Hartsfield gets new magnet status, on its way to become an International Baccalaureate school
Leon County Schools has a new magnet program.
Hartsfield Elementary School is now Hartsfield Magnet School for International Studies and is in the certification process to become an official International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) Candidate program.
If approved, the elementary school will become a pipeline to the IB Middle Years Programme at Fairview Middle School and the IB Diploma Programme at Rickards High School.
"It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on our most vulnerable students," said Hartsfield principal Rhonda Blackwell-Flanagan. "The PYP encourages students to be inquirers and agents of their own learning."
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Hartsfield, a Title I school, is located in the Indianhead Acres neighborhood. Title I designation means the school receives federal assistance because at least 40% of students are considered low-income.
"For families in the neighborhoods surrounding the school, we hope that the IB program and the rigorous curriculum offered, will serve as a pathway and magnet for students to attend their neighborhood school," Blackwell-Flanagan said.
In recent years, many students who were zoned for Hartsfield and lived in the neighborhood moved to charter schools and home school, said Rosanne Wood, school board member for District 2.
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She believes the certification will be transformational for students and for the surrounding community.
"We have all the ingredients at Hartsfield. We have a nice campus, we have very enthusiastic teachers and leadership. It's a certified eco-school. They use conscious discipline."
The neighborhood is supportive of Hartsfield, Wood said.
"As younger families are moving into the neighborhood, we are hoping they check out Hartsfield for the incredible family environment that they offer."
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Hartsfield received a D grade for the 2021-2022 school year, one letter grade down from 2018-2019. There were no school grades in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school applied for the IB PYP in 2019 and were approved for candidacy in January of 2020.
The school began implementing the curriculum in the latter months of the 2021-2022 school year, and Blackwell-Flanagan said she has already seen a difference in her students.
"Our learners were excited about school again and having fun," she said.
Contact Ana Goñi-Lessan at AGoniLessan@tallahassee.com and follow her on Twitter @goni_lessan.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hartsfield gets new magnet status, on its way to become an IB school
