Dell Rapids Public School News
08/31/2010
Distinguished Schools
The Dell Rapids School District's mission statement is, "We promote spirited thinking, responsible citizenship and lifelong learning." I am pleased to report that the State of South Dakota's Department of Education has included three Dell Rapids schools in its listing of Distinguished Schools for 2010. Dell Rapids Elementary, Dell Rapids High School and the Dell Rapids Middle School have met the criteria based on last spring's state testing results. Congratulations to the entire staff at all three schools for successfully creating learning environments of such high quality! Congratulations also to the students at all three schools for their dedicated hard work to their studies and their learning!
Distinguished schools and districts are identified using the following criteria: The school or district must meet adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years in both reading and math; AND decrease the achievement gap for one or more subgroups by 10 percent over a two-year period OR have at least 80 percent of students in the "All Student" group meet the state's proficient and advanced levels of student performance in both reading and math," according to the Department's web site.
This is the first time that the Dell Rapids Middle School has made the Distinguished Schools list. However, our Dell Rapids Elementary has made the list seven times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010). Also, our Dell Rapids High School has made the list four times (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010). This is a testament to the entire district that our schools rank among those at the top and that we have great learning environments at all of our buildings. It is the dedicated partnership of students, parents and staff supported by a community that is willing to provide the resources necessary for success that makes these achievements possible. The entire staff throughout our district is dedicated to high quality educational experiences for all of our students.
Even as we relish our successes and our accolades, we all know that there is still work to be done and that we cannot afford to "rest on our laurels". We also know that we can and must do better. We are all dedicated to improving our instructional environments so that ALL our students can be successful.
Congratulations to our Distinguished Schools and to the entire staff and to our whole school community that makes up the partnership that makes the creation of successful learning possible.