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First Day at Armour School: 'The Kids Are Great'

By Casey Cora | September 2, 2014 6:22pm
 Armour Elementary School students on Tuesday, the first day of school.
Armour Elementary School students on Tuesday, the first day of school.
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DNAinfo/Casey Cora

BRIDGEPORT — Armour Elementary School principal Shelley Cordova knows the school is battling a bad reputation.

But last month, when Cordova and other teachers hosted an Open House event at the school, 950 W. 33rd Pl., the faculty put their best feet forward, a DJ pumped out tunes, teachers served up 300 hot dogs and the whole event seemed to generate some real interest from neighborhood parents.

"We're dealing with a history, a dynamic, that's been going on with gang issues on Morgan Street. We've got this reputation and we're trying to change it. Last year we didn't have any gang issues. The disciplinary actions were minor. There were no drugs and no weapons," said Cordova, who's embarking on her 12th year as Armour principal.

"Every year is a challenge but the kids are great. This year in particular should be even better," she said.

As the first school day wrapped up on Tuesday, Cordova expanded on some of the challenges that lie ahead.

The school's budget was cut last year by about $415,000, resulting in a loss of teaching jobs. This year, Cordova is pressing on without an assistant principal but is expected to keep cuts from the classroom.

And right now, it's unclear if the state will award another grant to the nearby CYC Fellowship House, which for years hosted popular after-school programs and meals for about 100 Armour students.

Meanwhile, the school district's forthcoming academic performance ratings loom large.

Cordova's hoping test scores will show her students are battling back from last year's rating as a Level 3 school, meaning it was put on probation by the district.

But while there are challenges, Cordova also sees a number of victories.

This year, Armour teachers have been trained in a new leadership program that's expected to funnel into the classroom, they'll participate in a rigorous reading and writing workshops and get more Common Core training — the school was among the first in the city to adopt the new academic curriculum in 2012, so school leaders feel they have a big head start.

"That's the whole joy to teaching, constantly improving your practice," she said.

Soon, all of the school's classrooms will have air conditioning.

And if just a few more students enroll in kindergarten, Cordova can split the group into two smaller classrooms — a move that would give each classroom fewer than 20 students each.

"Those are private school numbers," she said.

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