City Schools Make Grade
The Daily Sentinel
Published August 7, 2008
Scottsboro City Schools successfully achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) again this year. System-wide, Scottsboro City Schools met all of its 21 goals.
"We are so pleased with the way our test scores came out at each school," said Dr. Judy Berry, Superintendent of Scottsboro City Schools. "This is a great report, and we are very proud of it."
Berry said no school in the Scottsboro system has been placed in "school improvement" in the five years that AYP results have been calculated.
With the exception of one category, all of the system's schools met every AYP goal set forth by the state as part of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The only area not met was in the graduation rate at Scottsboro High School.
Data for the graduation rate is based on the Class of 2009, when they were juniors last year, according to Dale Hancock, principal of Scottsboro High School. Criteria for AYP is taken from the graduation exam's reading and math portions, which is taken during a student's junior year. Scottsboro High School students met all of their academic goals.
Hancock said the graduation rate is problematic because of the way it is calculated. The high school had a goal of 90 percent graduation. They met 85 percent, but it was down from last year's rate of 86 percent. In order to meet the goal, a school must show improvement in the graduation rate. The graduation rate is based on the number of students in the freshman class and follows them through school. It penalizes schools for all students who move without notification, drop out of high school to obtain a GED or receive a certificate of completion instead of a diploma.
"The graduation rate is a problem state-wide, and it can be an opportunity to see what we can do better," Hancock said. "We are implementing programs to improve the graduation rate."
The high school held its first summer school in several years with a credit recovery program. The legislative delegation gave the school a grant to buy software to assess students and assign an individual academic program based on skill mastery. The program allows students to retake just the portions of a test that they have not mastered in order to obtain their credits for a class.
Using the software in summer school enabled three students to graduate, Hancock said.
Hancock said high school staff is also trying to make the transition from junior high to high school easier for students with counseling sessions, parent meetings and Camp Wildcat orientation.
Hancock said they will also be implementing freshman classes for those eighth-graders who may have been struggling with a subject.
"I would rather give them a credit in these electives than throw them into a class and watch them burn," Hancock said.
The First Steps program, which provides a daycare setting at the high school for students with babies, is another way to help students stay in school.
Scottsboro High School also works with the Earnest Pruett Center of Technology to encourage students who may be more technically inclined to receive training for a career after high school.
Although the high school did not meet AYP in the graduation rate area, the school will not be in "school improvement" this year. It takes two years of not meeting AYP in a specific category to put a school into that classification.
Scottsboro Junior High School and all four elementary schools met all of their goals.
The junior high met 13 of 13 goals, and all students participated in the testing.
"Our teachers are second to none," said SJHS principal Hal Luse.
Luse said the school saw a large increase in its eighth grade Stanford Achievement scores.
"Each year it seems like our teachers get better," Luse said.
Luse said the teachers try to look at each students coming into the junior high and try to assist those who may be behind in skills.
Collins Elementary School also met each of its 13 goals with almost complete participation of all students. Collins Principal Lisa Duncan said the school has an incentive program to encourage students to attend on test days. If they are present for the test, they are able to participate in Fun Friday that week.
Duncan said teachers began setting goals for each student as soon as school began, selecting activities and strategies to help each student meet his or her goal. Collins uses ThinkLink software as a predictive assessment to pinpoint weaknesses and develop practice probes for students struggling with a skill.
Collins also encourages parental involvement.
"We try to keep parents informed and communicate," Duncan said.
Brownwood Elementary School met all of its 13 goals. Brownwood Principal Alan Petty said he is proud of the teachers, students and parents for achieving this goal.
"We are really proud of everyone and their efforts to achieve AYP each year.
Caldwell Elementary also met all of its 13 goals.
This speaks to the instructional skills of our teachers, the performance ability of our students and the cooperation and support of the parents," said Caldwell Principal Buddy Holt.
Holt said he was especially pleased that 100 percent of the student at Caldwell were tested.
"It is very satisfying to know that our school made the effort to test every child," Holt said.
Carla Kimball, Nelson Elementary School Principal, said her school met all nine of its goals. Since Nelson has fewer students, they had fewer goals to meet.
Nelson students scored very well on the reading and math tests, as did all elementary schools.
"Alabama Reading Initiative, small group instruction, Response to Interventions and programs to assist in targeted skills areas with sustained teacher support have all helped achieve this success in student learning at Nelson," Kimball said.
AYP records results for all students in grades 3-5, 6-8 and 11, according to Alan Garner, Director for Students Assessments for Scottsboro City Schools.
Garner said the graduation rate requirement is a struggle for all schools to meet.
"Graduation rate is a state-wide problem," Garner said. "The way we address it is a city-wide problem. It takes everyone in the city emphasizing the importance of a high school diploma."
Berry said No Child Left Behind has set a goal of having 100 percent of all students in the nation performing at proficiency level in math and reading and a 100 percent graduation rate by the year 2014.
"Every year it is harder for a school system to make AYP in any grade or category because they keep raising the bar every year," Berry said.
Berry said Scottsboro City Schools are very proud of their AYP scores, but that is not the main focus.
"We all are concerned about test scores and try really hard to make AYP on every goal in every school," Berry said. "However, as important as test score results are, they are not this school system's primary objective. Our primary objective is to provide classes, courses and educational experiences that will give all of our students a bright future. Test scores only reflect a part of the learning that is taking place in our school system."