Moore County schools one of 400 across the state to earn Reward School designation

NASA astronomer Billy Hix recently taught Lynchburg Elementary first graders about rockets as part of STEM outreach in our local schools. LES, Moore County Middle School, and Moore County High School all recently earned Reward designation from the State Department of Education. (Photo Provided)

The Tennessee Department of Education recently announced that the Moore County School System was one of 400 schools across the state to earn the Reward designation.

“As always, we are extremely proud of our students, faculty and staff, and school community,” said Director of School Chad Moorehead. “Our school district as a whole has tremendous support from not only parents but also our entire community.  As Director of Schools I am deeply proud of the accolades that our schools and school district are receiving for the work that everyone has put into making our students successful.” 

Reward schools demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by meeting objectives across performance indicators and student groups, and the Reward school distinction places significant emphasis on performance and improvement across all indicators from the prior school year. There are three levels of designation: Reward schools, Exemplary districts, and In Need of Improvement districts.

Each year, schools and districts are eligible for designations based on their overall performance across indicators that are essential to student success, including how they prepared students to be proficient (achievement), accelerated student learning (growth), encouraged students to attend school regularly (chronically out of school), prepared students for postsecondary success (graduation rate and Ready Graduate), and supported English learners acquiring language skills.

“Based on data from the 2022-23 school year both of our schools attained the highest score for student growth awarded (Level 5), both schools received a Letter Grade of B, and many of our achievement levels were noteworthy in our region and at the state level.  Moore County High School was designated as a Reward School and our school district received the designation of Advancing by the Tennessee Department of Education. All of this serves as evidence of the outstanding work taking place in our classrooms,” Director Moorehead continued.

Across the state, 400 schools, spanning 98 districts, received the Reward school designation; 12 districts received the Exemplary district designation; and seven districts received the In Need of Improvement designation. The complete list of district and school designations is available by clicking here.

“We are a school district that is focused on continuous improvement.  There is always room for improvement and our school administration, central office staff, and school board are working on plans to help our students continue to grow in all areas of academic achievement as well as personal growth,” Director Moorehead concluded.

Schools are recognized as a Reward school when they demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by meeting objectives across performance indicators and student groups, and the Reward school distinction places significant emphasis on performance and improvement across all indicators from the prior school year. •

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