Accountability results: 17 of 23 Henderson County schools met or exceeded growth; district graduation rate 93.6%

Henderson County Public Schools officials presented state accountability results at the Sept. 8 board meeting: 17 of the district—s 23 schools met or exceeded state growth targets, the district—s four-year cohort graduation rate reached 93.6%, and several schools showed multi-year improvement.

District staff highlighted North Henderson High School—s growth and Early College performance; East Henderson moved from a near-69 score into a B rating and recorded a graduation rate above 90 percent. The district said Apple Valley Elementary has demonstrated steady improvement over four years and moved off the low-performing list.

Superintendent/administrator remarks acknowledged the progress but singled out that a small number of schools remain at D or F levels. "We should not have an F school. We just shouldn't," said Dr. Marlowe at the meeting, and staff said they will develop targeted school improvement plans for schools designated as low-performing or continually low-performing under state rules.

Administrators noted complicating factors for some low-performing campuses, including high percentages of multilingual learners and other subgroup dynamics that affect proficiency-based measures. Staff said they will submit required school improvement plans to the state and bring more detailed action plans to the board in November, and they highlighted that the state is reviewing accountability methodology, including discussions of 50/50 proficiency/growth or separate performance and growth scores.

The board received the accountability report for information and directed staff to continue implementing targeted supports and to present school improvement plans in upcoming meetings.