Morgan Wheatly

Local school administrators are calling a new state accountability system unfair and a poor reflection of how students in Clarendon and Hedley are really performing.

Scores released last week show how schools would be graded if the state’s new system were in place today. Texas’ latest performance report gives schools an A-F grade in four domains – Student Achievement (D1), Student Progress (D2), Closing Gaps (D3), and Post-Secondary Readiness (D4).

Clarendon ISD received C’s in the first three domains and an F in the fourth domain even though the district met state standards just five months ago.

“It’s supposed to be a simple, transparent accountability system,” Clarendon Superintendent Mike Norrell said, “but the form and methodology are very complex.”

Clarendon Elementary received scores of C, C, D, and B. Clarendon Junior High got C, D, B, and B; and Clarendon High School got C, F, D, and F.

Norrell said the Post-Secondary Readiness domain, in which Clarendon High School and the district as a whole received F’s, is one example of the complexity of the new scoring.

Post-secondary readiness means how ready kids are to go to college. In elementary school, that is being ranked based on absenteeism, and in junior high it’s based on absenteeism and dropout rate. The high school score is based on the number of students in dual credit classes, students who have completed TSI testing (necessary to take college classes), the graduation rate and graduation plans.

Clarendon High School had a 92.6 percent graduation rate in 2015, Norrell said, and CHS seniors have an average of about 30.69 hours of college credit.

“We have good programs, and we look to improve those,” Norrell said. “Just look at the partnerships with have with Clarendon College, look what we’ve done with dual credit Spanish classes. We’ve got a lot of good things going on.”

And so, the F rating for post-secondary readiness is puzzling, Norrell said. So much so, that district officials are wondering if data used by the state has been entered incorrectly. Regional Service Center personnel are being contacted to help Clarendon ISD review that data and the way it’s being entered.

“I think schools have so many diverse, moving parts, that it’s unfair to say you’re an A, B, C, D, or F school,” Norrell said. “I don’t know that it’s fair to give any school a single letter grade.”

D1 is based mostly on standardized tests, D2 is based on how well kids performed on standardized tests compared to how they performed the last time they were tested. So, Norrell says, a student can pass the test, but if they don’t score the same or better than the last time they took the test, the school gets docked for it.

D3 is based on how well schools are closing the performance gap between economically disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers.

Hedley ISD fared better under the new scoring system, but due to the school’s size, they only got one set of scores and weren’t graded on Post-Secondary Readiness at all. Hedley earned a C for Student Achievement, an A for Student Progress, and a B for Closing the Gaps.

Superintendent Colby Waldrop says he is not a fan of the new system.

“We’re being graded on things like the economic status of our kids,” Waldrop said. “In D4, we’re being graded on the number of kids that took a college test. It’s not a good reflection of what we do here. Everything is just very frustrating.”

Norrell and Waldrop say the new system won’t become effective until August of 2018. Meanwhile education leaders across the state are condemning the new system.

“The Legislature’s requirement to grade schools on an A-F scale is a flawed concept,” said James B. Crow, of the Texas Association of School Boards. “These new A-F ratings are just a symptom of the larger sickness: an unhealthy fixation on standardized testing and standardized expectations.

“It’s time the armchair educators stop trying to find new ways to sell tests, test preparation, and test administration. It’s time to consider our students and schools as more than just a grade.”

Clarendon Chamber of Commerce Manager Bonnie Campbell announced her intention to retire during a meeting of the Chamber board last Thursday, January 5.

Campbell says she has loved working with the Chamber and that she and her husband, Gary, have plans to travel.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Chamber, but we want to be able to go see our kids and grandkids in Tennessee more often,” Campbell said. “I will not leave until we can get someone who I can show where everything is. I came on when we just had an answering machine, and we don’t want to go back to that.”

Chamber President Roger Estlack said the organization owes a debt of gratitude to Campbell.

“The board and I deeply appreciate all that Bonnie has done for the Chamber,” president Roger Estlack said. “I think it’s safe to say that there might very well not be a Chamber today if not for her efforts starting five years ago.”

Campbell has led the Chamber since January 2012 when she joined the board and was named president. After spending two and a half years on a volunteer basis, she resigned her board position to become the paid chamber manager in September 2014.

Campbell helped lead the Chamber through a difficult time, reviving an organization that was once in disarray, growing its membership, and getting it on sound financial footings. She says she is pleased with the growth the Chamber has seen and the respect and trust the organization has earned in the community.

“I’ve loved working with the people – both the visitors and the community – and working with the board,” Campbell said. “I’m proud of the number of people that we now have visit the office and proud of the growth of membership. We were down to less than 20, and now we have close to 100.”

A committee of the board will now begin the task of finding Campbell’s successor. Applications for the job are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center, which is open weekdays from 10:00 to noon and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Campbell will be honored during the Chamber’s annual banquet on February 9.

The Donley County Commissioners Court enacted a burn ban during their regular meeting Monday, January 9.

No outdoor burning is allowed on a day of a forecasted Fire Weather Watch or a Red Flag Warning issued from the National Weather Service in Amarillo.

Under Donley County’s Burn Ban conditions, anyone engaging in outdoor burning must contact the Donley County Sheriff’s office prior to ignition and give the dispatcher a burn location, a contact phone number, and approximate burn time. The persons engaging in outdoor burning needs to be present on the site of the burn until the burn is completed.

Anyone engaging in any form of outdoor burning is asked to burn with extreme caution at all times.

Forecasters can issue the watch or warning for all or selected portions within a fire weather zone. The Red Flag event is verified when the weather and fuel conditions listed below are met simultaneously for any three hours or more during the period.

The following weather and fuel conditions must be forecast to occur or already occurring before issuing a Fire Weather Watch and/or Red Flag Warning: Minimum relative humidities equal to or less than 15 percent; 20 foot winds of 20 mph or higher and/or gusts to 35 mph or higher; and an NFDRS adjective fire danger rating of “high” or higher.

For information, log onto www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/.

The burn ban will stay in effect for the next 90 days.