Spring-Ford Schools Receive Governor's Award for Excellence in Academics, Scores Put Spring-Ford Schools in Top 2.5% Percent of the State

Spring-Ford Area School District is beginning the 2014-2015 school year with a significant reason to be proud. Seven of the district’s schools have received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics for achieving 90 points or higher on the Pennsylvania School Performance Profile (SPP). This impressive accomplishment places Spring-Ford in the top 2.5 percent in the state based on SPP data.

The schools that received the award were Brooke Elementary, for a score of 92.4; Limerick Elementary, for a score of 93.3; Royersford Elementary, for a score of 90.4; 5/6 Grade Center, for a score of 93.3; 7th Grade Center, for a score of 98; 8th Grade Center, for a score of 96.4; and 9th Grade Center, for a score of 91.9. The principals of the schools were each presented with a plaque and banner from the state.

In addition to the seven schools receiving between 90 and 100 points, the district received an overall score of 97.6. Of the 499 school districts in the state of Pennsylvania, only 11 had higher scores than Spring-Ford.

The SPP is a new district accountability system, which replaced No Child Left Behind and AYP testing in Pennsylvania. SPP is the first state system to consider student growth in its scoring.

That score is derived using the following indicators:

o Indicators of Academic Achievement make up 40% of the score. This includes the percent of students proficient on PSSA/Keystone Exams in Algebra I, Literature, and Biology for the 2012-2013 school year, the percentage of third-graders reading at Proficient or Advanced on the PSSA, and other competency assessments such as the SAT/ACT.

o Indicators of closing the Achievement Gap among all students make up 5% of this score.

• • Indicators of closing the Achievement Gap among historically underperforming students make up 5% of this score. Students falling within this category are those receiving Special Education services, English as a Second Language Students and Economically Disadvantaged Students.
  • Indicators of Academic Growth through the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) Growth Index make up 40% of the score. This index represents the school’s impact on the academic progress of students from year-to-year, with this year being the first since the SPP is new.
  • Other academic indicators make up 10% of the score. These include graduation and promotion rates, attendance rates, Advanced Placement credits and PSAT participation. This calculation is only applied to relevant schools. For example, graduation rates would not be calculated into the formula for elementary schools.

Schools were also extra credit points based on the percentage of students rated “Advanced” on PSSAs, Advanced Placement course achievements, and “Advanced” ratings on industry standards-based competency assessments

“Spring-Ford’s schools reflect a tremendous accomplishment,” stressed Dr. David Goodin, Superintendent of Schools. “We have every reason to be proud.”

“We can achieve great things when we work together as a team and community. This is an honor for everyone who works in our district,” President Joe Ciresi said. “Let’s keep moving forward. There’s no reason we can’t be the No.1 district in Pennsylvania.”