Superior Performance of Schools in The Oaks School District

www.TheOaksDevelopmentCo.com

School District: Lawton Public Schools

High School: Eisenhower High School

Middle School: Eisenhower Middle School

Elementary: Almor West Elementary

Introduction


The Oaks Development Company is located in a wonderful school district with student performance well above local and state averages. We are located in the district for Eisenhower High School (EHS), Eisenhower Middle School and Almor West Elementary. This report looks at school report card grades, the superior Advanced Placement program at Eisenhower High School, honor roll achievement beyond high school and National Merit Scholars from Eisenhower High School.



A-F School Report Cards

Each year the Oklahoma State Department of Education releases an “A-F School Report Card” to assess the performance of each school on an individual basis. The 2012 Lawton district report card was assessed a letter grade B. Superintendent of Lawton Public Schools, Barry Beauchamp, tells The Lawton Constitution that “75% of our schools have A’s and B’s. No one has less than a C.”

School report card grades change on a yearly basis depending on the performance of the school each year. Scores depend on a variety of factors ranging from parent involvement to the scores of special needs students being factored into the overall school report card. These factors often pull down the overall report card grades at certain schools with special needs programs.

Because of these outlying factors, report card grades alone should not determine the quality of a school. In this report we look at advanced learning opportunities and the academic success of students beyond the high school level.



Two Factors Indicating Quality Education at Area High Schools

There are several factors which indicate the quality of education students receive at different schools throughout the region. First, we look at student’s performance on advanced placement exams. Second, we examine the percentage of students that go on to the honor roll at nearby universities.



1. High School Advanced Placement:

Advanced Placement courses are designed to challenge the high school student who desires an education that will help them excel beyond the high school level. [The Advanced Placement (AP) Program is a cooperative educational endeavor between the College Board, secondary schools, and colleges and universities. It allows high school students to undertake college-level academic learning, and gives them the opportunity to show they have mastered the advanced material by taking AP exams. Students can receive credit, advanced placement, or both from thousands of colleges and universities that participate in the Advanced Placement Program.] (Oklahoma State Department of Education).

Students at Eisenhower High School rank top in the region in the area of Advanced Placement participation, course offerings and exam performance.

Advanced Coursework Participation:

1. Eisenhower           56%

2. Lawton High         47%

3. Elgin                        47%

4. MacArthur            44%

5. Cache                      42%

*Source: A-F School Report Card 2012


Advanced Placement Exam Performance

1. Eisenhower         61%

2. MacArthur          46%

3. Lawton High       38%

4. Cache                    25%

5. Elgin                      21%

*Source: A-F School Report Card 2012


Number of AP Class Offerings:

1. Eisenhower          16

2. MacArthur            9

3. Lawton High         9

4. Elgin                        6

5. Cache                      2

*Source: AP Course Ledger



EHS Advanced Placement Partnership with Northrop Grumman

Thanks to defense contractor Northrop Grumman and the National Math+Science Initiative, Eisenhower High School's advanced placement program received a grant which facilitates and rewards successful participation in AP classes. The grant from Northrop is a major reason EHS has almost twice as many AP course offerings as the other two Lawton High Schools and eight times as many AP courses as Cache High School.

The grant is valued at approximately $250,000-$300,000 for a 3 year time period according to a press release from the National Math +Science Initiative. Money from the grant provides $10,000 per year worth of equipment and material for the school, financial incentives paid to both student and teachers for qualifying exam scores and extensive teacher and student training. The grant rewards students with $100 for each MSE exam passed and rewards teachers with $100 per student passing grade. Throughout the semester students attend 3 Saturday sessions with renowned instructors presenting workshops on the course subject.

Northrop chose EHS for the grant as part of the Initiative for Military Families, which is a major project of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. Three schools in the entire country were chosen to be recipients of this grant, Eisenhower being one of them. The others are Carl Albert High School in Midwest City and Howard High School in Macon, Georgia.



2. College Honor Roll Achievement

Every Fall and Spring the University of Oklahoma publishes a list of students who have excelled academically by earning a position on the school honor roll. According to the OU Spring 2012 honor roll there were 2 students from Cache High School, 2 students from Elgin High School and 60 students from Lawton. Based upon total school enrollment the percentage breaks down as follows:

Percentage of OU Honor Roll Students*

 
1. Lawton Public Schools     5.6%

2. Cache Public Schools       1.6%

3. Elgin Public Schools          1.4%

These findings conclude that the students from Lawton Public Schools are well equipped and prepared to excel at the university level. A contributing factor may be a broader selection of curriculum and greater choice of Advanced Placement courses offered in Lawton Public Schools than the smaller surrounding communities. Students receive a rich education that equips them for life beyond high school.



National Merit Scholars

The mission statement of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is to recognize and honor the academically talented students of the United States. The national merit program recognizes students who display success academically and is often regarded as the most prestigious award that can be given to high school seniors. Eisenhower high school has a longstanding reputation for producing National Merit Scholars. In 2012 there were two semifinalists for national merit scholarships from Eisenhower, one each from the other two Lawton High schools and zero from Cache or Elgin High Schools. “Less than one percent of the 1.3 million students who compete for the award make the semi final round” (Lawton Public Schools).

National Merit Scholars have a wide range of opportunities available beyond high school. The University of Oklahoma takes great pride in its National Merit Scholars and is number one among all public universities in the nation in the number of freshman National Merit Scholars enrolled. Many Eisenhower National Merit scholars choose to attend OU and take advantage of the many benefits offered to them as national merit scholars.

Conclusion:

For the student that desires to work hard and gain a broad education to prepare themselves for life beyond high school, all of the schools in The Oaks Development school district provide a wonderfully rich education. For the high school student that desires to be challenged at the college level, Eisenhower provides a great pool of resources. Each of the schools in The Oaks school district offers distinguished faculty, a wide range of curriculum and a myriad of clubs and extracurricular activities. From special needs to gifted and talented, Lawton Public Schools provides excellent resources to students with all backgrounds. In The Oaks Development you can invest in beautiful new luxury home as well as an outstanding school district.


Resources:

The Lawton Constitution. “State bumps LPS up one letter grade”. Jan. 10, 2013.

Oklahoma State Department of Education. “Annual Report on Oklahoma’s Advanced Placement

Incentives Program”. Janet Barresi, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

FY 2012

AP Course Ledger. Oklahoma State Department of Education. January 14, 2013.

https://apcourseaudit.epiconline.org/ledger/

2012 A-F Report Card. https://sdeweb01.sde.ok.gov/Transparency/ReportCards/

National Math + Science Initiative. “Northrop-Grumman Grant Benefits Eisenhower High School

Student’s”. March 3, 2012. Northrop-Grumman Grant Benefits Eisenhower High School Students
National Math and Science Initiative

News OK. “Oklahoma Students are named National Merit Semifinalists”. Sept. 22, 2012

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-students-are-named-national-merit-semifinalists/article/3711939

National Merit Scholarship Corporation. http://www.nationalmerit.org/mission.php

Lawton Public Schools. “News and Happenings Around the District”. Nov. 20,2012

http://www.lawtonps.org/news.shtm


Note:

* According to the total school enrollment figures from the 2012 school report card there were approximately 141 students per grade at Elgin High School, 129 students per grade at Cache High School and 1071 students per grade at the three Lawton high schools combined. The number of honor roll students from each city divided by the approximate class size gives us our approximate percentage of honor roll students from each school.