×

Ripley Elementary only designated Reward School in county

RIPLEY — Only 73 of the 155 schools in New York State that Education Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia identified as Reward Schools are outside New York City, and of those 73, only Ripley is in Chautauqua County.

According to the State Education Department, Reward Schools are schools with high academic achievement or those with the most progress in the state and do not have significant gaps in student achievement between subgroups.

District Superintendent Dr. Lauren Ormsby cited several contributing factors to Ripley’s recognition as a “High Progress” Reward School. “Through implementation of rigorous curriculum and attention to student character and the quality of their work we have seen an enormous change in our students,” she said. “This reward also represents the hard work and dedication of the faculty and staff to the students at Ripley Central School,” she added.

This change was facilitated by Ripley’s designation as an EL Education (previously called Expeditionary Learning) school. “Our partnership with EL Education has played an essential role in our student growth,” Ormsby said.

According to Ormsby, a school can only receive the designation of “High Progress” Reward School if it is among the top 10 percent of schools in terms of gains in ELA and math performance in the 2016-17 academic year.

The selected school must also have made adequate yearly progress for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years for all groups of students on all measures for which the school is accountable, including the requirement that 95 percent of all groups participate in the ELA and math assessments.

Furthermore, Ormsby noted, the designated school may not have unacceptably large gaps in student performance on an accountability measure between students who are members of an accountability group, such as low-income students, and students who are not members of that group.

In addition, elementary and middle schools must demonstrate that more than 50 percent of students are making annual growth in ELA and math, and that more than 50 percent of the school’s lowest achieving students are also making gains.

As the only school in Chautauqua County to receive this designation, Ripley shares this honor with other New York schools which, according to Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa, have teachers and administrators who work hard each day to “raise the bar and give their students the opportunities to achieve their dreams.”

Ormsby recalls that only five years ago, during the 2012-13 school year, Ripley was identified as a Focus District. A Focus District is required to submit a comprehensive plan to improve results in Math and Literacy.

At the district’s August 2013 Board of Education meeting, Ormsby said she was confident that the plan Ripley submitted to the State Education Department “is working and that the district would continue to make progress.”

We are going to continue to work hard and I hope next year I can give you the news that, not only are we making progress, but we are off the list,” she said. Ripley was subsequently designated by the State Education Department as “making progress” and after another year of improvement, was removed from the list.

On being recognized as a “High Progress” Reward School for 2017-18, Ormsby said, “This is a milestone I have dreamed of achieving since we were identified as a Focus School five years ago. While we know we still have work to do, it feels wonderful to receive this honor in recognition of the progress we have made toward our goal.”

Ripley has received a certificate as a Reward School from the state and will have a celebration with faculty and students today, Feb. 16.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today