Anderson Elementary rewarded for yearly progress in test scores

  • Published
  • By Robinson Duffy
  • Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS, Alaska --  Anderson Elementary School on Eielson Air Force Base has been named one of two National Title I Distinguished Schools in Alaska.

The two schools -- Anderson and Mountain View Elementary School in Anchorage -- were selected for the honor by the state Department of Education.

"We're proud, of course, to be recognized, but very humble because we know there are a lot of teachers out there at a lot of schools that are doing wonderful work with students," Anderson principal Shari Merrick said.

Anderson, with 300 students, has kindergarten through third-grade students and is one of the top 10 percent of all schools in the state in terms of test scores.

The school has consistently met adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law every year since the federal law was put in place.

Title I schools serve populations with high poverty rates and receive special funds from the federal government. In order to be selected as a distinguished school, a selected school must have met adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years.

To meet AYP in Alaska, a school's students have to perform well on standardized tests in reading, writing and math.

The tests in Alaska are given to students in grades three through 10, so only the third-graders at Anderson -- there are about 20 of them any given year -- are factored into the AYP equation each year.

But the staff works hard, Merrick said, to make sure all students in the school get the support they need.

"Almost everybody in our school gets tutored in reading," she said.

"When you are able to give that individual attention to students, they do well."

That extra tutoring doesn't come cheap, and the school is able to offer it because of the extra federal Title I funds as well as special reading grants, Merrick said.

"When you have money, you can do lots of nice things for kids," she said.

Alaska Education Commissioner Barbara Thompson said in a statement Tuesday that staff, students and parents at Anderson "serve as inspirations for all Alaskans."

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