(Lewiston). The Idaho State Board of Education honored some 76 schools as part of its regularly scheduled meeting which concluded Thursday, October 09, 2008 in Lewiston.
The Board gives three (3) different awards to schools with exceptional performance on the Idaho Student Achievement Test (ISAT) as part of No Child Left Behind.
Three (3) schools were honored as Distinguished Schools:
A Distinguished School must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years or more, and have reduced the achievement gap of their lowest performing subgroup.
“These schools truly represent what great people we have here in Idaho,” said Board president Milford Terrell. “Our teachers, students, parents, administrators, everyone- they are working together and it really shows when we see this kind of achievement.”
Fifteen (15) schools were honored with the Additional Yearly Growth award:
Fifty-eight (58) Idaho schools were honored with the Idaho State Board of Education Exceptional Growth Award. The Exceptional Growth Award recognizes schools which have shown growth of 20% or more with a subpopulation on the ISAT, and consequently attain their Adequate Yearly Progress goal. A complete list of those schools can be found on the Board’s web site.
The Board also reviewed performance measures of its institutions and agencies as part of its on-going work on strategic planning. A complete breakout of performance objectives and measures are available in the board materials.
The Board voted to create an advisory council to work with staff on recommendations for future education models dealing with sensory impaired education. The council, comprised of twenty (20) persons will offer advice to the Board’s transition coordinator for deaf/blind education, who in turn will work to develop proposals to implement recommendations.
December 4-5, 2008 is the next regularly scheduled board meeting in Nampa on the campus of the College of Western Idaho.