Area School Districts Improve on TEA Accountability Ratings
By Tommy Mann, Jr., The Orange Leader, Texas
Aug. 3–The 2008 Accountability Ratings for school districts across the state have arrived, and it seems most area schools faired well in their efforts to improve from 2007.
The Texas Education Agency performance report uses several components of information on student performance as the basis for rating school districts and each campus within a specific district in one of four categories: exemplary, recognized, acceptable or unacceptable.
Leading the way for the five Orange County school districts are Bridge City ISD and Orangefield ISD as both school systems earned the highly coveted “Recognized” status. Deweyville ISD also earned a “Recognized” rating.
The remaining school districts, the LC-M Consolidated Independent School District, West Orange-Cove CISD and Vidor ISD, all received “Academically Acceptable” ratings.
WO-C CISD
As a whole, the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District received an “Academically Acceptable” rating for the fifth consecutive year, partly due to the low performance of West Orange-Stark Middle School which received an “Academically Unacceptable” rating for the second time in four years.
“Our one big disappointment came from our eighth graders at West Orange-Stark Middle School,” said Dr. O. Taylor Collins in a statement. “The failing rate of these students resulted in an ‘Academically Unacceptable’ rating for the school. Interventions and extra learning time will be implemented for these students as they move on to high school.”
Even with higher standards forcing students to improve scores each year, Anderson Elementary earned a “Recognized” rating for the second time in three years.
Oates Elementary received an “Acceptable” rating for the second straight year after a “No Rating” designation in 2006 due to Hurricane Rita-related issues.
The middle school rating dropped from “Acceptable” in 2006 and 2007 to “Unacceptable” this school year. It also earned an “Unacceptable” in 2005.
An “Academically Acceptable” rating was awarded to West Orange-Stark High School this year, which is an improvement over the “Unacceptable” rating from 2007. It is the fourth time in five years the campus has earned an “Acceptable” score.
“I am extremely grateful to the staff, students, and parents who worked so very fervently to improve the ratings at all of our campuses,” Collins said. “Once again thresholds of achievement were raised in the areas of reading, math, and science.”
BCISD
For the second time in three years, the Bridge City Independent School District has earned a “Recognized” rating from the state.
Hatton and Sims Elementary Schools, along with Bridge City Intermediate, all earned “Exemplary” ratings from the state, which is the highest possible rating. This is a major improvement from 2007 when each of the three campuses earned “Acceptable” ratings.
“Our teachers and students worked so hard this year,” said Gina Mannino, BCISD director of curriculum and instruction. “They gave it 400 percent. We wanted to be a ‘Recognized’ district and we did it.”
After several years of “Acceptable” ratings at Bridge City Middle School and high school, both campuses improved to “Recognized” ratings this year.
“Our teachers and students deserve so much praise for their success this year,” Mannino said. “Our goal now is to be an ‘Exemplary’ school district, and we will begin working towards that rating when school starts.”
OISD
The Orangefield Independent School District continues its trend of success as it earned a “Recognized” rating from TEA for the third straight year.
“Overall, we are real pleased with the results,” said Philip Welch, OISD superintendent. “It’s a reflection on the hard work our teachers and students put forth.”
Orangefield Elementary received its fifth straight “Recognized” rating, while Orangefield Junior High earned its third consecutive “Recognized” score. The high school earned an “Acceptable” rating for the fourth straight school year.
“We typically do really well at each grade level,” Welch said. “But there is still room for improvement. We will try to find our weak spots and strengthen those areas.”
LC-M CISD
Despite four of its six campuses achieving a “Recognized” status, the LC-M school district received an “Academically Acceptable” rating for the fifth consecutive year from TEA.
In 2007, Little Cypress Elementary earned an “Exemplary” rating, but dropped slightly in 2008 with a “Recognized” score. However, for the fifth straight year, this campus has earned a “Recognized” rating or better.
For the fourth time in five years, Mauriceville Elementary earned a “Recognized” rating, while Mauriceville Middle School received “Recognized” status for the third straight year, and, for the second consecutive year, Little Cypress Intermediate earned “Recognized” as well.
Both Little Cypress Junior and Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School earned “Academically Acceptable” ratings for the fifth and fourth consecutive years, respectively.
According to a statement from the school district, the area of greatest growth in student achievement from 2007 was in science where there was a 5 percent improvement in science scores for all students, with economically disadvantaged students improving 15 percent, and Hispanic students improving 11 percent.
Staff training is conducted throughout the year to assure teachers and other instructional staff have access to the most up-to-date educational practices and strategies available to help students achieve to their fullest potential.
“The district has systems, programs and an aligned Kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum in place,” said Kathy Finch, director of elementary curriculum and instruction. “We certainly commend the performance of our students, teachers, and parents. Our goal is to continue to provide a quality instructional program that meets the needs of all students and ensures their continuous improvement.”
DISD
The Deweyville Independent School District, located just outside of Orange County, showed significant improvement this school year as it received a “Recognized” rating after four straight years of being an “Academically Acceptable” school district.
Deweyville Elementary earned an “Academically Acceptable” rating for the second straight year, while middle school received “Recognized” status for the second year as well, but it was the high school which made major strides in 2007-2008.
After being deemed an “Unacceptable” campus in 2007, the high school is once again an “Academically Acceptable” campus for the third time in four years.
Superintendent Rick Summers was not available for comment as the district was closed on Friday.
VISD
Although Vidor ISD remains an “Academically Acceptable” school for the fifth straight year, the district has made marked improvement.
Leading the way is Oak Forest Elementary, which was declared an “Exemplary” campus by the TEA following three straight years as a “Recognized” school, while Vidor Elementary and Pine Forest Elementary each earned “Recognized” status for the fifth straight year.
Vidor Junior High and Vidor High School continued to be “Academically Acceptable” rated campuses for the third and fourth year in a row, respectively, while Vidor Middle School also earned an “Academically Acceptable” rating following three years as a “Recognized” campus.
The AIM Center High School, an alternative education facility in Vidor ISD, received the “Academically Acceptable” rating too.
“As a district, we have got to work on our science scores,” said Debbie Gier, testing coordinator. “That is what is keeping us from being a ‘Recognized’ school district. We know what the focus needs to be, and we will make that our goal for the coming year.”
Reach this reporter at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com
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