Two Districts Earn State Agency’s Top Rating

They are different in number of campuses, student enrollment and employees but Canton ISD and Fruitvale ISD now share something special in common.

Based on the newest Texas Education Agency accountability ratings, both school districts are now "exemplary," the highest mark given by the TEA.

"I am proud and elated to report that Fruitvale ISD is an exemplary district," Fruitvale Superintendent Bill Boyd said in an e-mail to district employees this week. "To have cherries on top of that ‘label,’ two out of three campuses improved their rating from last year."

Hallie Randall Elementary improved one level to "exemplary" status and Fruitvale High School moved up to a "recognized" rating. Fruitvale Junior High maintained its "recognized" rating from a year ago.

The achievement comes as Boyd begins his second year as the district superintendent.

"There are a lot of people who made this happen, from the school board to principals, teachers and staff," he said. "But when you get down to it, it was our students who really stepped up and performed."

Canton ISD and three of its individual campuses earned "exemplary" ratings this year according to the Texas Education Agency Accountability Tables released Friday.

Canton High School, Canton Intermediate School and Canton Elementary School were individually rated as "exemplary."

Canton ISD Superintendent Dr. Jerome Stewart expressed his joy at the news.

"We are elated and very, very proud of our teachers and staff as well as everybody who contributed to this phenomenal success," he said.

Stewart also gave credit to the district’s school board members for their support of academics.

"We want to celebrate not only the faculty and staff who helped us achieve this, but the school board as well. The board members not only want that for us but support us in all we do to that endeavor," he said.

Canton Junior High received an "academically acceptable" rating but it was only one sub-group in TAKS passing percentages that kept it from a higher rating.

On Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) passing percentages among all grade levels, Canton students achieved "exemplary" status in all sub-groups that counted for the district except one.

However, in that one sub-group — economically disadvantaged students in the TAKS Science section — the "recognized" rating was bumped up to "exemplary" thanks to a new element in the accountability ratings this year.

Known as the Texas Projection Measure (TPM), it gives campuses and districts passing credit for a student who failed a TAKS section if that student is predicted to pass the same section in the next testing year.

The TPM came into play for Fruitvale ISD as well in the TAKS Science and Mathematics sections.

Stewart said he was happy to see that Fruitvale ISD had joined Canton ISD in the uppermost echelon of accountability ratings.

"Bill and I exchanged e-mails and writings on this…We’re all in the same business of educating and working with kids. It’s important to celebrate those successes," he said.

Martins Mill and Van earned district-wide "recognized" ratings.

In Martins Mill ISD, the elementary campus earned an "exemplary" rating while the high school came in as "recognized."

Four of Van ISD’s five campuses produced high marks this year. Rhodes Elementary and Van Intermediate School earned "exemplary" ratings while Van Middle School and Van High School reached the "recognized" level.

Wills Point ISD, Edgewood ISD and Grand Saline ISD all were rated "academically acceptable" as districts but had individual campuses with higher ratings.

Wills Point Primary School and Earnest O. Woods Intermediate School, paired together, earned "exemplary" status while the middle school, junior high and high school were all "recognized"

Edgewood’s high school, intermediate school and elementary school were all rated "recognized" as was Grand Saline Middle School.

The county’s lone charter school, Ranch Academy, received an "academically acceptable" rating.

Completion rates for the Class of 2008 and dropout data for seventh graders and eighth graders in the 2007-2008 school year were other factors in the accountability ratings.