Four Shelby County schools no longer on Priority List, 16 others named Reward Schools

Jennifer Pignolet
Memphis Commercial Appeal
December 4, 2015 - Shelby County School's Dr. Sharon Griffin greets students lunching at Treadwell Elementary School Friday morning. Griffin, who won administrator of the year for Tennessee, is the regional superintendent for the iZone schools. "I miss being a principal and a teacher," states Griffin. "I try to make sure that I visit schools on a weekly basis so that I don't ever forget when I'm at the district office making a decision what it's like, first of all, to be a student, to be a teacher, and to be a leader in a school. Every single decision that we make is driven with those three components in mind." (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

Four Shelby County schools did well enough on state tests this year that they are no longer in the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state and are automatically removed from the Priority List. 

Another five schools remain on the list but received recognition from The Tennessee Department of Education for showing improvement.

Exiting the Priority List from SCS are Mitchell High, Treadwell Elementary and Northwest Prep, and from the Achievement School District, Georgian Hills Achievement Elementary and Treadwell are in SCS's turnaround program, the Innovation Zone.

"It has been a journey for us, so this is like history in the making for this particular school," Treadwell Principal Tanisha Heaston said. 

The state also recognized 16 Shelby County schools as Reward Schools, meaning they were either in the top 5 percent in the state for performance, progress or both. A school may not qualify, however, if it has a large achievement gap or a low graduation rate. 

Of the 16 schools, 13 are in the Shelby County Schools district. Four of those are charter schools. 

In the Shelby County suburban districts, Bartlett City Schools, Arlington Community Schools and Collierville Schools also had schools on the Reward list.

Treadwell Elementary School music teacher Ed Murray leads kindergarten students as they dance and sing songs in English and Spanish on Jan. 10, 2014. The class is part of Treadwell's dual language optional program.

While no Achievement School District schools were on the Reward School list, one exited the Priority List of bottom 5 percent schools and one was recognized for improvement.

Schools in the bottom 5 percent are required to have an intervention plan starting next year under the new federal education law. Many schools already do, including being placed in the SCS iZone, which has a longer school day, or the state-run Achievement School District.

For the last six years, being in the bottom 5 percent without showing improvement has meant possible state takeover. That will continue to be the case, but now districts will have a guaranteed first crack at improving a school before takeover is a possibility.

Treadwell was in danger of takeover a few years ago, Heaston said. But parents rallied against that threat, and SCS put the school in the iZone. This is Heaston's fourth year as principal of the school, which has an Optional program of dual immersion classes in English and Spanish.

Jan 10, 2014 - Anthony Bolanos, 8, (left) records fellow second grader Jonnathan Rivera, 7, as he reads a Spanish-language poster he created illustrating a math problem in teacher Nicole Iglesias' class at Treadwell Elementary School. The class is part of Treadwell's dual language optional program. Parents of Shelby County Schools students wishing to enroll their children in optional programs will have more choices than ever, though the process has become more complicated. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)

"Treadwell Elementary has been on the list since the inception of the list," Heaston said, making the announcement of the school's loss of the dreaded distinction that much sweeter.

She said she received an email from Superintendent Dorsey Hopson about a week ago with the news, and read it with her heart racing.

"I was screaming on the inside and then all the sudden I let out a loud scream in my office," Heaston said.

The goal, Heaston said, is to be the top 25 percent. But the first step was moving off the Priority List.

"It gives us affirmation that were headed in the right direction," Heaston said.

Students repeat out loud daily a goal of gaining 10 points in proficiency by the end of the year. A commitment to supporting teachers and a focus on consistency were key, Heaston said.

Arlington High, along with SCS's Middle College High, was named a Reward School for both performance and progress.

"The ACS administrators, teachers and support staff have worked tirelessly over the past two years implementing the new state standards," Arlington Superintendent Tammy Mason said in a statement. "The test results are a testament to the hard work and the progress being achieved in our district as we continue the work of meeting the rigor of these standards."

Bartlett's Altruria Elementary and Collierville's Bailey Station Elementary were named Reward Schools for being top performers.

Maxine Smith STEAM Academy in SCS was also honored for performance.

Recognized for growth in SCS were: Germantown High, Egypt Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, Newberry Elementary, Oakhaven Middle, Whitehaven High, Westhaven Elementary, Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering Middle and High, Freedom Prep Academy, Memphis Grizzlies Prep, Memphis Rise Academy.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.