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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- The Clark County School District released its 2011-12 School Performance Framework (SPF) rankings. In an improvement over the inaugural ranking system, 91 of the District's 357 schools achieved a Five-Star ranking.

Under the system, schools receive scores based on academic growth, graduation rate, student engagement and other factors. Schools are then placed in one of five categories: five stars for highest performing schools; four stars for exceeding expectations; three stars for schools that are meeting but not exceeding academic standards; two stars for schools close to meeting minimum standards; and one star for low-performing schools.

One success story from this year's SPF rankings is Raul P. Elizondo Elementary School. After narrowly escaping a One-star ranking and receiving a Two-star ranking last year, the school achieved a Five-Star ranking this year. Principal Keith France attributes the school's rapid success to a team effort among parents, students, teachers and staff.

"When I moved to Elizondo as the principal and met the children, I knew there was no reason that the school was performing this low," said France. "I was able to bring experience and gain the support needed to improve achievement."

France says instituting a parent engagement program that worked for staff and the community as well as focusing on the success of every student, not just students expected to succeed or fail, helped lead them to success.

"As a teacher and administrator, it's easy to focus on the students with the most potential or bypass them while microtargeting kids who are more at-risk of failing," he continued. "We really changed our focus to make sure we reached every student. Our teachers began working closer together and this was truly a team effort. The Five-Star ranking is the result of a lot of hard work and the Elizondo school family deserves this recognition." 

The SPF utilizes data from the recently developed Nevada Growth Model that tracks individual student academic growth from year-to-year using various demographics, including ethnicity and achievement level. This method of growth measurement allows the community to recognize gains made by schools each year and also provides schools and families with individual growth data on every student. Having individual student growth data allows educators to intervene earlier when students begin to fall behind and ensures that schools continue to challenge and provide our high-achieving students with opportunities to grow.

For more information about the School Performance Framework or the “Five-Star Schools,” visit www.ccsd.net.