Kansas City Schools Beating the Odds in Student Growth
Photo by Norma Mortenson
By: Ashley Donaldson Burle
PRiME recently published the 2022 Beating the Odds Report: Student Growth in Missouri’s Highest Poverty Schools which highlights the schools that are “beating the odds” across the state by moving the needle on student learning in high poverty schools. We define “high poverty” schools as schools where the student body eligible for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRL) is at least 59%. We rank the top schools “beating the odds” in student growth in three categories—elementary schools, eleMiddle schools and middle schools—for both English Language Arts (ELA) and math using the PRiME 2021 Growth Scores. PRiME Growth Scores of approximately 90 and above are considered high Growth Scores.
Recognizing schools that are best serving traditionally underserved students from high poverty schools is especially important in light of the disproportionate effects these schools likely experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this blog, we spotlight the high poverty schools in the Kansas City region who showed excellent academic growth and were featured as top-growth schools in our Beating the Odds Report. We find:
1. Nine Kansas City elementary schools earned top Growth Scores. In ELA, Thomas Hart Benton Elementary and Williams Southern Elementary (Independence 30), Gladstone Elementary and Longfellow Elementary (Kansas City 33), and Westridge Elementary (Raytown C-2) all achieved top Growth Scores. In math, Hope Leadership Academy, Longfellow Elementary (Kansas City 33), Santa Fe Trail Elementary (Independence 30), and Millennium at Sante Fe (Hickman Mills C-1) achieved top Growth Scores.
2. One Kansas City eleMiddle school earned top Growth Scores in both ELA and math. Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School earned the 6th highest Growth Score in ELA and the 8th highest Growth Score in math.
3. Two Kansas City middle schools earned top Growth Scores. Allen Village School Junior Academy earned the 3rd highest Growth Score (96.5). Guadalupe Centers Middle School earned top Growth Scores in both ELA and math.
The schools highlighted here exhibited high growth while serving the highest concentrations of low-income students and would likely have been overlooked if only examining proficiency levels. As demonstrated by their high Growth Scores, these schools are working to shrink achievement and opportunity gaps and should serve as models for schools serving students with similar demographics. We applaud and congratulate these schools for their ability to move student learning forward in the midst of a national pandemic.
To read more about schools “Beating the Odds” across the state, read our recent report.
