Two Cove schools named Reward Title I schools
AUSTIN—The Texas Education Agency announced the names of more than 400 Title I Federal Reward Schools on its high-performing and/or high-progress list for the 2014-15 school year and two Copperas Cove Schools are on the list.
A high-performance reward school is a Title I school with distinctions based on reading and math performance. A high progress school is a Title I school in the top 25 percent in annual improvement and/or a school in the top 25 percent of those demonstrating ability to close performance gaps.
Both Martin Walker Elementary and Mae Stevens Elementary—which has now been converted to a premier pre-kindergarten facility--were selected for having demonstrated and successfully impacted reading and math performance. Martin Walker Elementary under the leadership of Principal Amanda Crawley was selected in two areas, both as a high-performing school and as a high-progress school.
“Due to the efforts of this team of teachers and staff who worked long hours and gave tirelessly of their time and resources to help us achieve these honors, the students learned so much and were able to demonstrate their mastery of the concepts on the state standardized test,” Crawley said. “As a Title 1 school, we have many diverse students from diverse backgrounds, and we are thankful for the funding provided by Title 1 to help us meet the needs of our students.”
Mae Stevens under the leadership of Principal Mary Derrick was selected as a high-progress school. Both principals have been asked by the TEA to share the key strategies that helped the campuses achieve their goals. Derrick said “the one size fits all” system does not work.
“The practice that made the biggest difference was trusting our teachers to know what their students needed and supporting them in their instruction,” Derrick said. “Our teachers designed small group instruction and individual practice to meet the needs of each individual student.”
Both Derrick and Crawley have been asked to apply to be presenters at the 2015 Advancing Improvement in Education Conference held in San Antonio November 16-18. The conference’s mission is to connect leaders to inspire accountability, innovation, and possibility for school improvement through partnerships and research-based best practices.
“There are systems in place to intervene with struggling students early and often. The whole campus comes together to make sure all students are successful,” Crawley said. “We screen each incoming student to identify strengths and weaknesses. Then, each student is given enrichment to push him higher or intervention to close gaps in his learning. The campus offers tutorials, academies and clubs for students before and after school several days per week.”