Leaving Lofton

For
some students, Josh Lofton Academy provided what other schools did not: a
profound sense of belonging and an opportunity to change the course of their
lives. Teachers and other faculty members say the Rochester City School
District’s second smallest secondary school was a safety net for students who
struggled in a more traditional environment.

            For that very reason, Principal Dr.
Calvin Strickland Jr. says the school’s namesake would be proud of the
institution that bears his name. The late Josh Lofton, a beloved district
teacher, administrator, and counselor, was well known and respected for his
nurturing personality.

“He was a really caring individual who
looked out for the underdog,” Strickland says. “He made everyone feel special.”

            Despite that legacy, Lofton suffers
from low attendance, poor academic performance, and a dropout rate of 35
percent. The school also had to contend with a 90-percent poverty rate in
2003-2004, but was striving to combat these factors and foster an atmosphere of
academic excellence.

            However, Lofton has been on the New
York State Department of Education’s School Under Registration Review list
since 1998, and according to a feasibility study issued by Rochester City
School Superintendent Dr. Manuel Rivera, the school is in the second year of a
required redesign and is not meeting its targets or drawing students.

            As of the April 14 report, only 15
students asked to be enrolled in Lofton in 2004-2005.

            That’s not to say the students and
staff inside the old brick building on West Main Street are not saddened by the
news of Lofton’s demise.

            Strickland faces a management task
that no leader envies — guiding his flock through an emotional and physical
change.

“The middle
period is difficult,” Strickland says. “I’m still trying to maintain morale. It’s like
having somebody die. The respirator has been turned off and now you have to
deal with the death.”

            Strickland’s staff cares
passionately about its 228 students, many of whom respond in kind with love and
loyalty for their mentors. Lofton is a place where — in the past — kids
landed after chronic truancy and behavioral problems prevented them from
succeeding in other schools.

            For the past two years, the state
prohibited the district from placing students at Lofton due to disciplinary
issues, but traditionally “if you were long-term suspended, you ended up at
Lofton,” Rivera says.

            For some of these teens, attending
school in a building where everybody knows your name makes all the difference
in the world.

            “Let’s say a student went to East
High, and they had very low attendance so they were sent to Lofton,” says
careers teacher Patricia Rahill. “Here at Lofton, we are able to connect with
those students directly.”

            Due to its small size, the
cost-per-pupil at Lofton is higher than the district average, Rahill says,
making the school an attractive target for closing.

            Indeed, Rochester City School Board
Vice President Willa Powell says the two driving factors in closing Lofton were
cost and performance.

            “Lofton… has a set of costs
associated with it that can be eliminated,” Powell says. “And the bottom line
is that students assigned to Lofton are not graduating at an acceptable rate.”

            The feasibility study evaluated the
building’s age, ownership, condition, construction type, configuration, and
site limitations. Lofton’s capital renovations and long-term maintenance costs
are listed at $1.8 million. The building — juxtaposed between the Open Door
Mission and the thriving and upscale Cascade District — lacks amenities such
as a gymnasium.

            Powell points out that the first
year during which students could rank Lofton among their first, second, and
third choices for a high school, only 14 children picked the academy as their
top choice when entering ninth grade.

            “We were looking to see a jump in
enrollment, but they were not able to overcome the perception that it is a
place where students are assigned,” Powell says. “They were not able to
overcome that stigma.”

            Paraprofessional Melvina Dean agrees
with Powell.

            “I feel very strongly that we were
up against a reputation,” she says. “Around 1987, it came to be that Lofton was
a place where kids with truancy problems were sent.”

Talking to
graduating senior Randy Pringle, that stigma seems far from accurate. Pringle
came to Lofton from California as a ninth-grader and his love for the school is
palpable. When he enrolled he was failing every course, but will graduate this
month with a grade-point average of 3.37.

            “The teachers are always there to
help the students, even on Saturdays and after school,” Pringle says. “Dr.
Strickland makes it like it’s a family. It’s just very sad.”

            Pringle plans to attend Monroe
Community College this summer to study automotive repair.

            Ninth-grader Deja Burnette, 15, is
equally upset over the closing. She says she is saddened to know she will no
longer see the teachers she also described as part of her family.

            She doesn’t know which high school
she will attend next year, but her first choice is Benjamin Franklin
Educational Campus, which is divided into four “houses” to provide the benefits
of a small school inside a larger building.

            Burnette is proud of her 3.0
grade-point average and credits Lofton with helping her chose a career goal.

            “We had a career day here that made
me think a lot about what I want to do when I get older,” she explains. “I want
to be a heart surgeon because I like to help people.”

            For students like Pringle and
Burnette, Lofton means the difference between success and failure. Calling the
school a “wonderful asset,” Pringle remarks that many of his peers made a
similar transformation.

            “There are lots of students here who
made a 360-degree rotation in their lives,” he says, leaning forward in his
chair. “They are able to focus and achieve. This is a school for students who
need that special attention.”

            Pringle spoke at a pubic hearing
regarding the closing and says even the body language of school board members
made it clear a decision was made before the vote took place.

            “Board members left the room in the
middle of the function,” he says, shaking his head.

            Rahill personally worked on
alternatives to closing the school, including a new budget plan and a phased
approach to make the closing less disruptive for students.

            “I agree with Randy that their minds
were made up,” she says of the School Board, her eyes tearing up. “It’s true
that we are on the SURR List, but I think it could have been approached
differently. This is all about the money.”

Powell is not
impervious to the pain Rahill and her colleagues are experiencing. She sympathizes with
Lofton’s staff but maintains that the decision to close Lofton is fiscally
responsible.

            The district faces increasing
budgetary pressures and more school closings are on the horizon. Enrollment in
the RCSD is declining, and by 2010, the total number of students is estimated
at 26,000, a decline of 30 percent over today’s figure of 33,812. Fewer
students mean fewer schools.

            Rivera’s feasibility study also
recommended closing School 36 and relocating School 54 (currently housed in a
leased facility) to a district-owned location. These institutions got a
reprieve for 2004-2005, but Powell says teachers, administrators, and the
community should brace themselves for more difficult discussions.

            “There is more to come,” she says.
“Enrollment is dropping at an astounding rate… and next year there will be a
much louder hue and cry. When it comes to closing schools there are no
winners.”

            While Lofton will definitely cease
to exist in its current form, there is the potential for the remaining students
to stay together housed in an alternative location, Rivera says. Those plans
are not firm, but the district is investigating several options that could
allow an arrangement of that sort.

            In the meantime, Strickland’s staff
and students face the very human task of disbanding their family. There are
mundane chores to complete, like boxing unused supplies for use in other
buildings and deciding what items need to be put away in storage.

            And there are academic matters to
attend to as well, with exams to administer and awards ceremonies to plan. This
year every student gets an award, Strickland says, to honor his or her place in
the school community.

            “Instead of the last stop, [Lofton]
was becoming the first stop,” Strickland says. “This has been an opportunity
for learning and growth. I’ve told our students that they can live up to what
people think they are, or they can be who they really are, and help each other
stay the course.”

This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2004.