An Audio and Photo Story By Elaina James
Elaina James
Every person who enters Lingerfeldt Elementary School in Gastonia is greeted by a bright red marquee– “LINGERFELDT IS THE BEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NORTH CAROLINA.”
Elaina James
The school, however, is failing. The N.C. Public School Report Cards who issued an F for the 2022-2023 school year. The school hasn’t received higher than a D since the grades were first issued. Lingerfeldt is one of more than 800 schools the state DPI has designated “low performing.”
Dr. Ethan Hutt is an associate professor in the School of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. His research is in school metrics, including this grading system.
Ethan Hutt
“In the abstract, it’s good to say, like, that we want schools to be really honest with themselves about where their kids stand and have conversations about how to get students to get to where we want them to get to.”
Elaina James
New principal Gary Coke says the grade isn’t a fair reflection of his students and staff.
It’s his first year as a principal, and he has made it his goal to get Lingerfeldt out of low-performing status. Coke is determined to, as he describes, “narrate the positives,” speaking words to existence through sharing his mantra twice a day on the announcements.
Coke has worked in the county as both a teacher and a vice principal.
Gary Coke
“The beauty about being a principal is this: When you’re a teacher, you’re assigned to 100 students. As an assistant principal, perhaps I was assigned to 200 students and responsible for 200 students. When you are a principal — I get to change the lives of all the students.”
Elaina James
Coke is rarely in his office, preferring to make his daily rounds, giving fist bumps and offering encouragement.
Gary Coke
“It gives me the opportunity to just walk the building and see the smiles on their faces knowing that I’m making a difference in their lives.”
Elaina James
Mr. Coke’s commitment to Lingerfeldt’s students isn’t enough to overcome the real challenges . A high percentage of the students are economically disadvantaged, so the school receives additional federal funding to help close achievement gaps.
Angie Molla’s, the new vice principal, says the students face challenges related to their environment.
Angie Molla
“Poverty is stressful and so that bleeds into everything else.”
Elaina James
Morgan Cassady is one of Lingerfeldt’s two counselors. She teaches social-emotional learning classes.
Morgan Cassady
“What they don’t really understand is happening to them is this a lot of anxiety, it’s a lot of acting out because they don’t know what to do or how to handle their emotions.”
Elaina James
She says the school offers a clothing closet, hygiene kits and an on sight washer and dryer for students who might be wearing dirty clothing.
Lingerfeldt has struggled with retaining teachers through the years. Molla said that limited funding makes it difficult to increase teacher salaries, leaving teachers nationwide to feel like their salary isn’t worth the stress
Ethan Hutt
“There’s like a reputational harm, and there’s certainly a psychic harm…And then they go home and people Google their school, and they’re like, well, that school is an F.”
Elaina James
80% of the school grade is determined by proficiency, or meeting state mandated performance standards, while 20% is determined by school growth, or how much students excel in a given year.
Gary Coke
“Success doesn’t mean you may earn 100% on an assessment, but success could simply means today you earn a zero the following day, you’re gonna get a point five, next day 1% Next day 2%.”
Elaina James
Coke will keep narrating the positives, and Katrina Ashleman, a content teacher, says the students are feeling it too.
Katrina Ashleman
“Ask any student in our building. They have no idea that we are an ‘F’ school. You ask any student in our building — we are the best elementary school in the state of North Carolina.”
Elaina James
I’m Elaina James, reporting.
The marquee outside of Lingerfeldt Elementary School. Principal Gary Coke hung the words “Lingerfeldt Is The Best Elementary School In North Carolina” on his first day in the building.
Gary Coke working in his office. He makes a list for the custodians about which parts of campus need attention.
Outside the front entrance of Lingerfeldt Elementary School.
Principal Gary Coke delivering the afternoon announcements.
Principal Gary Coke performs his “daily work out” of dancing the “Body Bop” with Rita Evans’ pre-kindergarten class.
In the content teachers’ office, every student is placed in a color zone indicating their proficiency level in reading and math: red for not proficient, yellow for “bubble kids” on the cusp of proficiency and green for students proficient or exceeding proficiency.
Principal Coke gives a “fist bump” to a student in Sharon Williams’ kindergarten class.
Encouraging signs label each hallway.
Principal Gary Coke makes his daily rounds through a kindergarten class.
Students’ artwork decorates the halls of Lingerfeldt Elementary School.
Sharon Williams teaching a lesson to her kindergarten class.
Molly Burch, Taylor Calabro, Gary Coke, Morgan Cassady, and Angie Molla pose with members of Hope For Gaston, one of Lingerfeldt’s community partners, who donated socks to the school.
A letter from a student hangs in Principal Gary Coke’s Office.
Principal Gary Coke poses outside the school rock, newly painted by art teacher Erin Hirst . The rock bears one of his favorite words of endearment–“rockstar.”
Outside of the front office, this is the first thing students, staff and parents see upon entering the building.
