Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Regional school scores strong

Results are in and Eastern New Mexico schools with good grades outnumber those with bad grades 2-to-1.

It’s reason to celebrate, according to New Mexico Public Education Department Secretary Christopher Ruszkowski.

“We need to spend more time celebrating them and less time worrying that the number of F schools in Albuquerque went from 11 percent to 34 percent, and that they have two schools that have six straight Fs in Albuquerque,” Ruszkowski said.

The grades issued last week by PED were averaged from three years of data.

While Clovis Municipal Schools had mixed results — seven schools with As or Bs and eight schools with Ds or Fs — most regional districts fared well.

Four of Portales’ six schools scored A or B.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve not had a school that was below a C,” Portales Superintendent Johnnie Cain said.

Hard work by teachers and close attention to data helped bring scores up — including the jump from a D to a B at Portales Junior High — Cain said.

“We know the next move is to even be higher. We’re just gonna continue on doing what we’ve done and trying to do better in those areas that we know we’re not doing as good a job as we might should be,” he said.

Both Dora schools recorded As and Elida, Grady, Melrose and Texico schools all scored A, B or C.

Five Clovis schools recorded As, but Clovis also saw six Ds, while Highland Elementary and Gattis Middle School recorded Fs.

“Here’s what the deal is: All of our schools — the students, the teachers, and the principals — work very, very hard,” Clovis Superintendent Jody Balch said.

“I’m not sure anyone’s been able to describe why the ups and downs. Their success I attribute to the work they do every day, and the schools that weren’t successful work hard every day.”

Gattis scored a B a year ago. Marshall Middle School also dropped dramatically — from a B to a D.

Balch partly attributed the scores to the addition of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Standards (PARCC) test scores in each school’s grade.

“They’ve been leaning on SBA (Standards Based Assessment) scores — the old standardized test — and so finally, SBA has dropped off, and now it’s three consecutive years of PARCC,” he said. “That being said, I imagine most of our schools would like losing the first year of PARCC — which they will next year, and then it will be year two, three and four of PARCC — because PARCC was brand new that first year, and no one did very well.”

Balch said CMS is utilizing all the resources it has available.

“All of our schools that qualify for state assisted student improvement programs are in those programs but one,” he said. “We have six schools that have either completed or are in the Principals Pursuing Excellence program — which is very rigorous — and six of our schools have that on their plate.”

Report card

Clovis

• Arts Academy at Bella Vista: A

• Barry Elementary School: A

• Cameo Elementary School: D

• Clovis High School: B

• Clovis High School Freshman Academy: B

• Highland Elementary School: F

• James Bickley Elementary School: C

• La Casita Elementary School: D

• Lockwood Elementary School: D

• Marshall Middle School: D

• Mesa Elementary School: A

• Parkview Elementary School: D

• Sandia Elementary School: A

• W.D. Gattis Middle School: F

• Yucca Middle School: D

• Zia Elementary School: A

Dora

• Dora Elementary School: A

• Dora High School: A

Elida

• Elida Elementary School: B

• Elida High School: A

Floyd

• Floyd Elementary School: C

• Floyd High School: B

• Floyd Middle School: D

Fort Sumner

• Fort Sumner Elementary School: D

• Fort Sumner High School: B

• Fort Sumner Middle School: C

Grady

• Grady Elementary School: B

• Grady High School: A

• Grady Middle School: C

Melrose

• Melrose Elementary School: B

• Melrose High School: B

• Melrose Junior High School: A

Portales

• Brown Early Childhood Center: B

• James Elementary School: A

• Lindsey-Steiner Elementary School: C

• Portales High School: C

• Portales Junior High School: B

• Valencia Elementary School: B

Texico

• Texico Elementary School: B

• Texico High School: A

• Texico Middle School: A

 
 
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