Staff report
Hurley Elementary and Carson High were among schools selected as recipients of the first STAR Awards announced this week by the Southwest Education Alliance.
The alliance is made up of superintendents from southwestern North Carolina.
Dr. Judy Grissom, superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury School System, served as chairman of the selection committee.
Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Kannapolis was also selected for the prestigious award.
The STAR program is designed to recognize schools for student success.
The first STAR Awards ceremony took place at a breakfast Monday in Concord. The superintendent from each district recognized the winning schools from his or her district.
STAR is an acronym for “Schools That Attain Results.” In most cases, these are efforts that go unrecognized or may be lost in the sea of reported coverage on mandated testing and accountability results.
“Our schools are so much more than test results,” Grissom said. “STAR awards is an opportunity to shine the light of success on schools that are progressing and moving forward in providing amazing learning environments with demonstrated student achievements.”
Hurley is a Title I school with 651 students. Hurley was recognized for high growth through the state ABCs accountability model for the 2006-07 school year, and the school improved proficiency levels for all students in the areas of reading, math and writing.
Additionally, through the use of the Positive Behavior Support model, the teachers and administrators were able to reduce discipline referrals by 60 percent from the previous school year, thus improving their daily student attendance rates.
Kim Walton, principal, Crystal Merck, curriculum coach, and Pam Brothers, School Improvement Team chairman, accepted the STAR award on behalf of Hurley.
Carson High, which opened in August 2006 with approximately 950 students, has been recognized for outstanding achievement in its charter year. For the 2006-07 school year, Carson achieved High Growth as a School of Progress for the North Carolina ABCs accountability model and the school met all its No Child Left Behind goals to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress. The school performed well above state average in most areas on its end of course test scores.
Henry Kluttz, principal, Kelly Withers, assistant principal and Michelle Shue, School Improvement Team chairman, accepted the STAR award on behalf of Carson.
Woodrow Wilson Principal David Fleischmann said being the first school in Kannapolis to receive the award is an honor.
“It indicated our strengths,” Fleischmann said, referring to the list of reasons the school received the award. “We do deal with 90 percent free and reduced lunch, but yet, we make Adequate Yearly Progress every year and we make high academic growth every year.”
The STAR program is not intended to be a competition, but rather a recognition opportunity for schools.
To be recognized for a STAR award, school districts submitted a nomination form for a qualifying school within the district. Districts with a student population of more than 20,000 students could select two schools.