LANSING, MI (WTVB) -The state of Michigan has announced that it’s taking 96 schools, including 3 in Branch County, off of its “focus schools” list, meaning those schools have made some strides in closing the achievement gaps among their students. The Michigan Department of Education designates a school as a focus school if it has large achievement gaps between its top 30% of students and its bottom 30% of students, based on the average scale score on state assessments.
Taken off the list were Coldwater High School, Coldwater’s Lakeland Elementary, and Quincy Middle School. Coldwater’s Max Larsen Elementary was previously on the list, but was released this past August.
Retained on the list were Quincy High School, Union City Middle School, and Union City Elementary.
To get off this list, the schools have to show over two years they had above-average improvement in the bottom 30% of their students in math and English language arts, compared to statewide averages in the bottom 30% in those subjects. “These schools have made big strides in raising the academic achievement and improvement of their most struggling students,” state Superintendent Brian Whiston said in a statement. “To have this many schools removing themselves from Focus Schools’ designations represents fantastic progress, and I commend the teachers, students, principals, and parents for their hard work and improvement.”
