Students, teachers and faculty members at Alfred I. duPont Middle School have a lot to smile about these days. Out of Duval County’s 28 middle schools, duPont achieved the highest academic point gain of all the “A” middle schools.
duPont’s outstanding success this year is the combination of several factors: a highly professional, dedicated staff of experienced teachers (the teaching staff has an average experience level of 15 years, and one-third of them have taught at duPont for the past 10 years), as well as motivated students and the addition of a new principal, Mrs. Teresa Mowbray.
When Mrs. Mowbray became the principal, her number one priority was to create an environment where all students can be successful.
She began the year by making several modifications at the school, including removing school bells, having teachers escort students to class and implementing two waves of buses during the afternoon pickup to eliminate excessive congestion in the street.
These changes resulted in an overall decrease of referrals by 37 percent.
As discipline problems decreased, academic achievement increased. The school experienced a 36 academic point gain in its FCAT score, accelerating from 500 to 536 points. Additionally, the school’s seventh-grade math scores experienced the most growth in the entire district.
Mrs. Mowbray credits the increase in student achievement to some of the following changes: a master schedule was designed to meet the individual academic needs of each student; more advanced classes were offered; and students needing additional assistance participated in innovative programs such as Read 180, Compass Odyssey, Fast ForWord, Team Up, Saturday School and a specialized program for overage students.
These changes have resulted in an increase in reading performance, more honor roll students and a reduction of the retention rate to 2 percent.
In addition to the outstanding academic achievement, several other exciting things have occurred at
duPont.
- The seventh- and eighth-grade boys’ basketball teams won district championships.
- The Recyclers At DuPont (RAD) Club was honored at the Mayor’s Environmental Luncheon for beautifying duPont’s campus.
- The school received a $5,000 matching grant from the duPont Foundation to purchase handbells, and will begin the first handbell public school program in Duval County this fall.
- The Chartrand Foundation selected duPont to receive a $10,000 grant for the Emotional Behavior Disorder student incentive program.
- The school was awarded a $3,000 grant for the Resiliency Skills Development Overage Program, which has resulted in 100 percent of the participating students moving on to high school.
- Winn Dixie donated $2,500 to be used for student incentives.
Students at duPont Middle School have definitely “Accelerated to Excellence” and will work even harder this upcoming year to “Achieve Academic Altitudes” as they continue to make their principal, teachers, parents and surrounding community proud.
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