PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. -- Pulaski County Special School District is proud to announce that the Arkansas Department of Education has named 10 PCSSD schools as Schools on the Move, with one being announced as a featured 2022 school showing the most continuous improvement over time.
Sylvan Hills Elementary is one of six schools in Arkansas who are considered a “feature 2022 school, seeing an increase of five or more points on the ESSA School Index and an increase by one letter grade.
Sylvan Hills Elementary Principal Britney Hickman likes to start with the end in mind and then ask, “how do we get there?” The Sylvan Hills elementary staff developed WIN (What I Need) Time, using pre- and post-assessments to group students based on deficit areas. They scheduled ‘data talks’ with every student from kindergarten to fifth grade, using a template the staff created which includes a goal score and requires the signature of a parent or guardian. Being more intentional with data led to other important changes at the school.
PCSSD Superintendent Dr. Charles McNulty hopes that this work can happen district-wide, not just in one building.
“Our goal has been to bring in transformational leaders,” he said, referring to how Ms. Hickman and her staff started “re-systemizing” their instructional efforts around the student. He added, “Sylvan Hills is where other schools are going to be.”
Meanwhile, congratulations to the Cato Elementary, College Station Elementary, Daisy Bates Elementary, Harris Elementary, Pine Forest Elementary, Sherwood Elementary, and Maumelle Middle for improving their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Index Scores.
SCHOOL | ESSA School Index Score 2021 | ESSA School Index Score 2022 | Difference in ESSA Scores 2021-2022 |
Cato Elementary | 65.06 | 70.87 | 5.81 |
College Station Elementary | 49.31 | 55.07 | 5.76 |
Daisy Bates Elementary | 57.52 | 63.81 | 6.29 |
Harris Elementary | 46 | 52.63 | 6.63 |
Pine Forest Elementary | 65.36 | 71.97 | 6.61 |
Sherwood Elementary | 66.72 | 76.44 | 9.72 |
Maumelle Middle | 58.95 | 66.32 | 7.37 |
Schools receive points on the ESSA School Index for each student that is close, ready, or exceeds on the state assessment. These points are included in the calculation for the weighted achievement score. Congratulations to Cato Elementary, Sylvan Hills Elementary
SCHOOL | Final Adjusted Weighted Achievement 2021 | Final Adjusted Weighted Achievement 2021 | Difference in WA 2021-2022 |
Cato Elementary | 51.5 | 62.02 | 10.52 |
Daisy Bates Elementary | 35.03 | 48.29 | 13.26 |
Pine Forest Elementary | 51.57 | 63.54 | 11.97 |
Sherwood Elementary | 53.33 | 70.13 | 16.8 |
Sylvan Hills Elementary | 48.06 | 70.14 | 22.08 |
Maumelle Middle | 40.16 | 51.81 | 11.65 |
Sylvan Hills Middle | 40.16 | 50.83 | 10.67 |
Joe T. Robinson Middle increased the school’s grade from a C to a B this year; Sylvan Hills Elementary also increased their grade from a C to a B this year, and Sylvan Hills Middle School increased their grade from a D to a C.
The school Value Added Growth score is an average of students’ growth scores which are based on each individual student’s growth toward his/her expectation (as calculated from previous history of achievement and the current assessment). Schools that report a growth score of 80 are schools where students, on average, are growing in their learning as expected. Sherwood Elementary is one of just 550 schools in the state that reported a growth score above 80. With an 86.41 in value-added growth, Sherwood is recognized by the state for accelerating student learning.