Photo by Nancy Royden. Second-grade student Carmelina Lim completes work Monday morning in Sharada “Ms. Murali” Muralidharan’s class at Adelphi Elementary School in Adelphi.

Published on: Tuesday, December 15, 2009

By Nancy Royden

It took collaboration between educators, students and parents for the Adelphi Elementary School to be named a National Title I Distinguished School for the 2009-2010 school year.

“We are truly a collaborative, community school,” said kindergarten teacher Sue Siesser.

The school on Riggs Road in Adelphi includes approximately 400 students, Principal Jane Q. Ennis said.

Photo by Nancy Royden. Gracie Ennis, Riviliviyi Siliezar, Tanisha McIver, Denisse Alvarez and Yennifer Corado learn from second-grade teacher Sharada “Ms. Murali” Muralidharan.

Title I is the largest federal aid program in K-12 education. Schools use Title I funds to improve the education of all students in high poverty areas. MSDE administers Maryland’s Title I program and nominated Adelphi after a thorough review of student achievement data based on Maryland School Assessments, said MosesAlexander Greene, spokesman for Prince George’s County Schools.

Adelphi Elementary School scored the highest in Category 2 – closing the gap between student groups. The school serves a wide variety of populations, and many of the students are learning to speak English, Greene said.

In January, the school is scheduled to be honored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Association of State Title I Directors during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

“This recognition exemplifies our district’s commitment that every student will receive effective instruction regardless of where they live in Prince George’s County or the income of their families,” Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said. “I applaud Principal Ennis and the staff of Adelphi Elementary for setting high expectations for student achievement, and salute our students for engaging in the rigorous curriculum.”

Nancy S. Grasmick, state superintendent of schools, said those affiliated with the school deserve recognition for their work.

“Maryland has many outstanding students, teachers and administrators helping our schools to be nationally recognized, and Adelphi Elementary School has distinguished itself from the pack. We congratulate this school for the way its staff serves students, their families and their communities,” she said.

Reading Specialist Courtney Talmoud said the effort it took to receive the award was worth it.

“It means a lot of hard work and dedication to the school by the students, teachers and parents,” she said.

The school’s Web site includes an executive summary. In the document is information about the many opportunities parents have to become involved in their children’s education.

Some of them include a back-to-school night, American Education Week, Parent Visitation Day, a Hispanic festival, the Harlem Renaissance, an end-of-the-year awards ceremony, and other events.

Talmoud said every student at the school is given a book during the holiday season to encourage all of them to read.

In the “25 Book” campaign, all students are encourage to read 25 books or approximately 1 million words by the end of the school year, Greene said.

Nancy Sierra, an English for Speakers of Other Languages paraprofessional, said she understands what it is like to teach and learn a new language. She also speaks Spanish and Siesser said she goes the extra mile to assist students.

Siesser said Sierra truly understand the challenges of learning a new language and is a role model for the students.

“I work with kindergartners. I can see both sides as a teacher and a parent. I end up volunteering,” Sierra said.