Maryo Beck said he was a part of the team that transformed Orchard Knob Middle School from its low-performing status to a school in good standing with the state in 1999.
And he’s convinced he can do it again.
“We’re reprogramming ourselves to get better,” said Mr. Beck, principal of Orchard Knob Middle. “I just believe we can do it.”
The 34-year-old educator and father of two said he’s already started moving toward improvement. He’s at Orchard Knob because he chooses to be, he said.
School board member George Ricks is among several residents who support his efforts.
“His heart is in it, and that’s what it takes,” Mr. Ricks said.
Mr. Beck was a teacher at Orchard Knob Middle in 1999, when the school’s Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores were in the single digits, said Reuben Justice, an education consultant and former principal of the school from 2000 to 2006.
Mr. Beck was a part of the team that turned the school around. Within five years, students at the school had improved test scores and had one of the top attendance rates in the county, Mr. Justice said.
“I’ve said to him the same strategy that worked then will work now,” he said.
work to be done
But Mr. Beck faces an uphill battle.
Some parents have said he doesn’t take time to talk with them about their concerns and he’s not as concerned about students as he should be.
Mr. Beck said he spends most of his time in classrooms and in the halls talking with students.
“I feel like that is where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
If parents want to speak with him, he asks that they make an appointment. Parent participation in the school is improving, he said, but there are other challenges.
Orchard Knob Middle students don’t have take-home textbooks to study and, even if they did, they’d have to carry them from class to class through the day because they have no lockers.
Mr. Beck said not having textbooks isn’t so bad because teachers are able to supplement education with online resources.
But not having enough textbooks and being a school performing below state standards gives critics ammunition, Mr. Justice said.
test scores
About one-third of the 475 students attending the school are at least one to two years behind in reading, according to state tests.
Sixty-six percent of students score proficient or advanced in language arts and about 67 percent in math on standardized tests, Mr. Beck said.
The state standard is 86 percent in language arts and 83 percent in math.
Mr. Beck said he was aware of the figures before he came to Orchard Knob, but believes he can raise those scores. The goal is to increase state test scores by 10 percent each year, he said.
He’ll start by working to get all students up to grade level on reading, he said.
Maryo Beck* Age: 34* Position: Principal at Orchard Knob Middle School* Family: Wife Angela; and two boys, ages 17 and 10* Experience: Teacher at Orchard Knob Middle School from 1999 to 2005; assistant principal of Howard Middle School from 2005 to 2008; principal of Orchard Knob Middle School since 2008-09 school year* Education: Bachelor’s degree in secondary math from UTC in 1998; master’s degree in instructional leadership from Tennessee Tech in 2004.
“Our main goal is to increase reading comprehension,” Mr. Beck said. “If they can’t read, they can’t even do math because so much of math is comprehension.”
He implemented Fast Forward, a computer program to improve reading comprehension by strengthening brain processing and literacy skills.
Stabilizing his staff is another priority, he said. He wants to take the school’s teacher turnover rate from its current level of 30 to 40 percent to about 10 percent, if not lower, he said.
Adding to the turnover problem is that several experienced teachers also have retired since he became principal, he said.
He said he meets weekly with teachers to hear their concerns and plans for their classes.
School Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales said he believes in Mr. Beck’s ability to move the school forward.
“He has the knowledge. He has the dedication,” Dr. Scales said. “We support Mr. Beck and we want him to provide leadership there.”