Squeezed together around a table in the faculty lunchroom, teachers brainstorm themes for projects, discuss students with learning difficulties and get advice. Teachers also share high expectations for students, who are expected to work above grade level, and a personal interest in students' well being, Earhart parents observe. Teachers' attitudes seem to rub off on students, notes Sharon Pryor, mother of a 5th-grader. A 1996 Consortium study found that students were most engaged with learning at schools where teachers combined caring with academic rigor. Neither personal attention nor a strong academic program alone had much impact on students' effort and interest in school work.
Teachers frequently cite parent support for academics as key for children's success in school.
Teachers at Earhart are no different, but, unlike colleagues elsewhere in the city, they have few complaints. Nearly all Earhart parents respond to discipline problems and help with homework, they say. However, Earhart has some built-in parent support that most other schools don't enjoy. About 55 percent of its students are in a magnet program, meaning parents chose the school. Yet, LSC Chair Pratt notes that Earhart is outscoring nearby Robert A. Black Magnet, which is better-funded and serves a more privileged population.