South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Lindbergh academics rank among best in county, state

Lindbergh Schools is celebrating top-10 student achievement among Missouri K-12 districts, a National Blue Ribbon School Award for Truman Middle School — the district’s sixth such award in five years — and one of the top Missouri School Improvement Program 5 Annual Performance Report, or APR, scores in St. Louis County.

Lindbergh, Brentwood and Ladue school districts are tied for the top APR performance in the county. Lindbergh’s Curriculum and Instruction Department shared these highlights and building-specific achievement data with the Board of Education during the annual Learning Report meeting earlier this month.

Ronni Zagora, director of curriculum and student programs, explained that all Missouri students took a brand-new test in 2014-2015, with new questions and a different format from previous years. In addition, grades three to eight completed the test entirely online for the first time.

“Lindbergh outperforms the state on every test, at every grade, but our peaks and valleys somewhat mirror the state’s peaks and valleys,” she said. “Still, Lindbergh’s performance is exceptional compared to the average performance statewide.”

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Nancy Rathjen stated in a news release that the district’s continued success is a team effort.

“Our teachers and students work so hard,” Rathjen stated. “Every minute of the school day is planned and used for engaging, important learning and teachers regularly review individual student progress to help each child achieve at his or her highest potential.”

Highlights from the Learning Report include:

• Lindbergh Schools — Lindbergh Schools earned 99.3 percent, or 139 of 140 possible points, on the Missouri School Improvement Program 5 Annual Performance Report. This is Lindbergh’s 15th consecutive annual Accredited with Distinction honor, which requires a 90 percent APR score to achieve. The APR measures student academic achievement overall and in specific subgroups, besides ACT scores, college and career placement, overall attendance and graduation rate.

• Lindbergh High School — No. 4 overall and No. 4 in English language arts scores for all Missouri 9-12 high schools. For the third consecutive year, LHS seniors achieved a 24.0 composite score on the ACT test, a score well above the state and national average. A record number of Advanced Placement exams were given in 2015 — 1,021 — which is a new high for LHS, and 12 International Baccalaureate diplomas were awarded. In addition, seniors received $15 million in college scholarships.

• Truman Middle School was named a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Ten schools in Missouri — eight public and two private — including three middle schools, were selected for this prestigious honor. Truman is the sixth Lindbergh school in five years to earn the National Blue Ribbon Award. On state assessments, Truman ranked No. 7 overall and No. 5 in math scores for all Missouri 6-8 middle schools.

• Long Elementary School ranks No. 10 overall, No. 4 in English language arts scores and No. 4 in science scores for all Missouri K-5 elementary schools.

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