3 Vernon School Get State 'Distinction' Recognition After Showing 'Significant Growth'

VERNON, Connecticut – The Vernon public school system has again exceeded the state average — and was ranked No.
1 among 36 K-through-12 Alliance District systems — in the latest Next Generation Accountability System results.

The scores were released last week by the state Department of Education.

Vernon schools earned 77.7 points, the district’s highest ranking ever, compared to the state average of 72.2 points.

Three of Vernon’s elementary schools — Maple Street School, Northeast School and Skinner Road School
— were recognized as “Schools of Distinction” because students showed significant growth and
achievement year over year.

Center Road School and Lake Street School also achieved high scores.

"This is great news for our students, staff and families, and something that should make us all proud," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Hill-Papetti said. "And while we always want to do better, these numbers make it clear that we are helping our students reach their full potential."

The Next Generation Accountability System evaluates schools along on 12 criteria, including academic achievement, academic growth, assessment participation rate, chronic absenteeism, college and career readiness, being on track for graduation in ninth grade, graduation in four years, graduation in six years for high-need students, post-secondary entrance rate, physical fitness and arts access.

The criteria break down into 23 metrics that provide school leaders with details about school and district performance.

Maple Street School was recognized as a School of Distinction high growth and performance in math by all students, and high growth in math and English and language arts by high need students.

Northeast School was recognized for high growth in all students in English and language arts, and high
growth among high needs students in English and language arts.

Skinner Road School was recognized for high growth among all students in math, and high growth among
high needs students in math.

High needs students are those with a disability, who are English learners, or who come from economically challenged families and are eligible for free- or reduced-price meals.

Officials said while performance and achievement are common measures of how students are doing in school, "growth" measures a student's pace of learning over time. Students start each year with different levels of knowledge and growth shows how well a school is helping students learn, year over year.

"As a parent and chair of the board of education, I am extremely proud of the hard work our district has
done to continually improve and demonstrate superior academic achievement," Board of Education
Chairman Paul Grabowski said. "Our students, faculty, and staff have worked so hard to elevate our
schools, and our community should feel immense pride in their achievements. Vernon continues to
outpace state averages across many categories, and we are seeing real academic growth. I want folks to
know that the board will work with the administration to carefully analyze these results to help focus our
efforts on areas of improvement. These results should be celebrated, and I hope the community will join
me in praising our amazing students and staff."

One of the criteria used to evaluate schools is chronic absenteeism, and Vernon has succeeded in
reducing that number. It’s has been a "persistent problem", officials said, since the pandemic, but school administrators
and staff members "continually reach out to families to offer support and help them get their children to school."
Cutting chronic absenteeism from about 25 percent to about 5 percent was a key step forward for Maple
Street School, Principal Josh Egan said.

"We build relationships with kids and I think that’s what matters most," Maple Street School Principal Josh Egan said. And those relationships with students and their families helps get students to school.

"When students are in school and in class, our teachers and staff do a great job teaching them and identifying areas where they need help, and then getting them extra help," Egan said.

Getting parents to help with reading and math is also important and has helped students do better, he said.

"I"m one guy. I’m not the reason why this happened," Egan said. "I've got a great team from the café staff
to the office staff to the paraeducators to classroom teachers, the interventionists and the custodians. Everybody in this building has a part in it. They go above and beyond every day."

Skinner Road Pri'ncipal Bryan Kerachsk said the district and his team at Skinner Road have created an environment that is focused on helping students achieve at the highest level.

"We have a system in place around curriculum and assessment that gives every student the chance to learn and succeed," said Kerachsky, whose school has achieved School of Distinction status five times since 2018 and was recently rated No. 65 among Connecticut elementary schools by U.S. News.

He added, "We have a team of talented and hard-working teachers who focus everyday on what is best for our students and getting them what they need to do better and better.”

At Northeast School, Principal Melissa Ross said the results are a "powerful reflection" of the hard work of every person at the school. “I am incredibly proud of what our students accomplished last year, and I am equally proud of the adults who made that growth possible," she said. "These results remind us that ... caring deeply about students and believing in what they can accomplish matters."

The testing also identifies areas where more attention is needed, Ross said.