Oakland clears state benchmark for graduation rate on The Murfreesboro Post

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Oakland clears state benchmark for graduation rate

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By: TMP Reports

Posted: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 11:36 am

Rutherford County Schools has received preliminary, verbal notification that Oakland High School has cleared the graduation rate benchmark set by the state.

The district expects to receive written confirmation from the state in the coming weeks.

In January, the district was concerned because the initial data showed the school had missed the benchmark for the 2007-2008 school year by four-tenths of a percent, which may have required the district to offer school choice for Oakland beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. The District submitted an appeal of the initial data based on the method in which the graduation rate was calculated.

During state training June 16, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Don Odom was told by state officials the appeal had been approved, and as such, Oakland had met the graduation rate benchmark in question.

“I’ve always considered Oakland to be an outstanding school and believed the reason the school was put on high priority to be unfair,” Director of Schools Harry Gill Jr. said. “I am delighted with the information from the state, and we plan to continue with further improvements at Oakland.”

Oakland’s graduation rate has been trending up during the past four years but until now has failed to meet the improvement benchmarks established by the state as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Oakland’s graduation rate on the most recent Tennessee Report Card was 85.7 percent, up from 82.6 percent on the 2005 Report Card.

The district and the school have implemented several programs to improve the graduation rate at the school, most notably the International Baccalaureate Program beginning with the 2007-2008 school year. The IB program was offered at only 13 other schools in the state during the 2008-2009 school year, and the program at Oakland has drawn the attention of many parents and students. For example, 44 out-of-zone students have requested to attend Oakland for the 2009-2010 school year, largely due to the IB program.

Other programs implemented at the school include a reading intervention teacher, a writing intervention teacher, a graduation coach, an additional Algebra I teacher, the credit recovery program, and the masonry program. The school also has implemented a hybrid block schedule that gives students more opportunities to earn credits.

Tagged under Don Odom, Harry Gill Jr, OHS, RCS

Member Opinions:

By: stewartn on 6/20/09
Congratulations to Bill Spurlock and his very talented staff and students for this achievement!