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Escambia, Alabama Schools Fail To Make Adequate Yearly Progress
August 3, 2010
Accountability reports released Monday by the Alabama Department of Education showed that the Escambia County (Ala.) School District did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as identified by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
At the individual school level, Escambia County High School, Escambia County Middle School, W.S. Neal Middle School and W.S. Neal High School did not make AYP. After remaining the “school improvement” category for a fourth year, Escambia County High School will be forced to participate in a school choice program — allowing ECHS students to transfer to high performing schools in the district.
Across Alabama, there were 342 of 1,375 school that failed to make adequate yearly progress. Only 127 schools were designated as being in the school improvement category.
Flomaton Elementary School, Flomaton High School, Huxford Elementary School, Pollard-McCall Junior High School, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, A.C. Moore Elementary and W.S. Neal Elementary did make adequate yearly progress, according to the Alabama Department of Education.
AYP rankings are determined by a variety of factors, including reading and math test scores.
Comments
17 Responses to “Escambia, Alabama Schools Fail To Make Adequate Yearly Progress”
just wanted to respond to” tireds ” comment first of all i am glad you make a point to report on atmores news because thats where im from and i read your site every day so do alot of other residents,we are grateful that you take the time to report on our town also i see no problem with how you word the head line it was not misleading in any way . I do not see where it implied all esc al schools did not AYP.Most parents that have children enrolled in these schools like to know where their schools stand and would love improvments its not a sceret that esc ala schools need improvments in alot of matters. and yes i have children that attends them,
REGARDING:
” I get to see exactly how many people read what story. It allows me to make informed decisions on what type stories to run from where.”
Plus you can have a link which gives more detail if desired but doesn’t get in the way of the story if folks only want the gist. Others might have to say, “well, I have five stories which would interest some but only have enough money from advertising to run two of them.” Not that you just throw them out but you aren’t as constrained as a more woodish/paperish medium would be.
And this way you get to hear from more people wondering why you ran THAT article when THEY didn’t want to read it. It must be fun.
David way off topic
>You lead a hard life, William. Folks gripe at you when you report on events in Warrington and when you report on events in Alabama. They’re probably mad at you if you mention hurricanes and oil slicks before they hit us.
It’s all an interesting game of numbers, really. Unlike a printed newspaper where the editor must decide if people want to read about Mrs. Rosemary’s giant tomato, I get to see exactly how many people read what story. It allows me to make informed decisions on what type stories to run from where.
So I know how many people read this story about Alabama schools. Did I make the right decision to run it? Yep. It was a popular story.
Was a murder in Warrington a good story to run? Again, yes. It was widely read. Sometimes we in North Escambia forget that we live in the same county as the rest of the folks in Escambia. Does a murder in our county in Warrington have an impact on us? Yes, it does.
When at budget time the sheriff loses deputies and transfers half of the ones that work in Molino or Walnut Hill to the southern half of the county, perhaps we would understand why if we knew people were being murdered there, but not in Molino or Walnut Hill.
It’s all that bigger picture thing. Sometimes you just have to look just outside of your bubble to see what’s about to pop it.
You lead a hard life, William. Folks gripe at you when you report on events in Warrington and when you report on events in Alabama. They’re probably mad at you if you mention hurricanes and oil slicks before they hit us.
The way I see it, knowing how well others are doing might affect our actions; we might make informed decisions.
If there are lots of killings or other crimes in other places, we might want to know so we could safely stay around Century to avoid them. If schools in other places were having problems or doing VERY well, it might affect our decisions regarding moving there or staying here.
And then there’s the “Maybe all our kids can’t add or think even as well as your kids, but at least our taxes are lower,” crowd to deal with.
Most importantly, if we know there are problems, we can decide to hide from them or address them. You decided to mention them at least.
David for perfecting NCLB
and everything else
other than me
a big part was no students, or at least not enough to satisfy the powers that be. When the majority of the people served have already abandoned a school, it’s reasonable to shut it down.
Parents Please, Please, Please!!! Become more involved in your child’s school. Look at what happened in Century. No SCHOOL!!!!! Politics played a big part there also, but parents please get involved in your child’s sschool.
I agree 100% with what the Mom said. That is a fact, if parents aren’t involved with their children and their school work (& homework) it makes it that much harder for that student. They figure if my parents don’t care then why should I. Parents need to be involved and know whats going on with their child at school and with their grades and progress at school, thats just a fact and I guess some don’t want to hear it. Be involved and you “will” see a difference in that child.
For “tired’s”…”Not to seem trite, but I find this information to be less than your business or the business of anyone who lives in Florida.”
Many in Florida who have interests in the public schools do care about the quality education or lack there of in Alabama because there will be flight from those failing schools to better schools in Florida. With that said, I’m afraid that once the FCAT results are fully published none of the Escambia County Florida schools or very few will make AYP and most school letter grades will decline.
Who could object to the premise of NCLB, that children will master the basic skills of reading and mathematics? However, NCLB as any educator will tell you is flawed. The greatest flaw lies within the legislative command that all students in every school must be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. This includes students with special needs, students whose native language is not English, students who are homeless and lacking in any societal advantage, and students who have every societal advantage but are not interested in their schoolwork. If all students are not proficient by 2014, their schools, teachers, administrators and staff will suffer the consequences.
One of the unintended consequences of NCLB is the shrinkage of time available to teach anything other than reading and math since these two subjects are the basis for AYP for all states. Test scores have become an obsession, with school districts investing heavily in test-prep materials and activities. Test taking skills and strategies have taken precedence over knowledge.
