Southeast Texas P-16 Council

Southeast Texas seems to be working from the bottom up in raising its schools to the top state ranking of exemplary.  That could bode well as those classes pass on from elementary school and into middle school, junior high school and high school

A total of 45 of the 125 public and charter schools in Southeast Texas are now ranked exemplary in the state’s final report for 2009-2010.  Most of the exemplary schools are at the Elementary level:  38 of the 56 primary schools earned the rank.  It was harder for Middle Schools and Junior High schools –only five earned set that mark.  Only two High Schools were top of the state’s ranking — Sabine Pass (Pk-12) and Hamshire Fannett High School

There were 28 exemplary schools among the 74 public schools and charter schools in Jefferson County.  Beaumont ISD had 14 exemplary campuses among its 32 schools.  Nederland had four of eight of its schools, exactly 1/2, earn the top status. Tekoa Academy(PK-5) matched that with one out of two schools earning exemplary.

Port Neches-Groves landed 5 of its six Elementary Schools in the exemplary rank.  PN-G has 12 campuses.

The top districts were Sabine Pass  — both the school and the district were awarded the top status — and Hamshire Fannett which earned a an exemplary district honor with three of its four school taking top honors.

Hardin County
In Hardin County, Kountze Elementary School.  Silsbee’s John H Kirby Elementary School and Read Turrentine Elementary School, Sour Lake Elementary School, Lumberton Primary School and Lumberton Early Childhood School all earned exemplary  — six of the 24 schools in the county or 25%.

Orange County
In Orange County, Vidor ISD won bragging rights with four of its seven schools ranked exemplary: Vidor Junior High School, Pine Forest Elementary School, Vidor Elementary School and Oak Forest Elementary School. 

Ten of Orange County’s 27 schools were exemplary.

Bridge City had three schools earn exemplary status: Bridge City Middle School Exemplary, Sims Elementary School and Bridge City Intermediate School.  Other Orange County schools in the exemplary ranks were Orangefield Elementary . and two Little Cypress Mauriceville’s schools :  Little Cypress Elementary School and Mauriceville Elementary School.

In addition,  Warren ISD, whose district covers part of Hardin County, has two exemplary Elementary Schools:  Fred Elementary and Warren Elementary.

AUSTIN – Ogden Elementary in Beaumont was one of 25 Texas schools (including Ogden Elementary in Beaumont) were named 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools award winners by the U.S. Department of Education. The award honors schools that achieved academic excellence or made significant progress in closing the achievement gap.

Since its creation in 1982 by then Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell, this prestigious program has honored more than 6,300 of America’s most successful schools, including more than 500 Texas schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools. The schools are selected based on one of two criteria:

• schools that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests;
• schools whose students achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests.

The winning Texas schools were recommended by an intra–agency committee at the Texas Education Agency that examined student achievement statistics for the more than 8,000 public school and charter campuses in the state. The schools selected have demonstrated success in closing the achievement gap and each school has an economically disadvantaged population of 40 percent or greater. Schools that receive the award serve as models of best practices for schools across the state.

After being identified by the state, the schools competed in a rigorous application process through the U.S. Department of Education.

Schools that receive the prestigious award will be recognized at the Blue Ribbon Schools conference in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15-16 where each recipient will receive a plaque and a flag signifying their status as a Blue Ribbon School.
 

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