Report cards in for area schools

Logan Municipal Schools again led Quay County school systems in the New Mexico Public Education Department’s 2018 annual grading of schools based on student performance and improvement in the 2017-2018 school year.

The department announced its grades for all New Mexico schools Friday. None of Quay County’s schools earned overall grades below a C this year. At least one school scored D grades in each of 2017, 2016 and 2015, according to the education department’s figures. The department’s numbers show:

• Logan Elementary School scored an A grade, while Logan Middle School and Logan High School attained B grades. Logan High School advanced a grade from a C last year,

• House Elementary School scored the biggest gain, advancing from a D grade in 2017 to an A grade this year. House Junior High’s C grade remained unchanged. House High School’s grad dropped from B to C.

• Tucumcari schools broke even in 2018, but the grades shifted from school to school. Tucumcari Elementary School dropped from a B in 2017 to a C this year, but Tucumcari Middle School advanced from C to B. Tucumcari High School scored a C grade for both years.

• San Jon schools scored B grades at all three schools, representing single grade-level improvements at the middle and high schools, which scored C's last year, and a one grade-level drop at its elementary school, which was rated A last year.

In a news release, Logan Schools Superintendent Dennis Roch said, “The fact that Logan is both high achieving and showing consistent growth (improvement in test scores) is rare, but is a testament to the hard work of our students, the dedication of our talented faculty and staff, and the strong support of parents and the community.”

House Superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot said her schools had three things to be proud of. One is that in a measure of student proficiency, House Elementary went from F to B. In improvement rate, House Elementary zoomed from an F to an A, as well. The third was an “opportunity to learn” scale based on surveys of parents’ and students’ confidence in teachers. By that measure, she said, House also scored an A, coming up from a D grade.

“That means people put value and trust in our schools,” she said. “If we believe, we can do great things.” In the meantime, she said, “we will celebrate even small gains and continue to focus on what we need to improve.”

San Jon Schools’ new superintendent Janet Gladu said she is satisfied with her school system’s ratings.

“They’re good grades,” she said, adding that in small district like San Jon, which has 152 students, “one student’s performance can make a big difference.”

Tucumcari schools Superintendent Aaron McKinney said, “It’s hard to know what the outcome is going to be, but we keep trying.”

House Superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot could not be reached Monday.

McKinney noted the state had adopted a more rigid scoring system than in past years.

Grades for all New Mexico schools are shown on the Public Education Department’s website, http://www.webnew.ped.state.nm.us.

School 2018 grade

Tucumcari Elementary C

Tucumcari Middle School B

Tucumcari High School C

Logan Elementary A

Logan Middle School B

Logan High School B

San Jon Elementary B

San Jon Middle School B

San Jon High School B

House Elementary A

House Junior High C

House High School C

Historical breakout

School 2015 2016 2017 2018

Tucumcari Elementary D B B C

Tucumcari Middle D B D B

Tucumcari High D C C C

Logan Elementary A A A A

Logan Middle D D B B

Logan High B B C B

San Jon Elementary B A A B

San Jon Middle B B C B

San Jon High C B C B

House Elementary C B D A

House Middle D B C C

House High C C B C