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Making the grade
area schools dubbed 'highly performing'
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
While the St. David, Benson and Pomerene schools are exceeding standards, the two charter schools in the San Pedro Valley have also been deemed performing in the annual federal progress labels.
Both public high schools, Benson and St. David, were labeled highly performing last week. The elementary schools in the two districts also did well, with St. David deemed performing plus and Benson middle and primary schools highly performing.
Kate Mueller, superintendent for the St. David School District said, "The administrative team and the Governing Board continue to be proud of our student assessment results. It shows that our teachers believe, as we do, in a high-quality education. With this being said, there is always room for improvement. Two things that will be new to our district this coming school year will be benchmark assessments, and joining Vail on the implementation of the Beyond Textbook program."
Beyond textbooks has become a nationally recognized program started by the Vail School District that encourages teachers and administrators to consider new ways of looking at instruction, which means that rather than starting with a textbook, a teacher will look at state standards and use digital content to teach the standards in a current, effective manner. Some of those methods include the use of cameras, LCD projectors, student responders and interactive white board technology.
The Benson School District was part of the pilot program implemented by the Vail School District last year. Since the first year was successful, Vail started offering the program to other districts in the state.
"Having access to the Vail program will help teachers develop more appropriate and engaging curriculum for our students," Mueller said.
As for implementing benchmark assessments throughout the school year, Mueller said having more information on a quarterly basis instead of just annually will help bridge achievement gaps in a more timely manner.
Pomerene Elementary School is also beating state and federal standards, being labeled highly performing.
The highest mark a charter school can receive is performing, and San Pedro Valley High School, an alternative school in the Benson District, was deemed performing.
Visions Unlimited Academy and the New West Charter School, both elementary schools in the valley, also received performing marks.
A district's AYP is based on several factors. The components for evaluating schools are based on AIMS, the state-administered standardized test, scores, measure of academic progress, graduation versus dropout rates and the reclassification of English Language Learner students.
A school can receive one of six labels from failing to excelling. As a whole, Tom Horne, the Arizona schools chief, said he is pleased with the state's progress, noting that they had more schools exceeding standards than ever before.
"We have a record number of schools excelling this year, going from 17 percent in 2008, to 21 percent excelling in 2009," he said. "We also are seeing an increase in the number of schools in the performing plus designation, moving from 21 percent in 2008, to 32 percent in 2009. The AZ Learns accountability system is the best way to measure a school's performance from year to year, and gives parents a snapshot as to how their school compares with other schools around the state."
Of the 1,896 schools in the state, 19 are still failing, 50 are underperforming, 577 are performing, 608 are performing plus, 248 have been deemed highly performing and 394 schools receiving excelling labels.
Statewide schools are still on par with last year's total, where 73 percent were performing or better. This year 74 percent made the grade.
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
While the St. David, Benson and Pomerene schools are exceeding standards, the two charter schools in the San Pedro Valley have also been deemed performing in the annual federal progress labels.
Both public high schools, Benson and St. David, were labeled highly performing last week. The elementary schools in the two districts also did well, with St. David deemed performing plus and Benson middle and primary schools highly performing.
Kate Mueller, superintendent for the St. David School District said, "The administrative team and the Governing Board continue to be proud of our student assessment results. It shows that our teachers believe, as we do, in a high-quality education. With this being said, there is always room for improvement. Two things that will be new to our district this coming school year will be benchmark assessments, and joining Vail on the implementation of the Beyond Textbook program."
Beyond textbooks has become a nationally recognized program started by the Vail School District that encourages teachers and administrators to consider new ways of looking at instruction, which means that rather than starting with a textbook, a teacher will look at state standards and use digital content to teach the standards in a current, effective manner. Some of those methods include the use of cameras, LCD projectors, student responders and interactive white board technology.
The Benson School District was part of the pilot program implemented by the Vail School District last year. Since the first year was successful, Vail started offering the program to other districts in the state.
"Having access to the Vail program will help teachers develop more appropriate and engaging curriculum for our students," Mueller said.
As for implementing benchmark assessments throughout the school year, Mueller said having more information on a quarterly basis instead of just annually will help bridge achievement gaps in a more timely manner.
Pomerene Elementary School is also beating state and federal standards, being labeled highly performing.
The highest mark a charter school can receive is performing, and San Pedro Valley High School, an alternative school in the Benson District, was deemed performing.
Visions Unlimited Academy and the New West Charter School, both elementary schools in the valley, also received performing marks.
A district's AYP is based on several factors. The components for evaluating schools are based on AIMS, the state-administered standardized test, scores, measure of academic progress, graduation versus dropout rates and the reclassification of English Language Learner students.
A school can receive one of six labels from failing to excelling. As a whole, Tom Horne, the Arizona schools chief, said he is pleased with the state's progress, noting that they had more schools exceeding standards than ever before.
"We have a record number of schools excelling this year, going from 17 percent in 2008, to 21 percent excelling in 2009," he said. "We also are seeing an increase in the number of schools in the performing plus designation, moving from 21 percent in 2008, to 32 percent in 2009. The AZ Learns accountability system is the best way to measure a school's performance from year to year, and gives parents a snapshot as to how their school compares with other schools around the state."
Of the 1,896 schools in the state, 19 are still failing, 50 are underperforming, 577 are performing, 608 are performing plus, 248 have been deemed highly performing and 394 schools receiving excelling labels.
Statewide schools are still on par with last year's total, where 73 percent were performing or better. This year 74 percent made the grade.
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