Earlier this week, Woden ISD wound up on top of all Nacogdoches county school districts when each district received yet another round of accolades for student performance from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The Gold Performance Acknowledgment (GPA) system recognizes school districts and campuses for their high performance on indicators other than those used to determine accountability ratings, like the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test.
Woden ISD's high school, junior high school, elementary school and Boy's Ranch garnered a total of 17 GPAs, the highest of any school system in the county.
All three of Woden's main campuses were 'recognized' by TEA earlier this year for their overall TAKS test scores.
Woden High School and Woden Junior High School each took in five acknowledgements for college readiness, attendance and improvements in core curriculum areas. Woden Elementary was acknowledged for its high scores in math, writing and science.
"It's a very lucrative thing to get those (GPAs) because I guarantee you, when I was a junior high principal, I got some, and they're tough to get," WISD Superintendant Brent Hawkins said. "It's just a really positive thing for the staff. It's like having an exemplary school, basically, except it's the gold performance."
Hawkins said the 17 GPAs his district nabbed this year may be the highest in school history.
"We hope to continue to build in all areas and work diligently everyday," he said. "We really felt like the plans we put in place, which was a three- to five-year plan, and we turned around and had the best ratings since the inception of the new accountability standards. We're not trying to plateau though. We're trying to hit a home run every year."
Chireno ISD received the second highest number of GPAs in the area with 13 for its high school, which is a recognized campus already, and elementary school, which were both awarded for their superior attendance levels.
Chireno Elementary received a GPA for every eligible category except one.
CISD Superintendant Roger Dees said of his district's results, "We believe that it validates that students and teachers are working in the right direction to improve student achievement beyond a minimum standard. The number of acknowledgments received by each campus demonstrates a variety of high performances our students are attaining."
Nacogdoches ISD's 10 campuses received eight gold performance acknowledgments.
Nacogoches High School received one acknowledgment for improvement in reading compared to statewide levels, and McMichael Middle School received acknowledgment for attendance and improved math skills.
Raguet Elementary received acknowledgments for the relatively high number of students who scored above the minimal standards on the science test and improved reading scores.
Other area school districts received the following number of GPAs: Garrison ISD, 11; Central Heights, six; Cushing ISD, two; Etoile Elementary School, two; Douglass School, eight; Martinsville School, five.
