By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Caledonia Community Schools(CCS) announce today that the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has recognized seven of the eight eligible CCS schools in its district to receive the designation as a Reward School.

Annually MDE ranks schools academically; those that are in the top 5 percent of the state are categorized as “Reward.” Reward schools are determined based on the Top-to-Bottom ranking methodology, which includes data from achievement, improvement, and achievement gaps in standardized scores.

“Caledonia Community Schools is so proud of all our faculty and staff who work so hard to provide excellent learning environments for ALL students,” said Dr. Dedrick Martin, Superintendent of Caledonia Community Schools. “These accomplishments are the result of a focus on instructional quality and the strong partnership CCS has created between our families, students, staff, and community. Our staff works tirelessly to support and prepare ALL students to achieve their best while empowering them with 21st century skills to compete in a global environment.

“CCS is constantly reevaluating to improve district processes. Newly focused team organizational goals enable our building leaders to better support one another and have ongoing critical conversations,” said Dr. Camela Diaz, CCS Director of Secondary Education. “We still have areas to improve on, but our school leadership teams are focused on working with their attendance, behavior, and course proficiency data, to develop plans for growth that effectively close the achievement gap for all students.”

At a time when most schools around the state and the country are reporting a decline in student performance due to disruptions caused by the pandemic, the data in Caledonia tells a different story. Our district has also made it a priority to reinvest in curriculum materials, resources, and supports over the past 5 years and the academic performance proficiency results show we are stronger today than ever before.

As a district, we are pleased with this recognition, but even more excited that our students are growing as learners.  We look forward to seeing how much more our students will excel in the coming years as our staff continues to collaborate with one another to Cultivate Agile Learners.