Four SK Schools Named RI Commended Schools

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI—Seventeen Rhode Island schools have been deemed Commended Schools by the state Department of Education this year, including three public elementary schools and a charter school in South Kingstown.

To become a commended school, a school must have students who score well on state assessment tests, have a narrow gap between low- and high-performing students and show continued steady progress over time.

In South Kingstown, Matunuck, Peace Dale and Wakefield Elementary Schools earned the distinction. Also meeting the mark was The Compass School, a charter school that has consistently ranked high on state assessments.

At Wakefield Elementary, 97.1 percent of students took state assessment tests and the percentage of students who tested proficient was 81 percent for reading and 75 percent for math, way above the state average.

At Peace Dale Elementary School, 98.7 percent of students took the test and the reading and math scores were 81.6 and 76.5 percent respectively.

At Matunuck, 97.6 percent of students took the test scoring 80.7 and 77.1 percent proficient in reading and math.

At The Compass School, middle schoolers scored 75.7 and 43 percent proficient in reading and math.

For the Matunuck School, this is the second consecutive year that the school has earned the Commended School distinction.

Ninety-five percent of the student body must participate in state assessments for a school to quality.

“On behalf of the Board of Education, I congratulate our 17 commended schools, which we have recognized not only for their excellent levels of student achievement but also for closing achievement gaps and attaining high participation rates on state assessments,” said Barbara S. Cottam, Chair of the Board of Education. “I want to thank the students, teachers, and families in these school communities for their commitment to excellence.”

Here’s the complete list of commended schools:

Barrington
Sowams Elementary School
Barrington Middle School

Bristol Warren
Rockwell School (fourth consecutive year)

Cranston
Stone Hill School
Orchard Farms Elementary School

East Greenwich
Archie R. Cole Middle School (second consecutive school, also a two-time national Blue Ribbon school.)

Chariho
Hope Valley Elementary School

Johnston
Brown Avenue School

South Kingstown
Matunuck School (second consecutive year)
Peace Dale Elementary School
Wakefield Elementary School

Tiverton
Fort Barton School (fourth consecutive year)

Jamestown
Jamestown School-Melrose

Lincoln
Lincoln Central Elementary School

Charter Schools
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School
Blackstone Valley Prep High School
The Compass School

“As we continue our transition to PARCC assessments, we will have more and better information regarding student progress, closing achievement gaps, and school improvement,” said Education Commissioner Ken Wagner. “We encourage all of our school leaders to help their communities understand the importance of comparable statewide measures of student progress. Going forward, we plan to introduce additional measures beyond state assessments to help us improve the process for determining school classifications.”

Because the 2014-15 school year was the initial year for PARCC assessments, the 2014-15 PARCC results set a baseline. Under our accountability system for 2016, which the U.S.

Department of Education has approved, the only newly classified schools this year are Commended Schools. Schools previously in the lowest two classifications – Focus and Priority Schools – retain that classification for this year. All other schools receive no school classification this year.

For further information and individual Accountability Report Cards for each school, see:

www.ride.ri.gov/2015-Report-Cards

Photo: Matunuck School via Facebook