State announces high- and low-performing Title I schools

State announces high- and low-performing Title I schools

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SALT LAKE CITY — The highest- and lowest-performing schools with students from low-income families were announced Thursday by the Utah State Office of Education, highlighting ongoing successes and needs for improvement across the state.

This year, 326 schools in Utah are receiving Title I funding from the federal government to help offset the impacts of a low-income student population. That's up from 316 schools last year and 302 schools the year before.

As part of Utah's flexibility waiver from No Child Left Behind, state education leaders must identify struggling Title I schools and implement academic turnaround programs. The lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I schools are listed as priority schools, the next lowest 10 percent as focus schools, and the highest 15 percent as reward schools.

Portions of the list are normally generated every two or three years, but since educators have two years of SAGE data this year, the list was generated again ahead of schedule, according to Ann White, Title I coordinator at the Utah State Office of Education.

"There are some schools that were on last year's list that are no longer focus schools," White said. "What that showed us is that the efforts they were making, even for just one year, using two years of SAGE data made a difference. That's positive news. I think it's more accurate now."

Priority schools are required to implement strategies for school improvement and are eligible for both competitive school improvement grants and noncompetitive Title I school improvement grants. Schools must perform above the bottom 15 percent to exit priority status and above the bottom 25 percent to exit focus status.

Focus schools are also eligible for competitive and noncompetitive grants to implement improvement plans, which include bringing in outside help, setting measurable goals and increasing their focus on data to drive improvement.

Utah's waiver from No Child Left Behind also requires the state to identify reward schools, which achieved the highest levels of student proficiency and academic growth.

While several schools remain on the priority and focus lists from last year, several schools have shown vast improvement. Antelope Elementary in Clearfield, for example, went from being a focus school to a reward school in about five years, according to John Zurbuchen, Title I director for the Davis School District.

"It's a great process," Zurbuchen said. "The whole notion of school improvement the way (the Utah State Office of Education) has identified it has a great track record."

16 priority schools

  • Midvale Elementary in the Canyons School District.
  • Vae View Elementary in the Davis School District.
  • Granger, South Kearns and Woodrow Wilson elementaries; and West Lake Junior High in the Granite School District.
  • Tse'bii'nidzisgai Elementary; and Monument Valley and Whitehorse high schools in the San Juan School District.
  • Wendover High School in the Tooele County School District.
  • East Hollywood High, Magna's Entheos Academy, Magna Academy, Paradigm High and Pinnacle Canyon Academy charter schools.

36 focus schools

  • Milford Elementary in the Beaver School District.
  • Copperview Elementary in the Canyons School District.
  • Crestview Elementary in the Davis School District.
  • Duchense and Myton elementaries in the Duchense County School District.
  • Hillsdale, James E. Moss, Oquirrh Hills, Pioneer, Redwood, Roosevelt and Stansbury elementaries; and Granite Park Junior High from the Granite School District.
  • Cedar North Elementary from the Iron County School District.
  • Big Water Elementary from the Kane County School District.
  • Bonneville, Dee and Hillcrest elementaries; and Mound Fort Junior High in the Ogden School District.
  • Piute High School in the Piute School District.
  • Riley Elementary and Bryant Middle School from the Salt Lake City School District.
  • Bluff Elementary from the San Juan School District.
  • Eagle View Elementary from the Uintah School District.
  • Lakeview Elementary from the Weber School District.
  • Salem's American Preparatory Academy, Aristotle Academy, C.S. Lewis Academy, Gateway Preparatory Academy, Guadalupe School, Merit College Preparatory Academy, Pacific Heritage Academy, Rockwell Charter High School, Utah Connections Academy, Utah Virtual Academy and Valley Academy charter schools.

48 reward schools

  • Central and Greenwood elementaries in the Alpine School District.
  • North Park Elementary in the Box Elder School District.
  • Birch Creek, Canyon, Heritage and Millville elementaries in the Cache County School District.
  • Bruin Point Elementary in the Carbon School District.
  • Antelope and Layton elementaries in the Davis School District.
  • Escalante Valley and Parowan elementaries in the Iron County School District.
  • Mona Elementary in the Juab School District.
  • Ellis and Woodruff elementaries in the Logan School District.
  • McMillan Elementary in the Murray School District.
  • Fairview and Spring City elementaries in the North Sanpete School District.
  • Horace Mann Elementary in the Ogden School District.
  • Parley's Park Elementary in the Park City School District.
  • Provo Peaks, Spring Creek, Sunset View and Timpanogos elementaries in the Provo City School District.
  • Monticello Elementary and Monticello High School in the San Juan School District.
  • South Summit Elementary in the South Summit School District.
  • Ashley Elementary in the Uintah School District.
  • J.R. Smith Elementary in the Wasatch County School District.
  • Hurricane Elementary in the Washington County School District.
  • Loa Elementary in the Wayne School District.
  • Edith Bowen Laboratory Elementary, West Jordan's Hawthorn Academy, Itineris Early College High, North Star Academy, Salt Lake Arts Academy, Southern Utah University's Success Academy, Syracuse Arts Academy and Wasatch Peak Academy charter schools.

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Morgan Jacobsen

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