School Earns High Performing Rating
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
WATER VALLEY – The Water Valley School District earned a B-Rating, meaning a high performing district, for the second consecutive year. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) released accountability grades for the 2022-23 school year last week. Water Valley High School earned a B-Rating and Davidson Elementary School earned a C-Rating, giving the district an overall B-Rating.
The back-to-back B Ratings are the highest the district has received since the state changed to the A-F accountability model in 2014. That first year the district had a D-rating, the assessment from the 2013-2014 school year. The district rating improved to a C the following year and remained there until the 2018-2019 school year when it dropped back to a D.
Water Valley School District Superintendent credited the hard work by teachers and administrators for maintaining the ratings for the second consecutive year.
“This shows the hard work is paying off,” Williams told the Herald.
“Getting there is hard, but keeping it there is even harder,” Water Valley High School Principal Drew Pitcock added. “This shows we have the staying power and that is what I am most proud of.”
This year marks Pitcock’s ninth year as the high school principal and he readily recalls input from years ago when people told him the high school would never earn a B-Rating. The principal cited a strong team effort that includes the entire faculty in the district, starting in the elementary grades and including cafeteria workers, bus drivers and others involved in the daily life of students.
Davidson Elementary School Principal James Watson was also excited about growth at his school.
“While we maintained a C-Rating, we still experienced some growth,” Watson shared. “I am proud but I know that this is not the best we have to offer. And I am optimistic about where we are this year, we have addressed the issues that have kept us from being a B-Rated school. We have a lot of stakeholders in the community who are helping us push forward to become at least a B-Rated school.
Watson also said 17 students at the elementary school earned a perfect score on the ELA or Mathematics test.
“We had one student who made a perfect score on both tests,” he added. “We are excited about celebrating these achievements.
The components of the state’s accountability system are based on state and federal law and State Board policy. They include:
• Student proficiency and growth rates in ELA and Mathematics in grades 3-8;
• Growth of the lowest performing 25 percent of students in ELA and Mathematics;
• Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8;
• English Learner progress toward becoming proficient in the English language;
• Performance on the ACT and high school Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History assessments;
• Student participation and performance in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement and dual credit/dual enrollment courses; and
• Four-year graduation rate.
“This year’s school and district grades provide further evidence that Mississippi teachers, school leaders and staff have done an outstanding job helping students accelerate learning after the disruptions of the pandemic,” said Dr. Raymond Morgigno, interim state superintendent of education.
“I am confident our schools will build upon these achievements so that all students are proficient and prepared for success after high school.”
