A WEEK LATER, MS. TODD IS WORKING ON A NEW SOUND WITH KATHLEENA’S READING GROUP.

Jill: /scrrr/. Alright? S, c, r, /scr/…

Jill: Good.

MS. TODD’S NEWFOUND COMFORT WITH PROJECT READ SHOWS, AND THE KIDS ARE RESPONDING.

Kathleena: “Put the scraps...”

Ms. Todd: Kathleena Lee has definitely improved… I was very concerned about her at the beginning of the year not, um, not passing.

Ms. Todd: Her fluency, her reading just all the way around has improved. I’m just super proud of her.

Ms. Todd: What are scraps? Kathleena?

Kathleena: They mean, like, pieces.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, MS. TODD HAS A SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE KIDS.

Ms. Todd: This is my last day until, well, for the end of the year.

Kids cry out

Ms. Todd: Alright, now, you know Ms. Todd’s having a baby, and it won’t be long and I’m gone have it. I’ll see you again before school is out. But I will not be back anymore full time as your teacher.

Ricky: Ms. Todd, can I get some water?

Ms. Todd: Not right this second.

Jalecia: Ms. Todd, we gonna miss you.

Ms. Todd: Well, I’m gonna miss you, too… Alright, I want, slowly, everybody to walk up here, and we'll have a big group hug. But you gotta be careful. You can’t all come runnin, pushin.

Ms. Todd: Now that it’s sort of winding down I realize, this is fixin’ to be it. I’m sad. I’m very sad. … It’s tough to think I’m fixin’ to leave ‘em – and – with somebody else.

THOUGH BEARDEN HAS KNOWN ABOUT MS. TODD’S PREGNANCY SINCE THE FALL, THERE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE MUCH OF A PLAN FOR KEEPING HER KIDS ON TRACK. FOR THE LAST MONTH OF SCHOOL, MS. TODD’S CLASS WILL BE COVERED PRIMARILY BY HER TEACHING ASSISTANT AND AN UNCERTIFIED SUBSTITUTE TEACHER.

WHEN THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL ROLLS AROUND, BOOKS PAID FOR BY THIS YEAR’S BARKSDALE GRANT ARE STILL COMING IN.

Ms. Wolfe: You know, nobody wanted them in any sooner than I did. But not at the sake of just spending the money. …We wanted to make sure that it all fit together and tied together with what we’re trying to accomplish. Teachers are very excited because everything is in gear for starting school off next year.

MS. TODD’S KIDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF IF THE BOOKS HAD SHOWN UP LAST FALL. BUT AT LEAST THEY’LL HAVE SOMETHING TO READ OVER THE SUMMER — AND THEY SEEM HUNGRY FOR THE CHANCE.

Kathleena: Ken got a hat, but the hat did not fit Ken…

SHE’S NOT READING ON GRADE LEVEL, BUT KATHLEENA AND HER CLASSMATES ARE LEAVING MS. TODD’S ROOM AS BETTER, MORE CONFIDENT READERS.

Student reading.

MS. TODD’S WORK AND THE BARKSDALE GRANT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT IMPROVEMENT. AND BEARDEN SEEMS MORE READY NOW TO TAKE ON THE JOB OF TRAINING ITS TEACHERS AND MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF EVERY CHILD. BUT SOLVING THE LITERACY PROBLEM HERE WILL TAKE MORE EFFORT, MORE MONEY, AND MORE TIME.

Claiborne Barksdale: To be optimistic, you have to also be patient, when you’re talking about a school that is as challenged as Bearden is. I think that it’s going to be at least three years before that school has the widespread change that we need to see.

THE CHANGES DIDN’T COME FAST ENOUGH TO HOLD ON TO JILL TODD, WHO NEVER GOT THE SUPPORT SHE NEEDED. WHEN THE KIDS COME BACK IN AUGUST, MS. TODD WILL BE GONE.

Jill: Teaching is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be, emotionally and physically. I never realized it would be so demanding.

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Photo Credit for Bearden Elementary: Maude Schuyler Clay
Photo Credit for Walton Elementary: Chris Hamilton