to 72%.

"We went back to our basic idea," Mrs. Hoyle says: "trust." The new
students were taught the rules and welcomed with the same warm embrace
the teachers, administrators, and staff had always offered. The new
teachers, some a little hesitant, soon found themselves "family" as
well. With support from the state and district, all of Belle Chasse's
teachers learned how to become co-teachers, adapting their teaching
methods to a new model.

![](media/image19.jpeg){width="2.0133858267716533in"
height="1.6425196850393702in"}![](media/image19.jpeg){width="1.3751968503937009in"
height="1.6681102362204725in"}Ms. Hoyle started up the Learning Walks
again, adding a new step: (voluntary) videotaping teachers. Learning
Walks had broken the walls that separate teachers from each other, the
videos brought them down. Although teachers laugh nervously about being
videotaped, they agree that they find inspiration and new ideas from
scrutinizing how their grade-level peers teach---and failures are as
instructive as successes. Such exploration is only possible in an
atmosphere of trust.

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="2.1909722222222223in"
height="2.786111111111111in"}Because both co-principals Haydel and Ritz
are former Belle Chasse Primary teachers, levels of trust remained
strong when they took the school's helm in January 2007. Co-principal
Haydel looks after pre-K-2 students; co-principal Ritz looks after
grades 3-4. Both agree that they complement each other's skills and find
it invaluable to have one another to confer with and rely on. With other
school leaders, the curriculum and intervention specialists, Ritz and
Haydel examine student data, watching for successful teachers who can
model practices for other teachers, and less successful teachers who
might benefit from targeted professional development. The district makes
a wide range of professional development opportunities available, and
BCP also draws on its own in-house expertise.

**Real-time Data**

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="3.734027777777778in"
height="2.5055555555555555in"}Belle Chasse Primary is part of a pilot
assessment program offered through the Louisiana Department of
Education. The aim, says co-principal Haydel, is to "fine-tune the model
to meet the needs of each individual child." Reading tests at the
beginning of the school year screen students for reading difficulties. A
triage team examines the data on students identified as at-risk, reviews
intervention options, and creates a plan for each student, which is
communicated to the student's parents. At-risk students typically
receive additional small group instruction, tutoring, and language- and
literacy-based computer programs.

At least once a week, teachers gather formative data about their
students---real-time information about what children have learned and
where they are struggling. Younger students' achievement is tracked
through DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and
other brief assessments; fourth graders get rapid tests known as
"blitzes"---quick measures of student knowledge.

At weekly curriculum meetings, very little time goes to "business" or
procedural issues. "We handle business through emails," explained a
teacher. They devote their face-to-face time discussing everything from
student data to teaching strategies. They watch videos their grade-level
peers have offered to show, and share resources, research, ideas, and
stories, analyzing both successful lessons and frustrating ones. During
the visit, a fourth grade teacher described how she began doing a lesson
that day with manipulatives, teaching multiplication by having students
physically create arrays, but her students were "in a mood," unable not
to throw the little yellow tiles around. Another fourth grade teacher
couldn't persuade some students to build flat arrays, not towers. Both
switched to paper and pencil work, and discussed other alternatives with
the rest of the fourth grade teachers. Twice monthly, teachers meet in
small learning groups focused on best practices in reading and writing.

Today, with 11 kindergarten classes, 11 first grades, 10 second grades,
10 third grades, and 11 fourth grades, Belle Chasse has re-emerged as a
strong family. "The new people belong to us," a third grade teacher
says, "we've been through a lot." Adds another, "We have a sense of
what's important because of what we've been through." Despite the
suffering Katrina put the whole region through, teachers and
administrators at Belle Chasse Primary regard Katrina as some kind of
professional blessing. Living through the hurricane together
strengthened existing relationships and created new ones, making strong
colleagues of people who had once been cordial allies. And, noted
principals Haydel and Ritz, it was only after integrating the "new"
people that Belle Chasse Primary earned its Blue Ribbon.

  ------------------------- ---------- --------- -------- -------- --------
  **Belle Chasse Elementary                                        
  State                                                            
  Criterion-Referenced                                             
  Tests**                                                          

  **% proficient and above:                                        
  4th grade Language Arts**                                        

                            2002       2003      2004     2005     2006

  All                       78         90        88       88       78

  Low income                73         85        88       73       

  Students with             25         46        61       64       
  Disabilities                                                     

  State Scores              57         59        60       64       64

  **% proficient and above:                                        
  4th grade Math**                                                 

                            2002       2003      2004     2005     2006

  All                       85         92        87       88       80

  Low income                81         88        82       84       

  Students with             52         77        67       82       
  Disabilities                                                     

  State Scores              50         58        53       61       62
  ------------------------- ---------- --------- -------- -------- --------

![](media/image20.jpeg){width="6.111805555555556in"
height="3.5930555555555554in"}