The above information was taken from the book “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.” This book was written by Diane Ravitch, historian of NCLB, who was initially a supporter of NCLB.
Every parent should look into just how much of each school year is spent on test prep. Many school districts have a testing ‘window’ of 1-2 weeks each year. This does not include months spent practicing, which often times begins immediately after Christmas, at the latest, and continues until testing.
We all know that our children are not all ‘equal’ when it comes to their ability to learn. Obviously it is grossly unfair to expect that all children will become proficient in reading or math at the same rate as other children.
NCLB assumed that shaming schools that are unable to lift test scores every year – the people who work in them – the students who attend them – and the parents who support them – would lead to higher scores. It was assumed that low scores are caused by lazy teachers. Higher test scores on standardized tests of basic skills they believe are synonymous with good education. They are wrong!
We must expect more from our children’s education than being able to read write and numerate. They need to learn to: think for themselves, make informed decisions, learn science and mathematics so they can understand the problems we face (oil in the gulf) and participate in finding solutions, understand our nation and world and the challenges we face economically and politically and much more. If all we do is teach them how to take a test, we will soon realize our children will not be successful beyond simply taking a test.
It would be nice if you could ban certain people from viewing your site – Especially those that only want to gripe and do not appreciate the work that is involved.
Thanks for incuding this story- most of us from Alabama appreciate seeing stories related to Atmore and other portions of Escambia AL.
Thanks William!
“tired” wrote:
I guess that’s why some people are teachers and some are reporters or publishers.
In reviewing your previous comments on NorthEscambia.com, I see that you have a history of attacks against schools, sports, local people, certain racial groups and even churches. Noe, I almost want to apologize for even responding to your comment, but I felt compelled to point out that the article and headline are correct (just as the headlines in the other papers are correct). But I mostly wanted to commend our area teachers for doing their best regardless of the federal and state mandates that may impede and/or arbitrarily score your job and your passion.
Perhaps you and the other newspaper “reporters” (and I use that term loosely) should have selected the word “some” to use in the headline. It would not have implied that all schools did not make AYP.
“tired” wrote:
A.C. Moore is *not* in the list of school in the article that did not make AYP. The facts in the story are correct, per the Alabama Department of Education.
I apologize you feel that way. But the Escambia County Alabama school district did *NOT* make AYP. So the headline is very accurate. And, if you should read the headline another way, there were specific Escambia Alabama Schools that did not make AYP. Sorry we offended you by writing a correct headline.
I suppose you’ll need to complain to the Atmore Advance, the Atmore News and the Brewton Standard too.
Here are their headlines:
County schools do not meet all state standards (Advance)
Escambia County, Ala., schools miss the overall mark on AYP (Atmore News)
County schools do not meet all state standards (Brewton Standard)
Our headline pretty much says the same thing as each of those. Each refers to schools in the broad plural, I suppose as either the district or more than one school.
Actually, NorthEscambia.com probably has more daily readers in Escambia County, Alabama, than any other media. I’m glad you’ve notice our trend of doing as much as we can to keep our readers in Escambia, Alabama informed. And, by the way, we reported on the successes and failures of each of the schools in Escambia, Florida and Santa Rosa counties. We are not just picking on Escambia County, Alabama. We are just reporting the facts.
But there is a bottom line to all this: All of the hardworking teachers should be commended for doing their best job.
First of all, William, you need to get your facts straight. A.C. Moore Elementary did make AYP also. Your title is very broad and misleading and a bit insulting to the hardworking teachers of Escambia County, Alabama. Not to seem trite, but I find this information to be less than your business or the business of anyone who lives in Florida. Once again you have chosen to instigate trouble and negativity on your website. Seems to be a trend with you.
One of the contributing factors to student failure in school is lack of parental involvement. I was a student-teacher that was placed in many different schools. The schools that performed well had parents actively involved in the lives of their children. Teachers hands are bound. We are told at the College of Education, “It’s up to you to make the content interesting. You are responsible whether the students learn or not.” Really? I can lead a horse to water, but I cannot make it drink! I made the content as interesting as I could make it, and only half of the students were involved. The students involved were the ones whose parents actually cared if their children pass or fail. The problem with the school starts at home. If you know your mom or dad does not care whether or not you pass, why would you even bother trying? These kids are kids! They need parents to put forth effort and actually parent them! Kids do not need their moms and dads to be their friends–they need parents! I, for one, will gratefully thank any parent who helps me while I teach. I do my best every time I set foot in the classroom; I expect my students to do the same thing. Students will not do their best if their parents do not care.
Actually…it is the federal government’s NCLB that should be receiving the “F.” Each state has to comply with the guidelines, not just Alabama. I believe Florida has a similar problem with FCAT. NCLB is the determining factor in “Dumbing Down” the material. State and local education officials have very little input as far as NCLB is concerned. And the teacher? He or she can only teach as NCLB dictates, especially in a school that does not make AYP. It is my observation that politicians know very little about what the needs are in a typical classroom. If one thinks about it, NCLB is just another entitlement program.
Great or performing schools will now drop to non-performing schools when everyone transfers. Some of these students who transferred to Flomaton last year from these non-performing schools ended up being nothing but trouble makers. Instead of facing the problem head on, these educators are passing their problems on to others. No child left behind is ineffective – it has “Dumbed Down” the material to the point these kids cannot add two and two anymore. The Alabama Department of Education gets an “F” in my grade book.