Moore, Norman Schools earn API awards

OKLAHOMA CITY — Three Moore schools — one of them making a repeat performance — and Norman’s McKinley Elementary are among the 63 state schools to receive bonus checks for their academic performance, state education officials announced this week.

Moore’s Wayland Bonds Elementary School, Fisher Elementary School and Earlywine Elementary School all received API awards, state school superintendent Sandy Garrett said Thursday.

The award is the first for the Wayland Bonds and Earlywine schools and the second year in a row for Fisher Elementary School.

“This is the kind of merit program that enjoys much support among school leaders across the state because it rewards teams of teachers whose instructional efforts result in both top-caliber academic performance and significant academic gains in one year,” Garrett said.

Moore school officials said they, too, were pleased by the awards.

“I am so proud of what they have accomplished,” said Moore superintend Deborah Arato. “They are just absolutely working so hard to make sure every student succeeds. It’s very difficult to achieve a perfect API score.”

Designed to reward and encourage academic excellence, the awards are based on a school’s Academic Performance Index (API) score. An API score — ranked on a scale from 0 to 1,500 — is based on the school’s student success on state achievement tests, and its attendance rates. For secondary sites, dropout and graduation rates also are factored in, as well as ACT scores and participation, Advanced Placement credit and college remediation rates in reading and mathematics.

“I often share that teachers don’t become teachers with any expectation of making a big salary,” Garrett said. “However, they, like all professionals, definitely should be recognized and rewarded when they go the extra mile for their students.”

Garrrett said teachers and administrators at Fisher and Earlywine will each receive a $3,000 bonus while administrators and teachers at Wayland Bonds will each see $2,000.

Arato said the awards are proof the district’s schools “are all doing well.”

“The only reason Wayland Bonds didn’t have a perfect API score was because of attendance,” Arato said. “They just missed it. We’re very, very proud. We had several other schools who just missed getting awards because of the attendance standard.”

Part of that success, she said, is because the district continually assesses students to make sure those students are learning.

“We’ve done a lot of really good work on our standards and making sure that we are well aligned. We do assessments every six weeks,” she said. “We’re constantly working to find out where kids are behind. When we get those indications, we can do what needs to be done quickly, before it becomes a large skill deficiency.”

At Wayland Bonds, principal Robert Romines praised his staff, saying they were primarily responsible for the school’s success.

“My staff is phenomenal,” he said. “They are very child centered. And our community has embraced many different concepts — before and after school tutoring, remediation. Everything we do is centered around kids.”

Romines said teachers and officials at the school, which opened three years ago, work hard to “create a family environment.”

“The teachers and staff are one big family,” he said. “And the parents realized that quickly. We have wonderful parents who are in and out (of here) day long. They are here to work. Their goal is to help the kids.”

And that atmosphere, he said, helps make the school successful. “Everything is centered toward the child,” Romines said.
McKinley elementary in Norman was one of 23 schools statewide that earned a perfect API score of 1,500.

Principal Terry Hopper said everyone who was a certified employee for the 2006-2007 school year will receive a $3,000 bonus check.

“It’s nice to be rewarded for our efforts,” he said.

Hopper said parents and the PTA deserve credit for their continued support through school-sponsored activities and programs.

“It’s really just a group effort,” he said.

Norman Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Joe Siano said all schools within the district have done an outstanding job of educating children.

The superintendent said he is proud of the McKinley Elementary staff for their hard work and recognition.

“We also appreciate and congratulate the parents and students for their part in working together to provide quality educational environment for all students,” Siano said.

In 2006, Purcell Elementary School score 843 on the API index. A year later, the number jumped 41 percent to 1,192, according to the State Department of Education. That increase also came along with $1,000 checks for school employees.

Principal Tammy Dillard said she and her 40 co-workers learned about their gift Friday morning.

“We’ve been celebrating all morning long,” Dillard said. “We were thrilled.”

Dillard was named principal eight years ago. At the same time, the school implemented a site improvement process working with the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation and Literacy First.

“We also are able to tap into resources through a Reading First grant and using those models we’ve learned about the latest research on education and instructional processes,” she said.

Dillard said Purcell Elementary educators are focused on academic progress of each child. Each year, Dillard and faculty members expect the API to increase. She believes several factors contribute to the steady rise including improved performances from English Language Learner, special education and regular education students.

The principal said student success would not be possible if it wasn’t for the educators who teach at the school.

“It would be impossible to overstate the degree to which they’ve invested in to make sure each child makes education progress each year. They have invested personal time and energy. It really is paying off,” she said.