Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq today presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics to three schools in Boyertown Area School District, Berks County: New Hanover-Upper Frederick Elementary School, Gilbertsville Elementary School and Boyertown Area Senior High School.
‘On behalf of Governor Corbett, I congratulate the Boyertown Area School District community for working together to ensure that students are growing academically and being prepared for post-high school success,’ Dumaresq said. ‘These schools are an example of the high-quality learning that is taking place in schools and classrooms across Pennsylvania.’
Based on the 2012-13 School Performance Profile, www.paschoolperformance.org, New Hanover-Upper Frederick Elementary School attained a score of 95.3 percent – the highest in the district and tying for highest among all 102 public schools in Berks County.
Gilbertsville Elementary School followed with a 94.3 percent and Boyertown Area Senior High School with a 90.3 percent.
‘I thank Secretary Dumaresq for recognizing the excellent work being done in the Boyertown Area School District,’ said Boyertown Area School District Superintendent Dr. Richard Faidley. ‘This achievement is a tribute to our talented students, dedicated staff, supportive parents and involved volunteers working together as a team. This team is focused on providing a valuable educational program for our students within our established community resources. We will continue this effort to meet our mission; ‘to enable all students to succeed in a changing world.”
The School Performance Profile provides parents, taxpayers and educators with access to a comprehensive, straight-forward and user-friendly resource that provides detailed information about the academic performance of all public schools, including traditional public schools, brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools, and career and technology centers.
‘High-quality educators and school leaders greatly influence student achievement,’ Dumaresq said. ‘I applaud Boyertown Area School District for its excellent educational programs, quality teachers, support staff and administrative team that are dedicated to raising student achievement.’
The School Performance Profile includes results of the statewide assessments and other measures of student achievement, such as academic growth from year to year, graduation rate, attendance rate and promotion rate. The profile also incorporates increasing the achievement of all students, including historically underperforming students, such as English language learners, economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities.
Governor Corbett, Dumaresq and Corbett administration officials are visiting high-performing schools across Pennsylvania to present them with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Academics. Statewide, 428 school buildings attained a score of 90 or higher.
Since taking office, Governor Corbett has put into place education policies to increase accountability, enhance transparency and provide support systems for public schools. These include a new, comprehensive educator evaluation system that relies on multiple measures of student achievement; improved academic standards and assessments to ensure students are prepared for postsecondary opportunities; and no-cost, high-quality educational resources, such as voluntary model curriculum, lesson plans and classroom diagnostic tools.
