Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.A dozen parents shouted and clapped.
Students yelled "You mustn't quit!" to classmates.
Their principal told them this was their chance to deliver some positive news to the neighborhood, to change the story line from crime and shootings to learning and high achievement.
This was not your typical pep rally with pompoms and cheerleaders, held to get the school's basketball team psyched for the big game.
This was a pep rally at Miller Park Elementary School, near 28th and Ellison Avenues, in preparation for a high-stakes test.
Similar pep rallies and pizza parties will take place around the metropolitan area to get kids excited about doing their best on state tests, school officials said.
At Miller Park, children read stories they wrote about being scared on Halloween and feeling the bitterly cold winter air. Their principal high-fived them en route to the microphone, pumping up the crowd.
"How many of you know Winnie is going to score 'advanced'?" Principal Lisa Utterback asked, referring to the highest score a student can get on the state writing test.
All hands to the sky.
"Oh, yeah," she said. "That's you, Winnie!"
Teachers reminded students of lessons they had preached for months.
"What does a good beginning do?" asked Maddie Fennell, a fourth-grade teacher at the school.
"Grabs the reader," the 35 fourth-graders shouted.
Luanne Nelson, an Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman, said other schools are holding rallies or classroom events leading up to this spring's state tests. The state writing test can be administered beginning Monday, through Feb. 10.
Prairie Lane Elementary School in the Westside school district held a pizza party this month for the 20 kids who worked on a writing assignment over winter break.
In Ralston, Wildewood Elementary School held a pep rally last year and has another planned in March before the state math, reading and science tests, said Principal Joe Kilzer.
"It was just all about getting the kids excited — not just about the testing, but just about the bigger things, always trying to do your best," he said.
The emphasis on prepping children for state tests reflects their growing importance.
Performance on state tests helps determine schools' showing under the federal No Child Left Behind law. A school's reputation can ride on the tests.
Some 150,000 public school students across Nebraska will take the tests this spring.
"I want my kids to be excited about everything at school, and the fact of the matter is, testing's a part of it," Kilzer said.
At Miller Park, where 94 percent of students receive free or reduced-priced lunch, the response has been positive.
Last year, 91.7 percent of the school's fourth-graders scored proficient or better on the state writing test. That's better than both the percentage of fourth-graders in OPS who were proficient on the writing test — 81.6 percent — and the state average, 89 percent.
"It's been a priority in our building in all grades to teach the writing process," Utterback said. "Our kids know that this is their time to show what they know."
She also credited a district practice test given in late October. The test shows teachers and administrators what to work on before students take the actual test, Utterback said.
The school also dangles something extra before the students: If they score as proficient on the writing test, they receive a class trip to Golden Corral restaurant and the movies.
Those who score as advanced also receive gift cards worth up to $100 that can be used at stores such as Walmart, GameStop or J.C. Penney. Teachers set individual goals for students who might have a harder time meeting the proficiency level, Utterback said.
She said private donors provided funds for the incentives.
The intent isn't to pay students to do well, Utterback said. "We're just giving them an extra incentive to recognize and celebrate their work."
D'Andre Alvarado was confident he'd be in the money. "I use great word choice and all that stuff," he said.
The writing test is given in the fourth, eighth and 11th grades. Students write on a topic they receive on test day. Last year fourth-graders were asked to "think about a time in your life when you felt excited or nervous."
Students are expected to use the six traits of writing: ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice and conventions — the last including grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Meagan Tripp, Miller Park's other fourth-grade teacher, reminded students to go to bed by 8 p.m. the night before the test and to eat a hearty breakfast.
"You should be relaxed, because there's not a student in this room who can't ace this test," said Tripp, standing in front of the students in the school's cafeteria.
Twenty beef-and-pepperoni Godfather's pizzas were ready to be devoured.
"Boys and girls, you have one shot. One shot to do it," Utterback said. "This is your time to shine!"
Contact the writer:
402-444-1074, jonathon.braden@owh.com
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