School districts in Morgan County score at or above average on report card
For the Enquirer
State report card grades for the 2023-24 school year were released to the public last month, and all three school districts in Morgan County scored at or above the state average of 85, utilizing resources such as reading and math coaches to assist struggling students. Hartselle City Schools scored the highest with an overall grade of 95, and all schools in that district scored an 89 or higher. This is a one-point increase from 94 in the 2022-23 school year.
“I think our teachers, staff and administrators are data driven with the decisions they make, and I think our people have a real keen eye on what contributes to a really good grade,” said Hartselle Superintendent Brian Clayton.
Clayton said one of the big achievements in his school district over the last three years is limiting excessive absences in all six schools.
“I’ve been in administration for 26 years and the kids that seem to do really well in school are at school every day,” Clayton said. “When school people do their best to remove any barrier a kid might have, whether they need certain accommodations or not, they will be successful.” Morgan County Schools earned an 87 this year, up from 84 in 2023. The school district also had higher proficiency levels in English language arts, math and science. Every school in the district earned a C or higher, with Eva School, Danville-Neel Elementary, Priceville Elementary and West Morgan Elementary all earning A’s.
Morgan County Superintendent Tracie Turrentine mentioned at a recent board meeting that Danville-Neel Elementary had the largest increase from the 2022-2023 school year, increasing from 77 to 94.
“Across the board, our students showed a 5.4% increase in English Language Arts, 3.9% in math, and 5.3% in science,” Turrentine said. “This indicates that our efforts from the district from (our administrators) are very effective. They have worked really hard on the systems curriculum alignment, teacher professional development, and the student engagement is paying off.” Turrentine also mentioned the district’s improvement in third grade reading proficiency, which is now at 94.1%. According to the state department of education, the statewide third grade reading proficiency was at 91.0% for the 20232024 school year.
Turrentine said although she was pleased with her district’s report card score, she wants to focus on con-tinuing to increase math proficiency and high school graduation rates, which were above the state average.
According to federal report card data, the math proficiency of students at Morgan County Schools rose from 30.21% during the 2022-23 school year to 34.09% during the 2023-24 school year. The statewide math proficiency average for the 2023-24 school year is 31.15%.
“Although we have seen growth, math proficiency is an area where we still need improvement,” Turrentine said. “We are working on more targeted interventions, including additional resources for teachers and students, as well as afterschool tutoring and summer programs.” The school district had a graduation rate of 91.13%, above the statewide average of 90.04%. Turrentine said they are researching additional support systems such as mentoring and career readiness programs to promote graduation.
Decatur City Schools earned a score of 85 on the state report card, down one point from an 86 in the 2022-23 school year. Superintendent Michael Douglas emphasized his goal of improving the district’s score each year but noted that achieving the statewide average – despite more than 70% of the student population being economically disadvantaged – was a significant accomplishment.
“When you look at the demographics of the state versus the demographics of Decatur, we feel like our teachers did about as good as they could have done,” Douglas said.
Eastwood Elementary, Walter Jackson Elementary, Leon Sheffield Magnet Elementary, and Benjamin Davis Elementary all earned A’s.
Douglas said the biggest obstacle his schools face is finding innovative ways to teach the growing number of special education and English language learner students the district receives every year. He said there are math coaches in every Decatur elementary school now and he hopes that will raise proficiency in that area.
“When I got here (in 2016), we were at 54% poverty and now we’re at 74% poverty,” Douglas said. “We feel like this year we are going to do better, but those are the main factors that I see are contributing.” Although most schools in Decatur scored a C or above, Oak Park Elementary earned a 59, down from a 76 in the 2022-23 school year. Douglas said this was a result of a high number of special education students and English language learner students attending the school than in the 2022-23 school year.
“They are 32% special ed and 35% EL (English language learners), so 67% of the school has a disability or can’t speak the language,” Douglas said. “So, because we consolidate special ed services, no other elementary school I have is above 20% special ed.” Third-grade students in these categories are exempt from the third-grade reading test on the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program. This exemption allows them to advance to the fourth grade without being retained or required to take a second assessment, as mandated for other students under state law.
However, scores on the ACAP from special education and English language learner students are counted among the other demographics to calculate the state report card for the school and district. Douglas said scores from students in the district’s Achieve, Inspire, Motivate (AIM) developmental program are exempt if the students disabilities are severe or profound enough, but other students with learning disabilities are not.
“At the end of the day, we can’t make excuses and we think we are going to have a better year this year,” Douglas said.
To assist Oak Park, Douglas said they hired a second assistant principal this school year to give them a total amount of three administrators and have hired 19 “non-tenured” teachers. He said they have also hired a second reading coach to help increase proficiency.