The crowds of educators begin arriving at Fullerton Elementary School each December, just after the results of Maryland's state exams are announced.

They line up elbow-to-elbow along the edges of Fullerton's classrooms, straining to discover the secrets of the school's success on the high-level exams given every spring to all third-, fifth- and eighth-graders.

Now, as the school continues to earn acclaim for its improving test scores, Fullerton teachers are stepping outside the classroom to pass along their message to other Baltimore County educators.

This week -- in the latest of four presentations this winter -- more than 50 middle school teachers from the county's northeast area gathered at Middle River Middle School to hear advice from four Fullerton teachers on how to improve achievement on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program.

"It's just plain hard work," said fourth-grade teacher Janie Kordish, who has been teaching at Fullerton for 12 years. "Working as a team really does help."

Altogether, Fullerton's schoolwide MSPAP score has improved 34.5 percentage points in the last five years, one of the largest gains in Maryland. The school won $31,000 from the state this year for its improvements, the third straight year it won such an award.

"They're not working any longer or any harder than other teachers. The kids aren't any different," said Julie Szymaszek, the director of elementary schools in Baltimore County's northeast. "But they've clearly found some things to be successful, so we decided to encourage them to start sharing their best practices with others."

Fullerton has benefited from teamwork more than most schools. At a time when many Baltimore County schools are struggling with high teacher turnover, many on the Fullerton staff have remained at the school for a decade or more.

Kordish and two other teachers -- Lillian Eubanks and Judy Meinhardt -- have been teaching the same grade together for nine years. With an "open classroom" structure that doesn't have separating walls, they've had to work together closely.

The three taught third grade at Fullerton until this fall, when they decided to keep their classes intact and move with their children to fourth grade -- an education practice known as "looping."

They're planning to return to third grade next fall and pass their children along to such fifth-grade teachers as Carla Harner, a 10-year veteran who joined them in making the presentation.

"We do everything together," says Eubanks. "We even try to take the same courses together."

Last year, after the school's social studies scores didn't rise much, the teachers took a geography class -- and third-grade scores in that category rose 11 percentage points. The year before, the teachers took a class to improve their reading instruction.

Such continuity -- particularly having three experienced teachers working on the same grade together for nine years -- is rare, county educators said. "It's unique in my educational career," said Principal Kathy McMahon, who came to Fullerton last fall.

Fullerton's enrollment of 500 students has half the county average of low-income families, and its minority enrollment of 12 percent is about a third the county average of 35 percent.

Still, with its pupils coming from working-class neighborhoods of Overlea, the school's top performance was by no means guaranteed. It joined far more affluent schools in being one of only 23 in Maryland in which 70 percent of third-graders scored satisfactory in all categories in 1998.

"They're so enthusiastic and they're doing so many great things that it's worth sharing with every school," said Szymaszek.

Despite a few cases of nerves -- "We're not used to talking to people older than 9," jokes Meinhardt -- they've developed a 90-minute presentation that has received strong reviews from all who have seen it.

They mix helpful tips to ensure students are prepared for the MSPAP with practical adjustments on how teachers can improve their instruction. They also take their class of teachers through several hands-on lessons they've developed at the school.

"We live by the 'R's," Meinhardt tells the teachers. "Repeat. Review. Reteach. Revisit."

When it comes to answering any questions, Kordish advises teachers to take the philosophy that their students should write everything. "If they can't write it, they don't know it," Kordish said.

Fullerton teachers learned not to be afraid to ask outside administrators to visit their school -- and then weren't bashful asking them questions. "Pick the brains of the people who write the test," Harner said.

When the MSPAP exams began in the early 1990s, Fullerton students -- like those at many other schools -- cried as they struggled through the problems. Now, the crying is done.

"Last spring, some kids said the test was easier than what we do in class," said Harner. "That's kind of the point. We want them to be able to do more."

Pub Date: 3/06/99