Maury Co. schools move needle in academic gains after years of low achievement
Slowly but surely, Maury County Public Schools is showing academic growth, according to the most recent growth scores released by the state.
The Tennessee Department of Education released last week Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System scores that show how much students grew academically in the 2022-23 school year compared to the year before.
According to TVASS scores, MCPS jumped to a Level 3, defined as "evidence that the district's students made growth as expected,” after previously being designated as Level 1, defined as "significant evidence that the district's students made less growth than expected."
Level 3 shows a full year of academic growth among students.
"We are laser-focused on literacy," MCPS Superintendent Lisa Ventura said.
Contributing to the increase, MCPS have five schools that earned a Level 5, three schools that earned a Level 4, and five schools a Level 3.
"In my 11 years here, I don't remember when we; e ever had a Level 5 school," Ventura said.
Over the past several years, the district has struggled with academic growth and low literacy scores on state achievement tests, being ranked consistently in the bottom 5% in the state.
However, with the gains, Ventura said she is hopeful the district can catapult itself out of the lowest marker, though all of the data is not calculated yet. The TDOE does not release the full State Report Card outcomes for last school year until November.
"I am humbled and proud to be your leader and know how hard-working and dedicated everyone is at every school. Every single school has something to be proud of," Ventura said.
Level 5 signifies a school in which students have shown more than one year of academic growth at an exemplary level. Level 4 signifies more than one year's growth. Level 3 signifies one year's growth. Level 1 and 2 signify less than one year's growth.
Ventura attributes the academic gains to "everyone' in school buildings doing their part to make sure literacy is the focus and that interventions are implemented for struggling students.
"It takes everyone in schools doing their jobs to make growth gains," Ventura said. She highlighted target intervention for learning gaps, especially during summer school, as components that have contributed to the gains.
"The money from the state to implement summer school session to improve learning gaps, has helped greatly," she said.
This summer, MCPS hosted the largest amount of students, almost 1,400, during summer school than ever before, which she added has helped students get off to a favorable start this school year to continue the trend.
Schools receiving a Level 5 designation are as follows:
Spring Hill Middle School
Battle Creek Middle School
Santa Fe Unit School
Mt. Pleasant High School
Highland Park Elementary School
Principals at each school expressed pride in the valuation, naming the hard work of staff as the driver toward improvement.
Eric Hughes, principal of Mt. Pleasant High School, a fully designated STEM school and one of the first in Tennessee, said he is dedicated to continuing the upward trend this school year.
"I am extremely proud of our students and teachers for earning Level 5 status for academic growth for the second straight year," Hughes said. "Earning a composite of 5 is rewarding, but earning a 5 in literacy, numeracy, and science is a testimony of cross-curricular collaboration among our teachers. Our goal for the 23-24 school year is for continued academic growth and excellence."
Kelly Myers, principal of Highland Park Elementary School, said every student is capable of growing and meeting their potential.
"Our teachers work collaboratively to help each student to meet their potential and make progress regardless of their abilities. I'm fortunate to have such a dedicated staff," she said.
Level 4 schools are as follows:
Hampshire Unit School
J.R. Baker Elementary School
Marvin Wright Elementary School
Level 3 schools as follows:
J. Brown Elementary School
Virtual Academy of Maury County
Columbia Central High School
J.E. Woodard Elementary School
Mt. Pleasant Elementary School
"I am so proud and pleased with the hard work and dedication of our schools, teachers, and families. We have more heavy lifting to do, but with growth comes achievement," Ventura said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Maury Co. schools move needle in academic gains according to TVAAS
