Opinion
TIMES EDITORIAL: Encouraging numbers
Cullman County Schools have gotten plenty of criticism in the past, some of it deserved.
And some of it — well — not so much.
It’s no secret that Cullman City Schools are ranked higher than their counterparts in the county thanks to their higher test scores and lower dropout rates. Some parents transfer their children into the city schools — or choose to live within the Cullman city limits — simply because the city schools have a better reputation.
But do the county schools deserve a bad rap? Not really. And the reason is simple.
They’re at a natural disadvantage.
The county school system has several uncontrollable factors that work against it in comparison with with the city schools. One is the fact that it has more students who come from low-income households, a group that statistically scores lower on tests. The other fact — one that is closely related — has to do with school funding. The county schools simply don’t have as much money to spend as the city schools do.
Now, before you think The Times has gone pro-tax, we haven’t. We don’t think money alone is a good way to solve problems. But we do recognize that — all things equal — money can certainly grease the problem-solving wheels.
We bring up these financial and demographic headwinds because it puts some recent county school accomplishments into perspective. Even amid these difficulties, the county schools are finding ways to succeed and narrow the gap to their top-scoring counterparts in the city.
Two things come to mind.
One is the national award Fairview Middle School recently won for improved achievement. The Southern Regional Education Board gave the award to only seven schools nationwide that showed dramatic improvement as part of the Making Middle Grades Work program. Fairview Middle School was one of them, and the school’s accomplishment was recognized by Gov. Riley last month at the state capitol. That deserves a huge kudos from the community.
The second sign of improvement comes in the latest scores from the state’s adequate yearly progress (AYP) benchmarks.
Cullman County Schools, for the most part, did very well in the AYP results, showing enough academic improvement to stay on the state’s good list. Only Fairview High School and the Cullman County Child Development Center failed to meet the standards, and those because of their dropout rates. Even Cullman High School — with its sterling reputation and top-notch test scores — didn’t make the cut.
The city schools are still the crowning jewel of our local public education system, but our county schools are adding a lot more polish lately.
Considering the headwinds they face, that’s an impressive accomplishment indeed.
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