For the second year in a row, Poplar Bluff R-I has had an elementary school receive national recognition for exceptional student achievement on the MAP test.
Lake Road Elementary was one of only two Missouri schools to be named a National ESEA Distinguished School out of 68 educational institutions nationwide during the program’s annual conference held Wednesday through Saturday, Jan. 30-Feb. 2, in Kansas City.
“We were known as that school, the school of low academic performance, poor attendance and bad behavior,” said Lake Road Principal Erica Weadon in her acceptance speech. “There are many things that helped get us where we are today, but I feel extreme hard work, dedication and a growth mindset by all staff has transformed our school.”
Along with Grovespring Elementary School south of Lebanon, which was selected for closing achievement gaps between subgroups, Lake Road was nominated by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for maintaining exceptional student performance for consecutive years.
Students scored 75.4 proficient or advanced in math and 78.9 in English language arts on the 2018 Missouri Assessment Program exam, and 75 in math and a full 100 in ELA the year prior.
Faculty members attribute the student success to data-driven instruction, using curriculum based measurements for reading in order to progress monitor and creating common formative assessments in math to determine whether individuals are learning the standards at the required level.
“If [students] don’t do well, it’s not them, it’s a check for me so I know what to teach better,” explained Abbey French, one of two intervention teachers at Lake Road. French and her colleagues co-teach, rotating groups of students for one hour each day in every classroom.
“The big buzz word in education is teaching for ‘All,’ and all has a capital letter L,” added Martha Henry, a special education teacher. “I think we are so there.”
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators established the award in 1996 to highlight schools with economically disadvantaged populations that are successfully using resources available under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to improve the education for the entire student body.
Last year, Oak Grove received the prestigious honor for averaging a 24 percent improvement rate among subgroups, according to a DESE official. The annual event was formerly known as the Distinguished Title I conference hosted for schools that qualify to receive federal funding.
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Cutline: Lake Road Principal Erica Weadon accepts an award on behalf of the elementary school on Thursday, Jan. 31, with support from her colleagues: (left to right) Title I Director JoAnne Westbrook; teachers Katelyn Campa and Paula Bradley; Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Patty Robertson; and teachers Abbey French, Martha Henry and Shiela Boyles.