Morgantown Elementary School has a little something to brag on. Only eight third-graders failed the math portion of the Mississippi Curriculum Test last year. In second-grade, only 1.5 percent of the students received the minimal mark on the test.

Those numbers, the lowest in the district, are something Principal Fred Marsalis is proud of. But that’s only one side of the coin.

&uot;The problems are at the upper grade levels,&uot; Marsalis said. &uot;We did not do our job on the upper end.&uot;

The higher number of failures in the upper grades in math, reading and language is not something Marsalis fears his school cannot overcome, though.

&uot;We try to reach back and get them,&uot; Marsalis said of the failing students. &uot;We are reevaluating the children who failed and number 1 referring them to the Boys and Girls Club.&uot;

The Morgantown branch of the club has eight teachers who work in the afternoons as tutors. The club has 160 members who receive extra homework help and spend time reviewing key MCT skills.

In the classroom each teacher is using an MCT coach book to create regular assignments to make sure the students are familiar with the test format, Assistant Principal Glendora Alexander-Muhammad said.

Teachers are required to write nine-weeks tests in the MCT format.

&uot;One of the biggest things we found out works is having children aware of how to take a standardized test,&uot; Marsalis said.

School-wide, administrators are pushing teachers to teach math using hands-on materials and integrate math into all courses.

&uot;We are really incorporating differentiated learning with the kids,&uot; Assistant Principal Vera Dunmore said. &uot;We are promoting grouping and cooperative learning. In some of what they are doing other students assist, according to ability,&uot;

Marsalis said he was also concerned about the reading comprehension level of the students.

&uot;We are preaching standing upon the reading,&uot; Marsalis said. &uot;We have to get our kids comprehending what they read.&uot;

To boost comprehension Morgantown has invited community members to come into the school and read to a class, and the school hosts a monthly family reading night.

Students are also creating storyboards for the books they read outlining the plot and characters of the story, Curriculum Coordinator Barbara Crenshaw said.

The Morgantown parent center offers ideas to encourage reading and reviews test taking skills with the parents. This year, in an attempt to get more parents involved, school administrators and teachers have gone to three different neighborhoods for a community night.

In addition to becoming part of the outside community, Marsalis said he believes it is key building-level administrators spend time in the hallways and classrooms.

&uot;Students and administrators have to collaborate,&uot; Marsalis said. &uot;You have to let them know who you are and that we are here for them. Let them know we live and breath just like them.&uot;

Marsalis said having administrators in the classrooms helps lessen discipline problems because the students are starting to respect authority.

The positive changes in the student body are things the administrators want to reward, Marsalis said.

&uot;We talk a lot about the negatives, but we never accent the positives,&uot; he said. &uot;We are forming committees to recognize students weekly for their accomplishments.&uot;

Muhammad said the school has also been doing a good job recognizing teachers to let them know they are appreciated.

The school is providing a series of six professional development workshops to guide teachers on classroom management and is working to restructure the daily schedule in the upper grades.

&uot;Just give us a little time,&uot; said Marsalis, who is in his second year at Morgantown. &uot;It’s going to be all right.&uot;