Oklahoma elementary school jumps two letter grades on State Report Card: How they did it
By Shanice Hopkins
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OKLAHOMA (KOCO) — Pleasant Hill Elementary in the Mid-Del School District improved its state report card grade from an F to a C by focusing on growth, consistency and collaboration.
“It’s about growth,” said Patrice Tucker, principal at Pleasant Hill Elementary.
She explained that the school’s success was due to tier one instruction, which she described as “good old-fashioned teaching” and adhering to the district curriculum to ensure students understand the material taught each day.
Schools across Oklahoma are graded on academic achievement, growth and overall progress. In the most recent report, Oklahoma scored a D in academic achievement.
Pleasant Hill Elementary saw a 14% increase in academic achievement, demonstrating the importance of what they say is consistency.
A key component of the school’s improvement strategy is collaboration. Every other week, Principal Tucker meets with teachers, district officials, and other members of a “professional learning community” to discuss data and targeted instructional strategies aimed at increasing student performance.
“We discuss data. We look at targeted instructional strategies just to help increase our student performance, which, you know, you have to have a picture of every student in order to grow them,” Tucker said.
According to the Department of Education, the number of schools receiving an A last year decreased, while the number of schools receiving a D increased, and the number of schools graded at F remained about the same.
“We can look at those letter grades, those As and those Bs. But what’s important is growing our kiddos each and every day, and if you’re doing that, then they will achieve at higher levels, and they will meet your expectations,” Tucker said.
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