Middletown's Snow Elementary Called 'School of Distinction'

Middletown's Wilbert Snow Elementary School is among 17 elementary and secondary education institutions that was recognized by the governor for achievement on the Connecticut Mastery Tests.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut State Department of Education honored “Schools of Distinction,” a category in the new school measurement system representing schools that exhibited highest overall performance, highest performing subgroups, or highest progress.

The classification serves to identify schools as exemplars of best practices. Through discussion groups, schools shared effective programs and approaches working in their schools that support student learning and explored ways to make this information available to other schools and districts. 

In 2011, Snow School did not meet adequate yearly progress for reading.

making the highest progress among schools with a school performance index less than 88 

“Connecticut has redoubled efforts to provide the best education to all of our students no matter where they live, which school they attend, or socioeconomic status,” said Governor Malloy. “Last year we invested $100 million in our schools, and this year I‟m proposing more than $150 million in additional Educational Cost Sharing funding over the biennium—resources that will be largely targeted to our underperforming schools."

The “Schools of Distinction” category serves to recognize schools as exemplars of best practices. Identified annually, Title I and non Title I schools are recognized in three areas: highest overall performance; highest performing subgroup; or highest progress.This year‟s “Schools of Distinction” category is comprised of 97 schools in 54 districts. Thirteen schools are from the Alliance Districts (the thirty districts statewide deemed to be in greatest need of state support).

Schools of Distinction will be identified annually. This category recognizes Title I and non-Title I schools in three different areas : 1) ‘Highest Performing Subgroup,’ 2) ‘Highest Progress’ and 3) ‘Highest Overall Performance.’ Schools of Distinction were identified this year using CMT/ CAPT 2011 and 2012 data.

Schools identified as ‘Highest Progress’ are broken into two groups—one that has already met the state’s ‘all students’ target of 88 SPI points and the other, which has not, but has increased overall SPI by more than 3 points from 2011 to 2012.

Both are among the top 10 percent of schools making gains in their respective groups, have achievement gaps less than 10 SPI points for the majority of their subgroups and, if they are high schools, have met their respective graduation rate targets. 

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