The story of Zavala Elementary School could easily be compared to a tale of success against all odds. Five years ago, this nearly 60-year-old school was a symbol of failure. Situated between two public housing projects in one of the toughest and poorest neighborhoods in Austin, Texas, the school consistently ranked at the bottom in terms of student achievement. The faculty was divided and constantly fought over various matters. Morale was incredibly low, with almost half of the teachers leaving for other jobs at the end of the 1990-91 school year. The task of saving Zavala seemed impossible, to the point that when the state decided to include it in an initiative for underperforming schools, some bureaucrats opposed the idea. They complained that Zavala never followed through on anything.
However, Zavala has now experienced a remarkable transformation. Test scores have significantly improved. Last year, 93% of the school’s 4th graders passed the state’s writing-proficiency test, compared to only 7% in 1991. The exodus of teachers has been stopped, and in fact, teachers now actively seek to be assigned to the school. Politicians no longer avoid the school, but rather embrace it as a model. First lady Hillary Clinton visited Zavala last summer and praised it as evidence of her belief in the importance of community support in raising children.
The story of Zavala’s turnaround is like a classic tale of overcoming adversity, with stories of determination, courage, and innovative thinking. However, there is also an important lesson about the role of money. Between 1987 and 1995, Zavala and 15 other schools in Austin received an additional $300,000 per year on top of their regular funding. This additional funding was the result of a political compromise to end forced busing in the city and was meant to help these schools educate their large populations of low-income and minority students, who were presumed to need extra support to succeed.
Most of the priority schools saw little improvement despite the extra funding. However, Zavala managed to transform itself, adding a new perspective to the ongoing debate about whether money truly matters in education. When Austin introduced its priority schools program in 1987, a significant portion of the investment was allocated to reducing class sizes. Consequently, Zavala, along with other priority schools, used the majority of its bonus funds to hire new teachers. The school also appointed a community liaison and an attendance specialist to support students whose challenging lives in the inner city often interfered with their learning. Some of the money was allocated to professional development, but because Zavala lacked a comprehensive school improvement plan, the training was chosen arbitrarily. Al Mindiz-Melton, who served as the assistant principal at the time, explains that they simply selected training opportunities based on brochures that seemed interesting.
During the initial years of the priority schools program, the additional funding had minimal impact on Zavala. When Loretta Caro became the assistant principal in 1991, she knew she was entering a school in critical condition. "My friends offered their condolences," she recalls. "Out of the 66 elementary schools in the district, Zavala had the lowest student performance." At the same time, Todd McDowell had just finished his first year of teaching science to a class of students with severe discipline issues. He describes it as a terrible experience, feeling more like a referee than a teacher.
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Discussions surrounding teaching and learning had a profound impact on the classrooms at Zavala. Cooperative learning techniques were implemented, and multiage classes were introduced so that teachers could work with the same students for two consecutive years. The staff deliberately rejected the slogan "all children can learn" and instead embraced the belief that all children can excel. They decided to adopt the state’s reading and math curriculum for gifted students and integrated special education students into the regular classroom. In order to align staff training with the school’s new focus, professional development funding was specifically allocated for cooperative learning, the new advanced reading program, inclusion, and other instructional strategies that align with the school’s mission.
The outcome of these changes was remarkable. Within a few years, Zavala underwent a transformation and experienced a renewed energy. The traditional classroom, with rows of desks, was replaced by students grouped around tables. Teachers, who had previously clashed, started working together to address the school’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, test scores steadily improved.
Even more significant changes occurred when the school took a proactive approach to secure additional funding, beyond what the priority schools program provided annually. Shortly after the critical PTA meeting in 1991, community organizers from Austin Interfaith, an interdenominational grassroots organization, began collaborating with Zavala to involve parents in the school’s planning and decision-making processes.
Staff and volunteers from Interfaith, which is a part of a statewide antipoverty group led by community organizer Ernesto Cortes, went door to door in Zavala’s neighborhood to identify parents’ primary concerns about the school. With Interfaith’s encouragement, parents started assuming key roles in determining Zavala’s priorities and strategies. More importantly, they became the school’s advocates, advocating for additional funding for Zavala’s programs at the city, district, and state levels.
This was not an easy task for many parents. "It was a lesson for all of us," says T.A. Vasquez, one of Zavala’s most involved parents. "How do you sit at a table with all these officials and not feel intimidated? You see them all dressed so nicely, and you think, ‘My clothes are not as good as theirs.’" However, fueled by their belief that more investment in the right programs would improve their children’s academic performance, parents overcame their fears. In their first battle with the city, they successfully secured funds to establish a health clinic at the school.
Darlene Westbrook, Austin’s associate superintendent for instructional support services, states that money did not drive the changes at these schools. Instead, it was the passion and dedication of the principals who believed that nothing but the best was acceptable for the students. However, the leaders themselves acknowledge that money can play a role in improving achievement when it is used strategically. They emphasize that it is not about the accumulation of money in a capitalistic society like ours, but rather how that investment is utilized.
Researchers Richard Murname and Frank Levy explain in their recent book, Teaching the New Basic Skills, that money was influential at Zavala and Ortega because these schools used the funds to revolutionize their practices. In contrast, the other 14 schools maintained the status quo. Although class sizes were reduced at all the priority schools, the teaching methods remained unchanged. The authors quote then-Austin Superintendent Terry Bishop, who describes classrooms with smaller numbers of students but with teachers still relying on outdated teaching materials.
Joe Higgs, the Austin Interfaith leader who worked closely with Zavala, points out that while money is not a cure-all, it can certainly act as a catalyst for change. Higgs believes that resources create an opportunity for stakeholders to have conversations about their vision and goals. Without these discussions, meaningful change cannot occur.
Now that Zavala has successfully overcome its challenges, the school’s leaders aspire to become one of Texas’ top-performing schools. While their scores on state achievement tests are currently comparable to those of other schools in the state, they are not satisfied with that. They believe that success leads to further success, and within a few years, they anticipate that Zavala will be recognized among the elite schools in Texas.
Principal Loretta Caro, who took over from Mr. Mindiz-Melton this year, emphasizes the importance of achieving this success. She speaks of the pride she feels when she mentions that she is the principal of Zavala, as people have begun to recognize the school’s achievements.
