Berryville schools recognized for performance on state test

The Berryville School District was recently notified by the Office for Education Policy (OEP) at the University of Arkansas that both Berryville High School and Berryville Middle School were being recognized for outstanding student growth on the ACT Aspire state assessment in the area of English Language Arts.

The OEP releases Outstanding Performance Awards for schools in Arkansas each year. The OEP releases its report based on the belief that growth is the best indicator of the positive impact that schools have on students.

Berryville High School ranked third in the state for its growth score and second in the Northwest Arkansas region.

The middle school ranked high in the region for growth among high-poverty schools as it was recognized as a “Beating the Odds” school, placing fourth in growth. Schools making the “Beating the Odds” list must serve a student population in which at least 66 percent of students qualify for subsidized meals based on low income. Approximately 73 percent of the students at Berryville Middle School receive subsidized meals.

“Our Beating the Odds schools received letter grades ranging from A to F, even though they are all demonstrating high growth,” the Office for Education Policy said in the announcement. “We feel it is important to recognize those schools that are helping their students who may be at-risk, grow their learning at the highest rates.”

Heather Zaloudek, an instructional specialist who served both middle and high school in the area of English Language Arts last year, said: “Our teachers narrowed their focus and worked tirelessly to adjust instruction when students struggled with concepts or skills. I am proud they are being recognized and I am proud of our students for working hard too.”

“I would say that teaching the essential standards contributed the most to the ELA growth at the middle school,” said John McClellan, middle school principal. “Teachers unpacking and understanding the standards has been very beneficial. Our science teachers also taught claims, evidence and reasoning. Those are cross-curricular literacy skills that teachers focused on as well.”

High school principal Donnel Armstrong and assistant principal Joey Curtis were more than pleased with the recognition.

“Our literacy teachers worked extremely hard last year,” Curtis said. “I think they deserve a ton of credit. They hammered ‘claim, evidence and commentary’ every day. I also think that the incentives we offered the kids played a role.”

Armstrong added: “Using data to determine what students know and utilizing instructional time, as well as targeting specific areas for interventions has been crucial at the high school.”