Local schools earn ‘Reward’ status from state
Thirty-five schools in the Shelby County Schools district earned the title of Reward Schools from the Tennessee Department of Education on Monday, including two schools that did well enough on state tests this year to be removed from the priority list.
And in the suburbs, four of the districts in their inaugural school years received an Exemplary rating for improving student performance and narrowing gaps between groups of students that traditionally do well in school and those that do not. Those four systems — Arlington, Bartlett, Germantown and Lakeland — make up one-third of the 12 districts across the state to receive Exemplary designation. Seven schools in the six suburban municipal districts also made the Reward Schools list.
A total of 170 schools in the state made the list of Reward Schools, which recognizes the top 5 percent of schools in the state for academic achievement, annual progress or both.
Nine schools statewide received recognition for both progress and proficiency, including SCS school Middle College High School.
City University Boys Preparatory school and Springdale Elementary both had one-year success rates that put them in at least the 15th percentile in the state. The priority list includes the bottom 5 percent of schools, and is released every three years. But schools can earn their way off the list early by testing in at least the
15th percentile. Springdale was also named a Reward School.
The Reward list, released annually, also provides an update on schools on the priority list that showed significant progress.
Holmes Road Elementary and Treadwell Elementary were recognized for strong growth in the last year but still remain on the priority list.
The four local municipal districts of Arlington, Bartlett, Germantown and Lakeland were also among 12 districts recognized as Exemplary for significantly improving student performance and narrowing achievement gaps.
“We believe these districts are models for our work across the state. They all face different challenges and have different best practices to share,” Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said in a statement.
SCS Superintendent Dorsey Hopson praised all 35 schools for their work and highlighted three schools in the district’s Innovation Zone — Cherokee Elementary, Douglass Elementary and Middle and Treadwell Middle — that were named Reward Schools. The i-Zone was created with extra state funding to turn around struggling schools and avoid state takeover.
“I think there certainly are different strategies, but the main focus is just on making sure every classroom has an effective teacher and every school has an effective leader,” Hopson said of the district’s push to improve.
Despite overall disappointing results in the namesake Germantown schools that remained with Shelby County in 2013, Germantown High was named a Reward School.
No Achievement School District schools made the Reward list. Seven of the 35 SCS schools that did are run by third-party charters.
Leaders in suburban districts recognized for their accomplishments praised the cooperative effort of students, parents, teachers, administrators and school board members.
Lakeland, which has only one school — Lakeland Elementary — noted its district-wide TCAP scores ranked first in the state in math and reading/ language arts and second in the state in science.
“Because our students were engaged and eager to learn, their performance on the TCAP exceeded our academic expectations,” Joretha Lockhart, Lakeland Elementary principal, said.
But even with the accomplishments, the districts recognized the status was only a one-year barometer, and a new school year starts this month.
“We recognize the need to ensure continued growth in student learning,” Bartlett Superintendent David Stephens said, while expressing his pride in the inaugural year’s work.
We believe these districts are models for our work across the state. They all face different challenges and have different best practices to share.”
Education Commissioner Candice McQueen