TEA report misses gains

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December 17, 2009

County schools on underperforming list fare better today

By Bob Belcher The Corsicana Daily Sun Thu Dec 17, 2009, 08:48 AM CST

A report from the Texas Education Agency released this week listing schools it called “underperforming” leaves an inaccurate picture of two Navarro County schools that have made significant improvements in the last two years.

Both Dawson High School and Collins Middle School in Corsicana were included on the TEA’s annual Public Education Grant list. The list, a product of legislation in the 1990’s and compiled annually since 1995, lists schools that were rated Academically Unacceptable or had less than 50 percent of its students passing portions of the TAKS test during the previous three years.

Parents with students at schools that make the annual list are then given an option to have their children transferred to another school or campus in the district. Letters are sent out by the districts involved advising them of the school’s inclusion on the list.

But because the list encompasses school ratings and performance for the last three years, a school failing to meet either of the standards in 2007, yet made significant improvements in 2008 and 2009, is still listed.

Such is the case with both Navarro County schools on the list.

Dawson High School was rated by the TEA as Academically Unacceptable in 2007. However, one year later, the 2008 ratings found the campus to be Acceptable. In 2009, Dawson High School received the rating of Recognized. But because of the 2007 rating, Dawson is still listed on the Public Education Grant list.

Arvil Rotan, Dawson superintendent, said he hadn’t seen the list Wednesday but acknowledged it is somewhat misleading when it comes to telling the story of the campus.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve gone from Unacceptable to Recognized,” Rotan said. “We’ve got a lot of excitement here.”

Rotan said the hiring of a new high school principal and several new teachers helped the district raise its marks over the last two years.

“They are very excited and they’ve put that into their work,” he said. “It started with the junior high teachers and moved right on up into the high school.”

Rotan said the district had just gotten its Recognized status, along with several “Gold” performance indicators acknowledging the district’s improvements.

“That is misleading,” he said of the report.

Rotan said the high school’s performance under the leadership of new principal Amy Gibbs is making a big difference.

“The kids have really responded ... I’m just proud of them.”

CISD Superintendent Don Denbow said the Collins Middle School has also made strides after the Academically Unacceptable rating in 2008.

“(Collins) was just a couple of test scores away from being a Recognized campus this past year,” he said. “It’s an upward trend over there.”

Denbow credited efforts of Sharon McDonald and current principal LaMont Smith for the improved rating at Collins, along with a focus on improving math and science performance.

“The thing that impacts the district — both Corsicana High School and Collins — if you take math and science and improve it, then that’s going to help us become a Recognized district, and we were not far off from that last spring.

“We extended the AVID program down into the seventh and eighth grades ... its a program that encourages kids to take advanced classes,” Denbow said.

Denbow said the list includes “a lag that really impacts your perception.”

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