Although Shelby County schools dominated the state’s list of lowest-performing schools this week, many Shelby County schools were also included on a “reward” list of highest-performing and most-improved schools released today.
Reward schools are the top 5 percent of schools in the state for academic achievement and the top 5 percent for annual growth. Shelby County Schools accounted for 42 of the 168 reward schools in the state. Most reward schools in Shelby County were recognized for progress, rather than performance.
Last year, two Memphis City Schools were placed on the rewards list for performance and 20 were recognized for progress. Legacy Shelby County Schools had seven schools noted for performance, three noted for progress and one school noted for both performance and progress.
The lists released this week offer some hints of which interventions at failing schools are working the best. Four iZone schools in Shelby County made the reward list, but no schools in the Achievement School District did. Most of the schools from Shelby County that earned praise for progress were district schools, but a few charters made the cut, as well.
You can find a full list of the reward schools here, and read some of our coverage of the priority list — the reward list’s counterpart of low-achieving schools — here. To view the school’s test scores, visit our new database here.
Schools recognized for their performance and progress:
Middle College High School
Schools recognized for their performance:
Hollis F. Price Middle College High School
Crosswind Elementary School
Dogwood Elementary School
Donelson Elementary School
E. E. Jeter Elementary School
John P. Freeman Optional School
Schools recognized for their progress:
B T Washington High School
Central High School
Charjean Elementary School
Cherokee Elementary School
Chickasaw Middle School
Chimneyrock Elementary School
Delano Elementary School
Douglass Elementary/Middle
Egypt Elementary School
Evans Elementary School
Ford Road Elementary School
Freedom Preparatory Academy
Germanshire Elementary School
Germantown High School
Goodlett Elementary School
Hamilton Middle School
Kate Bond Middle School
Kingsbury Elementary School
Kirby High School
Knight Road Elementary School
Memphis Academy of Health Sciences
Memphis Business Academy High School
Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School
Oak Forest
Oakshire Elementary School
Power Center Academy High School
Ridgeway Middle School
Sharpe Elementary School
Sherwood Elementary School
Soulsville Charter School
Southwind High School
Treadwell Middle School
Veritas College Preparatory
Whitehaven High School
Shelby County School officials shared school turnaround efforts this week while at Cherokee Elementary, one of the district’s Reward schools.