TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOL earns release from state priority list

Note: This story was published January 24 by Jim Kasuba of The News-Herald Newspapers.

Several Downriver public schools – including Truman High School – have shown enough academic improvement to warrant the state to remove them from its priority list.

(Recently) the Michigan School Reform Office announced the release of 79 schools from the priority school list, the highest number in Michigan School Reform history.

Priority schools are those identified for improvement due to low achievement. The list identifies schools in the bottom 5 percent of the state’s top-to-bottom ranking, which is based on standardized test scores, graduation rates and other factors. Other Downriver-area schools removed from the list were Ralph J. Bunche Academy, Ecorse Public Schools; Lincoln Park High School, Lincoln Park Public Schools; Raupp Elementary School, Lincoln Park Public Schools; and River Rouge High School, River Rouge School District

“For the first time in the history of the SRO, more schools are being released from priority school status than are being identified,” said Natasha Baker, SRO director. “It is our mission to turn priority schools into the highest performing schools in the state. We do this through academic accountability because every child — regardless of their demographics — deserves access to quality educational opportunities.”

The schools released from the list were identified between 2010 and 2014. Each year, schools in the bottom 5 percent of all public schools in Michigan are identified as priority schools and monitored for turnaround in subsequent years.

Schools are eligible to exit priority school status if they meet three exit criteria after four years of implementing their redesign plans.

The plans include support and additional resources from the U.S. Department of Education, Michigan Department of Education and local Intermediate School District.