By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
Twenty-one of the Rowan-Salisbury School System’s 35 schools met or exceeded expected growth during the 2011-12 school year, according to the ABCs of Public Education accountability report released Thursday by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
That’s down from last year when 23 schools met such goals.
The trend was the same for the Kannapolis City school system, which had five of its 8 schools meet targets, down from six the previous year.
This year’s report uses Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO), replacing Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which has been dubbed an “all or nothing” accountability model.
The new measure sets proficiency targets for each student subgroup rather than having one target for all subgroups.
Subgroups include Asian, black, Hispanic, multiracial, white, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient and students with disabilities.
Ellen Boyd, spokeswoman for Kannapolis, said there aren’t that many differences between the two standards.
“(AMO) has a more realistic expectation for each subgroup,” she said.
The goal of the AMO model is to reduce the percentage of non-proficient students by one-half within six years. Under AYP, the goal was to have 100 percent of students proficient by 2014.
“Everybody realized the all or nothing AYP was an unrealistic goal,” Boyd said.
The ABCs report is based on reading and math end-of-grade tests in third through eighth grades; science tests in grades five and eight; and end-of-course tests in English I, Algebra I and Biology. Cohort graduation rates are also factored in.
A closer look
Under the new standards, Knox Middle School will no longer be categorized as a low-performing school. Instead, the school becomes one Rowan-Salisbury’s six priority schools.
Koontz, North Rowan and Isenberg elementary schools along with North Rowan middle and high will also take on priority designation.
Priority schools have less than a 60 percent performance composite, the percentage of students who were proficient in all tested subjects.
Koontz Principal Rick Dunlap said his school plans to beef up its reading curriculum in lower grades so that when students get to third grade they can focus on comprehension.
The school will use a phonetic-based system called Fundations to do that.
“A big push is to get moving on those foundational skills early, so when kids get into the upper grades they’re not so far behind,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap said the school will also utilize an approach called Responsiveness to Instruction to target areas where students might need specific help.
“All of our students get assessed three times a year, but students who are struggling get assessed a little more often to see how the interventions are helping them grow,” he said.
When it comes to math, Dunlap said the focus will be on making sure children understand number sense before moving on to problem solving. Manipulatives can be used to help kids tackle that concept.
“The biggest thing I want people to know is that the staff here at Koontz recognizes this was a setback year for us because we had shown progress in the previous three years,” he said. “It’s been an eye-opener and we’re really working hard. The folks here love the kids and want them to be successful.”
Marvin Moore, who took over at as principal at Isenberg in April, said his staff will focus on engagement through technology to help get achievement scores up.
The school will also launch a reading program based on phonics and comprehension.
“For math, we’re implementing different programs coming up this year that will do a much better job at moving kids along at their pace,” he said.
Like Dunlap, Moore said he has a “really hardworking staff” that’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure students succeed.
And he plans to continue tapping into resources from the community that provide mentors and tutors to help struggling students.
Schools of progress
China Grove, Hanford Dole, Knollwood, Rockwell, Shive and Woodleaf elementary schools; China Grove, Erwin and West Rowan middle schools; and Salisbury and South Rowan high schools have been labeled schools of progress.
That means they did not meet expected growth, but they have a performance composite of at least 60 percent.
Kannapolis’ Forest Park, Jackson Park and Shady Brook elementary schools along with Kannapolis Middle are also schools of progress.
On the flip side, Bostian, Cleveland, Enochville, Faith and Millbridge elementary schools, as well as Carson and East Rowan High have been dubbed schools of distinction.
Those schools met expected growth and had a performance composite between 80 and 89 percent.
Eight Rowan-Salisbury and three Kannapolis schools met 100 percent of their AMOs.
They include Bostian, Cleveland, Millbridge, Forest Park and Jackson Park elementary schools as well as Carson, East Rowan, North Rowan, Henderson, Rowan County Early College and A.L. Brown.
The Early College has achieved the highest level of recognition by being named an Honor School of Excellence. That means the schools met all designated AMO targets and expected growth as well as having at least 90 percent performance composite.
Principal Cindy Misenheimer said the small class sizes at the school allow teachers to work more closely with students to ensure they excel.
She said the success of the school relies on three Rs — rigor, relationships and relevance.
“You can’t discredit those things,” she said. “It’s been working and we’ll continue to do whatever it takes to make our students successful. It’s all about expectations, people become what you think they are.”
What’s next
Rowan-Salisbury officials said the extra staffing, technology, resources and professional support put into Knox Middle have helped the student achievement there. The school also took on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) status last year.
According to a press release, the school system plans to continue making strides by introducing district-wide lesson plan templates to go long with the new common core standards.
There has also been a district-wide push for early reading skills and more formative assessments to catch struggling students early.
Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom was out of the office Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
Kannapolis Superintendent Dr. Pam Cain said even though the district met a high percentage of AMOs, there is still room for improvement.
“It is important for us to improve our proficiency levels and for all our schools to make growth,” she said in a press release. “I know we will do that.”
Cain said teachers have been doing an “outstanding job” preparing for the new common core standards.
“They are ready to deliver higher level instruction at all schools,” she said. “We also have taken steps to make sure our teacher assistants spend all day in the classroom without having to drive buses.”
Thursday’s ABC report is the 15th and final of its kind. The state will roll out a new accountably model that will better measure career and college readiness next year.