Middle School wrangles five star rating

Teachers and students at Stikine Middle School accomplished a feat unequaled among similar schools this year.

The school received a five-star Alaska School Performance Index score from the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. It was the only such rating granted among schools composed exclusively of students in grades six through eight, and places the school in the top 11 percent of all Alaska Schools, according to education department statistics released Aug. 16.

The score could mean a money reward – termed a “financial incentive” in education circles – for schools in the highest scoring group, once state officials decide how much it will be, said Superintendent Rich Rhodes.

“There is going to be a financial incentive,” he said. “The (Commissioner of Education & Early Development) hasn’t decided what that’s going to be yet.”

That award could come as a small piece of good financial news. Declining enrollment for Wrangell schools means the system is looking at an eight percent reduction in state funding and an 11 percent reduction in federal funding this year, Rhodes said.

Two other middle schools that received the five-star rating contained only grades seven and eight, according to education department documents.

Wrangell school system officials attributed the high score to teachers at both the elementary school and the middle school.

“It’s kinda tough to say ‘are we better than we were last year?’” said Stikine Principal Monty Buness. “We have an excellent elementary program that was itself a blue ribbon program a few years ago.”

“We’re making nice transitions,” he added.

Buness also credited Stikine teachers with years of experience.

“We have a very dedicated staff that works very well together to make a good school climate,” he said. “When you have a good school climate, students achieve better.”

Rhodes also praised Wrangell teachers.

“I’m really proud of those guys,” he said. “They did a great job.”

Wrangell High School and Evergreen Elementary each scored a four star rating, grouping them with roughly 37 percent of Alaskan schools and in the top half of Alaska schools alongside Stikine.

2014 marks the first year Alaska used the ASPI, a three-part measure combining school-wide attendance (25 percent), test scores (35 percent), and improvement over the previous year (40 percent) according to education department documents.

Compared with previous rankings, the ASPI is a more realistic reflection of educational goals, Rhodes said.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2004, officials “previously had a goal for all students to be 100 percent proficient by 2014,” he said. “This model of continuing to make growth is more realistic.

“We can continue toward the target mark of keeping kids in school,” he added.

Five-star schools obtained a composite score of between 94 and 100 percent. Four-star schools obtained a composite score between 85 and 93.99 percent.

Stikine’s 95.6 percent was good enough to place it 30th overall among all 503 schools ranked by the Index. Evergreen’s 89.51 percent earned it 150th place. Wrangell High’s 87.66 percent ranked it 194th overall.