• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Schools Grade Well With the State

Posted on: Thursday, 22 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Rebecca Dellagloria, The Miami Herald

Jun. 22--In keeping with a countywide trend, schools in Northwest Miami-Dade faired as well -- or better -- as last year, according to school grades released by the state last week.

Of 38 district-run elementaries, middle, K-8 and high schools in the area, 29 received an A grade this year, up from 23 schools in 2004-05.

And of the eight charter schools in the area, all earned the same grades as the year before: The six elementary and middle schools received A's; and the two high schools -- Doral Academy and Mater Academy, in Hialeah Gardens -- earned B's.

Just four schools, American Senior, Barbara Goleman, Hialeah and Hialeah-Miami Lakes High schools received C's -- the lowest grade of any school in Northwest Miami-Dade.

"Our schools did very well in our region," said Robert Kalinsky, the administrative director for Region III, the district that includes Doral and Miami Springs. "Good teaching, good leadership makes a difference in our schools."

School grades are awarded annually, based largely on the students' scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assesment Test.

Among the highest gains made were at three Hialeah middle schools which jumped from C schools in 2005 to A schools in 2006. The improvement follows a county and statewide trend of improvement among middle schoolers, who reached reading proficiency standards in Miami-Dade this year in remarkable fashion -- jumping from 40 percent last year to 51 percent.

The principals at Hialeah, Jose Marti and Henry H. Filer Middle Schools credited incentive-based programs, after school and weekend tutorials and reduced class sizes as key reasons why their schools made such marked strides.

But for two of Hialeah's elementary schools and one in Miami Springs, the news was less cheerful. North Hialeah, Palm Lakes and Miami Springs Elementary schools all saw their A grades in '05 slip to a B in 2006. Administrators attribute the drop to a decline in learning gains, which measures improvement on the FCAT from one year to the next -- a key component in determing a school grade.

At Hialeah Middle, teachers used computer-assisted instruction traditionally geared toward elementary schoolers to reach students who scored in the lowest two achievement levels, 1 and 2, while students in the upper echelons -- scoring at a level 3, 4 and 5 -- also gained a boost by specialized instruction on Saturdays.

At Henry H. Filer Middle, Principal Luis Diaz said an incentive-based system of rewards, coupled with reading, writing and math tutorials after school and on weekends, helped keep students on track. For those who achieved perfect attendance for nine weeks, the payoff was getting to watch their favorite teachers battle on the basketball court.

Other prizes included a trip to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure and a picnic at Amelia Earhart Park.

"I think it's very important to be vocal with them and let them know what the goals were from the get-go," said Diaz, who just completed his first year as school principal. "This age group right here, you show them something at the end of the road, they are going to fight hard to get it. They're hungry."

Renaissance Elementary, a charter school in Doral, employed a similar strategy -- awarding all students who scored a level 5 on the FCATs a scooter.

Jose Enriquez, Jr., principal of Jose Marti Middle School since April, said a big chunk of the school's federal funding under Title I -- awarded to schools with a majority of students on free and reduced-price lunches -- went to hire more teachers, in turn, reducing class sizes. Many language arts and math classes at the school -- the core subjects on the FCATs -- had between 17 and 18 students, compared to as many as 30 in a normal classroom setting.

"I think that's probably the biggest contributor right there," Enriquez Jr. said.

Nearby, at Palm Lakes Elementary, the drive to excel didn't translate into FCAT scores. The school, which jumped from a B in 2003 to an A in '04 and '05, slipped back to a B grade. Region I administrator Jennifer Andreu, said the students' writing scores on the FCAT slipped this year, particularly among fourth-graders.

"For some reason, the fourth-graders did not do as well," Andreu said. "That was pretty consistent throughout Region I [which includes Hialeah and Miami Lakes] and Miami-Dade and the entire state."

The same held true for Miami Springs Elementary and North Hialeah Elementary, which was just eight points shy of maintaining its A grade.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Source: The Miami Herald

More News in this Category