TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Department of Education released a list of 117 schools with enough improvement to be removed from the Comprehensive Support and Improvement List.
Sixteen of those schools bumped off the list came from Tulsa Public Schools.
Two Union elementary schools are also off the list. 2 News spoke with administrators from one of those schools.
Shana Harris is the principal at Ellen Ochoa Elementary. She said the students are responding to changes the school made.
"We find the more they are engaged the more they want to come to school," said Harris.
Harris said officials added the school to the list last spring. Since then, it worked with an OSDE appointed support specialist to make improvements. The specialist helped guide professional development sessions in the summer of 2023 and worked to build goals with the school staff.
"We identified what those goals were and then worked on some pathways on how to achieve those goals," said Harris.
What causes the designation?
Schools are designated as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement site if they dipped below 5% in one or more performance levels. Some schools on the list fell in that level for reading and math while others were due to the graduation rate.
According to the OSDE, Ellen Ochoa was placed for their reading scores and student behavior. However both Harris and the state saw improvement.
"Their progress is shared with them and so that is also a motivating factor for them. And I have also seen them wanting to help other students out to. So once they have kind of met their goal, they are encouraged to help somebody else out," said Harris.
Once schools are designated as a CSI they are held to that for three years. However, if the schools manage to raise above the 5% level, the OSDE can take the designation off.
2 News spoke with State Superintendent Ryan Walters about the sites. He explained a school can only get the designation off if it improves in the area in which it put it on.
"So what ever specific academic standard that they fell in the bottom five percent on they had to improve to get off," Walters said.
Once a school improves to meet the exit criteria the it can choose whether or not to keep the support specialist. However in doing so the school's designation remains until the three year term is up, according to Walters.
The under performing schools also get additional funding from the state to use to improve outcomes. Once no longer designated as a CSI site the school's additional funding will be reallocated to another under performing school.
Harris said the designation being taken off validates the work the students and staff were doing, "I want it to feel validating for our staff and for our students and also for the community that has supported us greatly."
Ellen Ochoa saw a 19% increase in academic growth since it received the designation.
TPS no longer classified as CSI:
- Bell Elementary
- Dolores Huerta Elementary
- Greenwood Leadership Academy
- Hamilton Elementary
- Keys Elementary
- Lewis and Clark Elementary
- McClure Elementary
- McKinley Elementary
- Owen Elementary
- Patrick Henry Elementary
- Robertson Elementary
- Whitman Elementary
- Edison Preparatory Middle School
- Lindbergh Elementary
- MacArthur Elementary
- Tulsa MET High School
After the designation was lifted, TPS sent the following statement to 2 News:
Since mid-December, sixteen of our TPS schools have earned improved designations or moved off of the “MRI” or “CSI” lists. We are gratified to see these meaningful indicators of progress, even as we remain laser-focused on improving student outcomes. This is further evidence for how seriously, aggressively, and successfully we’re pursuing this work. It illustrates the learning our students are engaging in and the dedication of our educators and school communities.
Details:
- Our team learned that SDE recently reviewed and moved 4 of our schools(Whitman ES, Hamilton ES, Tulsa Met HS, McClure ES) off of the More Rigorous Intervention (MRI) designation status list based on growth on OSTP and the state report card. We received this news in December.
- In January, we learned that the following 12 TPS sites hit their exit targets and changed their designations, coming off the CSI list (“comprehensive school improvement”): Bell, Dolores Huerta, Greenwood Leadership Academy, Key, Lewis and Clark, Lindbergh, MacArthur, McKinley, Owen, Patrick Henry, Robertson, and Edison Middle School. (all elementary unless noted)
READ MORE: Tulsa schools removed from MRI list
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