Lean Elementary recognized for academic progress, affirming cultures

Warren Consolidated Schools’ Pearl Lean Elementary is one of five Michigan schools given Building the Hope honors by The Education Trust-Midwest last week.

Building the Hope schools are recognized for demonstrating academic progress or growth above state averages while providing an affirming culture for diverse student populations, including students of color, English learners, and students from low-income backgrounds.

Lean was chosen specifically because its students from low-income backgrounds and English learners demonstrated growth above the state average in both English Language Arts and Math for three straight years.

“We have 600 students here and 25 different languages are spoken by our students,” said Kerry Keener, Lean principal. “Thirty-five percent of our student body is of Bengali descent so we have a lot of diversity here.”

Keener said working to ensure students have the tools they need to learn as well as the social and emotional skills to be successful in and out of the classroom is a group effort that involves teachers and support staff. He commended his entire staff for its dedication and at times, doing double the work that was necessary in the past to teach and help students.

“With the English learner students, we do a lot of cultural and linguistic practices,” said Keener. “Small groups are pulled out of the classroom throughout the day so there is a lot of repetition; it is a really powerful program that has helped tremendously.”

There is also a team of Title 1 teachers that works specifically with small groups of students to help them hone math and reading skills.

The Education TrustMidwest looked at state test scores in math and ELA both pre and post-pandemic when assessing candidates for the awards. Lean Elementary student test scores improved each of the past three years in both ELA and math.

“Our kids work very hard at learning,” said Keener, who has been principal at Lean for seven years and has been in the district for 20 years. “So many kids missed key time in the classroom because of COVID and those kids have social and emotional needs that need to be met too because that goes hand-in-hand with learning.”

Lean Elementary, which is located on Girard Drive near 14 Mile and Ryan roads, received $3,500 as part of its Building the Hope award.

“We can learn so much from these schools and their educators,” said Jen DeNeal, director for policy and research at The Education Trust-Midwest . “Their successful pre-pandemic strategies can provide a roadmap, particularly as schools work to help our most underserved students who were most impacted during COVID-19 recover from the pandemic.”

The Education TrustMidwest is a data-driven education policy, research, and advocacy organization that works to close gaps in opportunity and achievement for all children, particularly those from low-income backgrounds and students of color.