HOUSTON – June 24, 2019 – Spring ISD today announced that the district’s Spring Early College Academy has been named a 2018-19 Honor Roll school by Educational Results Partnership (ERP). Spring Early College Academy is one of 855 public schools in Texas to be recognized by the organization this year.
“We’re very gratified to see Spring Early College Academy named to ERP’s 2018-19 Honor Roll,” said Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Rodney E. Watson. “We’ve worked hard – together with our wonderful partners at Lone Star College-North Harris – to develop a school of excellence at Early College Academy so that students have the opportunity to graduate with both a high school diploma and associate degree.”
The Honor Roll program, which recognizes both individual campuses and districts for their achievements in student success, is part of a national effort to identify higher-performing schools and school districts that are improving student outcomes. The list of honorees is developed each year by ERP, a California-based nonprofit organization that applies data science to help improve student outcomes and career readiness. The organization maintains the nation’s largest longitudinal database on student achievement and utilizes this data to identify higher-performing schools and districts.
“It was very much a surprise,” said Spring Early College Academy Principal Diana Kimberly. “We’re grateful, and humbled. I’m very proud of all my teachers, because they’re the ones in the classroom doing the work. This is all about our incredible staff and our kids.”
The Honor Roll highlights schools and districts that show not just high levels of academic achievement overall, but also improvement in achievement levels over time, along with a reduction in achievement gaps among student populations. The recognition also takes into account measures of college readiness.
According to Marilyn Reznick, ERP board chair, the recognition program – the only one of its kind in Texas that is based solely on objective achievement data – is about improving educational outcomes for all students across the nation.
“Our goal is to guide other educators to data-informed best practices for raising student achievement,” Reznick said.
Her comments were echoed in a statement from ERP President and CEO Dr. James Lanich.
“ERP is all about improving educational equity and promoting career readiness for all students, regardless of their family income, background or ZIP code,” Lanich said. “These Honor Roll schools and districts are living proof that our students can succeed when schools are committed to removing educational obstacles and accelerating student success. By focusing attention on these bright spots among our schools, we hope to change the conversation from ‘what’s wrong’ to ‘what’s working,’ and encourage others to replicate their success.”
The ERP Honor Roll program in Texas is supported by a variety of businesses and organizations, including the Texas Business Leadership Council, American Automobile Association (AAA) Texas, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Chevron Corporation and Enterprise Holdings Foundation. The full results of the 2018-19 Honor Roll can be found on the group’s website.