Logan schools again earn Spotlight ratings

For the second straight year, Logan Municipal Schools earned the coveted Spotlight designation — the highest attainable — at its elementary, middle and high schools from the New Mexico Public Education Department.

San Jon and House schools earned the Spotlight designation at two of its three schools.

Tucumcari earned the second-highest Traditional designation at all three of its schools, which means they are in good standing.

The PED issued its annual ratings for all schools based on the 2023-2024 year last Tuesday via its New Mexico Vistas website.

They were graded on a points system on math, reading and science assessments, growth in math and reading across time, student attendance, progress towards English proficiency, post-secondary readiness, graduation rates and graduation rate growth.

Among the ratings, Spotlight is the highest recognition and is given among the top 75% of schools, according to a news release from the PED. Traditional means the school is in good standing.

Other ratings are Targeted Support & Improvement, which designates schools in need of support; Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), which are schools in the bottom 5% of Title 1 schools or have a graduation rate under 67%; and More Rigorous Interventions, which are schools not exiting CSI status after three years of support.

The PED stated the number of Spotlight and Traditional schools rose from a year ago and that the number of schools needing support fell.

Logan

Logan Municipal Schools saw a total score of 62.5 in the elementary school, 61.9 in the middle school and 71.9 in the high school — all earning the Spotlight rating.

All three schools earned the Spotlight rating last year, as well.

“Without a doubt, the continued success of our schools is entirely due to the quality of our faculty and staff,” Logan superintendent Dennis Roch stated in an email. “Logan teachers hold their students to a high standard, both in academics and athletics, as well as in the development of their character and leadership.

“In addition, we are blessed to have the strong support of families and the community. Logan Schools is very much a family, and our students succeed more because of this support!”

Other districts that earned Spotlight designations at all its schools were Capitan, Cloudcroft, Corona, Des Moines, Dora, Fort Sumner, Texico, Reserve and Los Alamos, according to Janelle Taylor Garcia, PED communications director.

While Logan schools saw proficiency rates well above 50% in reading and science, math proficiency lagged at the middle and high schools.

Roch stated that proficiency rates in math “are lower than we would like.”

He said the high school added a trigonometry class to better prepare students for SAT math testing.

At the middle schools, he said Logan added a math-intervention program.

In the elementary, he said the district is supplementing its longtime reading intervention program with additional support in math.

The report stated Logan High School’s graduation rate rose 2.4%.

Logan’s Ute Lake Online Learning Center, which serves students from across the state, earned a CSI grade due to its lagging graduation rate. Its total score was 43.0.

Tucumcari

Tucumcari saw a total score of 50.5 at the elementary school, 51.2 in the middle school and 65.1 at the high school.

TES saw proficiency rates of 18% in math, 35% in reading and 26% in science.

At TMS, it edged up to 19% in math, 41% in reading and 44% in science.

At THS, math proficiency was 13%, reading was 40% and science was 57%.

Tucumcari’s graduation rate rose 2.6%.

Carl Marano, who became the district’s superintendent less than six months ago, stated in an email he wants TPS schools to attain the Spotlight designation.

“Right now all three are in the traditional rating but we are not satisfied with that,” he wrote. “We are looking to improve our proficiency rates in all three content areas in which we are assessed, which is math, ELA and science.”

He added he wants to see a 5% to 10% increase in proficiency in all areas by the end of the current school year.

“We have done significant work with our teachers in providing professional development to ensure that we are aligning our curriculum in all content areas,” he wrote. “We have identified priority standards for all content in all grade levels K-12.

“In the area of math … we have provided new resources for our teachers to utilize with students to address learning gaps. We have added ST math which is a new intervention program that our teachers are utilizing with fidelity, and we are seeing improvement already.”

San Jon

San Jon attained the Spotlight rating at its elementary and middle schools and the Traditional designation at the high school.

The elementary school sported a 62.1 total score and the middle school a 69.3 score. No score was given for the high school.

The elementary saw a 24% proficiency rate in math and 41% in reading. Its percentage in science was masked because the low number of students; a rate would inadvertently identify those students.

The middle school saw a 24% rate in math, 57% in reading and 31% in science.

Data from the high school was masked because it would inadvertently identify the small number of students there.

“I am incredibly proud of the hard work and resilience shown by San Jon students throughout this past school year,” superintendent Alan Umholtz stated in an email.

He credited the staff and principal Sharla Rusk “for their unwavering commitment to supporting our students’ success.”

“While we’ve made significant progress, there is still much work to be done — especially as we continue to address the gaps in learning that resulted from the disruptions caused by COVID-19.

“Math remains a primary focus for our students, and I believe that with the dedication of our staff and the hard work our students are putting in, we will continue to make strides. I’m confident that, together, we will overcome these challenges and set our students on a path to success.”

House

At House Municipal Schools, its elementary and middle school earned a Spotlight designation, though its high school earned a CSI rating due to its graduation rate.

Much of its data was masked because it would inadvertently identify certain students.

The New Mexico Vista page also didn’t have a total score for the schools.

An email to House superintendent Coby Norman requesting comment was not answered.