Recently, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the 2016 state accountability ratings for more than 1,200 school districts and charters, as well as more than 8,600 campuses across the state of Texas.
Districts, campuses, and charters receive one of three ratings under the accountability system: Met Standard, Met Alternative Standard, or Improvement Required. During the 2015-16 school year, Jack Yates (JY) Senior High School was rated as an Improvement Required (IR) campus.
Thanks to the extremely hard work and efforts of the JY Student Body, as well as the JY administration, faculty and staff, Jack Yates was able to make the needed gains to meet State Standards accordingly for the Texas Education Association (T.E.A.).
The 2016 ratings are based on a system that uses a range of indicators to provide greater detail about the performance of a district or charter and individual campuses throughout the state. The performance index framework includes four areas:
- Student Achievement – Provides a snapshot of performance across all subjects
- Student Progress – Measures year-to-year student progress by subject and student group
- Closing Performance Gaps – Emphasizes the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and the lowest performing racial/ethnic student groups
- Postsecondary Readiness – Emphasizes the importance of earning a high school diploma that provides students with the foundation necessary for success in college, the workforce, job training programs or the military
In order to earn a rating of Met Standard or Met Alternative Standard, a campus or district must meet the target on either Index 1 or Index 2 plus meet the targets on Index 3 and Index 4. The calculation requires an ACCEPTABLE rating of a campus to MEET expectations for Index 1 or 2, with a combination of Index 3 and 4. Jack Yates met expectations due to the passing performance rates of Indexes 2, 3 and 4.
For Jack Yates, out of the Four (4) Indexes that were rated, the school scored the following:
- Index 1: Student Achievement. The state requires a standard passing of 60% this year. Jack Yates Scored a 51 (Currently not Meeting Expectations).
- Index 2: Student Progress. The state requires a standard passing of 17% this year. Jack Yates scored a 20 (Meeting Expectations).
- Index 3: Closing the Performance Gap. The state requires a standard passing of 30% this year. Jack Yates scored a 32 (Meeting Expectations).
- Index 4: Postsecondary Readiness. The state requires a standard passing of 60% this year. Jack Yates scored a 62 (Meeting Expectations).
Principal Kenneth Davis, who has served as Principal of Jack Yates Senior High School since July of 2015, was thrilled about the results and hopeful for even greater growth at the school in the near future.
“As campus principal, you know that coming to an Improvement Required (IR) campus requires a lot of hard work,” said Davis. “Being able to work together as a team to make this kind of growth at an urban high school that has been faced with many challenges makes us all very excited. I am so proud of and for our LIONS!”
Principal Davis began his career in education in Alief ISD, where he earned numerous awards during his 11-year tenure with the district, including: Teacher of the Year from the Houston Area Alliance of Black School Educators, and Region IV Principal of the Year. Davis then served in Lamar Consolidated ISD where he received the National Distinguished Principal Award in 2009. In 2010, Davis began his career with HISD as principal of Dowling Middle School, the largest middle school in the HISD Apollo 20 Program. After his tenure at Dowling Middle School, Davis was selected to serve as a HISD School Support Officer. As a School Support Officer, Davis was responsible for overseeing the academic performance of six HISD middle schools; including all of the HISD Apollo Middle Schools. Mr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Rockford College (Rockford, Illinois) and a Master’s Degree from the University of St. Thomas in Educational Leadership.
There is often so much negative news that gets reported about the status of African American schools in the Greater Houston area, so whenever something positive and worthy of being highlighted comes around, the Forward Times will always share that with the community.
Congratulations to Principal Davis and the students, faculty and staff of Jack Yates for a job well done.