By Janet Jacobs

Daily Sun



Navarro County schools continue to show educational improvements, and the proof is in the Gold Performance Acknowledgments released Thursday by the Texas Education Agency.

Gold Performance Acknowledgments are a different way to see a school’s progress other than merely using Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores. They compare TAKS scores with schools of similar size and make-up, and look at how many kids are taking Advanced Placement courses, look at attendance percentages, SAT and ACT scores, and how many kids did very well on the TAKS test.

The Gold Performance Acknowledgments aren’t like the state’s rating system, which gives schools and districts a grade such as Acceptable or Recognized, or like the federal rating system, which determines if a school meets Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). Instead, the Gold Performance Acknowledgments are a pat on the back for a job well done, and not getting one doesn’t carry any penalty.

There are 13 different categories in which a gold performance acknowledgment can be earned at the district level and 15 different categories at the campus level. Of the 1,224 districts evaluated statewide, 78 percent earned one or more gold, according to the Texas Education Agency. Among the 7,650 campuses evaluated, 79 percent of the campuses earned one or more acknowledgment, the TEA reported.

In a way, it’s more of an achievement this year to get a gold acknowledgment because the standards were toughened this year, raising the bar even higher.

Locally, Corsicana got the most gold acknowledgments this year, with 11 golds spread across five campuses. Leading the way was Navarro Elementary, which was commended in writing, science and mathematics and also earned Comparable Improvement recognition for math. Bowie received three gold acknowledgments, in math, writing and science, while Fannin was commended for science, and Drane was commended in reading and math. Sam Houston was recognized for its attendance rate.

“Every student, every parent and every teacher are working together for positive academic advancement in Corsicana ISD schools,” said CISD Superintendent Don Denbow. “We’re proud of what has been accomplished, but we have lofty goals for the future academic success of every student. The school board has generously provided the tools and positive atmosphere that allow our staff to teach and our students to learn.”

A comparable improvement gold, like the one Navarro got, measures how well the district has improved from the previous year, and compares that to the growth of 40 similar schools across Texas. The top 10 schools from the group of 40 win Comparable Improvement Gold.

Blooming Grove ISD again did well, with 10 gold performance acknowledgments this year. Blooming Grove received two gold performance acknowledgments at the district level for college readiness and English Language Arts, but the campuses also received campus gold for college readiness, English language arts, writing, science (junior high and elementary), social studies, and Comparable Improvement golds for reading and math. In 2008, Blooming Grove got seven gold acknowledgments.

“When you go from Acceptable to Recognized, you should get a few more, you have to,” said Superintendent Mike Baldree. “We’re real pleased.”

One mark that stood out from the rest was the college readiness gold performance acknowledgment, which Baldree called “a biggie for our high school and our district.”

College-readiness credits a school with having its high school juniors ready to go onto the next level of achievement.

Frost ISD received four golds in all, two district-level gold performance acknowledgments for college readiness and math, and both again at the high school.

“The college-readiness is something I’m pleased to get,” said Jim Revill, Frost superintendent.

Dawson received five gold performance acknowledgments in all, one commendation for high school writing, and three at the elementary for reading, math and science, and one comparable for elementary reading.

“We’re just improving in all areas,” said Dawson Superintendent Arvel Rotan. “When you go from Unacceptable to Recognized, that’s real progress. Things are looking good all over.”

Kerens has been shut out of the gold performance acknowledgments for several years, but this year received two — for social students at the district level and the campus level.

“We’re rocking and rolling that social studies,” said Kevin Stanford, Kerens superintendent. “A lot of it has to do with the teachers we have in place. They’re stepping up and doing a great job. They’re engaging the kids in activities and utilizing technology to make it happen.”

Mildred received eight gold performance acknowledgments this year, with three at the district level for college-readiness, English Language Arts and math, and then five campus-level golds for college-readiness, ELA and math, but also for writing. Mildred also got two golds for scoring well on the Texas Success Initiatives, which also measure college-readiness in English and math.

Rice received a district-level gold for attendance and college-readiness in math. At the campus level, it also got acknowledgments for the attendance and TSI in math, while the elementary school was acknowledged for math and science.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com.