Another Long Beach school has been recognized for its success this week as State Superindentent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell recognized Tincher Prepatory School along with two others as California’s 2009 Schools To Watch. The award (officially called Schools To Watch – Taking Center Stage) is based on meeting distinctive needs of middle grades students, building a strong record of student achievement, and significantly narrowing the achievement gap.
Tincher Prep, the first K-8 school to win the designation, is a very diverse school with more than half of its students designated as socioeconomically disadvantaged, and the school’s overall API score has risen 46 points within three years to 845, well above the statewide target of 800.
African-American students at Tincher closed the achievement gap by 24 points during that time, while Latinos at Tincher gained 62 points.
The three schools recognized this year join 21 others that have been selected since 2003, and will be recognized at the California League of Middle Schools conference in San Diego this March. Clark Intermediate in Fresno County and Dartmouth Middle School in Santa Clara County were also recognized this year.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
We’ve learned that some information in an original press release was incorrect and have corrected the appropriate statistics. Thanks to LBUSD for alerting us.