In what grammar school students might consider poetic justice, the Clarkston schools received their Annual Year Progress report card from the Michigan Department of Education on Aug. 19.
While the Clarkston schools will still get desert, there are areas for improvement.
On the whole, the district met or exceeded the AYP standards in the elementary, middle and high school levels.
‘AYP is a benchmark for us. You can’t just sit still. At every school there is an improvement plan,? said Dave Reshke, Clarkston schools? assistant superintendent.
Andersonville, Bailey Lake, Independence, North Sashabaw, Pine Knob and Springfield Plains elementary schools, along with Sashabaw Middle School all received A grades. Clarkston Elementary School and Clarkston Middles School met AYP standards with B grades.
But, a passing grade at one school may not qualify another for AYP. Such was the case for Clarkston High School and the B grade it received this past year. CHS showed a downward trend in all four AYP categories, which are English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.
‘The higher (a school’s score is) the harder it is to show your gain,? said Reschke.
‘The whole AYP system is flawed. But, we don’t complain about it in Clarkston. We try to teach the kids well and hope (the schools) comply with what the state requires.?
Reshke also added that much of the drop off at CHS was due to underperformance of sub-population groups.
Clarkston Community Education’s Renaissance High School also did not receive a grade and was listed as unaccredited on the Michigan Department of Education’s report.
Reschke was not sure if 95 percent of the student body was tested in the past year at Renaissance as required for an AYP grade. He also disputed the unaccredited determination, stating Renaissance is not evaluated by the same accreditation body as the rest of the schools.
The district installed new educational computer software entitled PLATO this summer at both CHS and Renaissance. Reschke feels the software has potential to help performance district wide.
The Michigan Department of Education has posted the AYP results on their website at www.michigan.gov/mde