St. Michael-Albertville Schools Make AYP, Neighbors Don’t

The St. Michael-Albertville School District is officially a rarity in Minnesota, and in the nation. They are now in the minority of school districts to be at the “no stage” level for improvement in both reading and math for the federal government’s No Child Left Behind program, while many other schools are somewhere on the program’s spectrum of corrective action.

As the federal government pushes schools to have 100 percent of students proficient in math and reading by 2014, the bar is raising higher and higher as that date draws nearer. So far, STMA has been up to the challenge. This is the district’s fourth consecutive year to make Adequate Yearly Progress-AYP-in reading, and second consecutive year for math. The results of AYP were released early this week.

“This is a celebration of sorts for all of the staff, community and parents,” said Teri Johnson, Director of Special Services in the district. “We still have a ways to go and we still have improvement to make, but it’s an exciting event.

After the state’s are released, the federal government determines whether a district-and its individual schools-are making AYP. They do this by crunching the proficiency numbers of all different categories, or cells, of students, such as different ethnic groups, those with limited English proficiency, special education and low-income students. All in all there are 54 possible cells, and STMA had enough students to be scored in 42 of those cells.

If a school does not make AYP in every single one of its cells,  the entire school does not make AYP. Although the school district did overall make AYP, two schools: and Middle School West did not.

One out of 15 cells at St. Michael Elementary–students that receive free or reduced lunch–did not make AYP targets in reading. Middle School West’s one miss out of 26 cells was reading targets for students with limited English proficiency. Additionally, the Knight’s Academy did not make AYP in one of their three cells, which was in math.

Besides the scores themselves, schools need a 95 percent test participation, a 90 percent average in daily school attendance and an 85 percent graduation rate in order to make AYP.

Neighboring districts such as Buffalo, Monticello, Becker, Big Lake, Cambridge-Isanti and Osseo did not make AYP, with varying degrees of corrective action taken in each district depending on the number of years they have failed to make AYP. In the local area, only Delano and the Elk River School District (including Rogers) joined STMA in making the cut.

Statewide, 1,019 schools made AYP targets and 1,056 missed them this year.

Johnson said the district will now go back to their district improvement committee with these results and continue to find new solutions for improving academic performance in the cells who did not make AYP. Overall, though, school officials received the news with pride and relief.

“This is very good news for all of us, especially for the teachers because that’s where it all came from,” said board member Gayle Weber.

School board chair Doug Birk said he believes there are only two to three dozen school districts in the entire state that are omitted from of any type of corrective action.

“Nationally, it’s even an even smaller percentage because Minnesota faired better than many other states,” he added. “It’s quite an accomplishment.”

“We’re celebrating, yet we also know we need to ‘keep on keeping on,” Johnson said.