AL has nearly 1,500 public schools. 3 in Phenix City are among most improved, report says
Phenix City has three of the 25 most improved schools in Alabama, according to a state list released Thursday.
Meadowlane, Ridgecrest, and Westview elementary schools are among those honored for high performance or exemplary improvement under the Legislative School Performance Recognition Program.
The program rewards public schools based on the state report card’s grading system. To receive this designation, schools must be ranked in the top 25 for highest performance or among the 25 schools with the greatest increase in total points earned over the past two years. Alabama has 1,474 public schools.
No state report card was issued for the 2019-20 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Alabama State Department of Education used data from the 2017-18 and 2018-29 school years to determine which schools to award $5,000 for this honor.
On the 100-point scale:
- Westview improved by 16 points to reach an 85.
- Ridgecrest improved by 14 points to reach an 84.
- Meadowlane improved by 13 points to reach an 83.
“We are most proud of all our schools for showing vast improvements in student achievement,” Phenix City Schools superintendent Randy Wilkes told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “The students and staff of the three schools noted are to be commended for their outstanding performance and are encouraged to continue to improve.”
Wilkes listed the following factors as contributing to the improvement:
- Rigorous professional learning activities for teachers about instructional delivery.
- Partnerships with organizations such as the Columbus Regional Math Initiative, the Alabama Reading Initiative and the East Alabama Regional Inservice Center.
- Goal setting for students in core subjects to increase their sense of ownership about their education.
- Grade levels and departments collaborating to measure efficacy, meaning how well they teach the students..
- Inspecting what is expected, meaning not only hiring effective principals but also ensuring they are coached well.
This state recognition joins two others PCS has received for improvement the past few years:
- PCS was the state’s most improved system in 2019, when it soared from a C to an A on the report card and each of its 11 schools improved in every major category.
- Wilkes was named the Alabama Superintendent of the Year in 2018 for the school system’s improvement in multiple areas.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 11:01 AM.
