The recent announcement of results from the annual AQuESTT classifications by the Nebraska Department of Education was chock full of good news for South Sioux City superintendent Dr. Rony Ortega.
Three of the eight school buildings saw their ratings move up in the latest numbers, which helped lift the district’s overall performance and show meaningful and measurable positive momentum for the district.
“I’m not just happy, but elated,” Dr. Ortega said during this week’s Dakota County Star Podcast. “We have more schools now in the great and excellent categories since this started in 2014, so we have some real momentum. We have kids and families and staff who are working hard on improving our schools on all eight campuses.”
The AQuESTT (Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow) classifies schools on four levels — Excellent, Great, Good or Needs Improvement. The system emphasizes growth, improvement and high-quality educational practices, not just assessment scores.
There are six tenants that are part of the ratings, including teacher preparedness, transitions between the school levels, the number of kids who are proficient on exams and reducing chronic absenteeism, an area that Ortega said the district has worked hard on recently.
“We’re working tirelessly on chronic absenteeism and seeing significant decreases there,” he said. “We want our kids and families to know that’s a big deal, and we’re proud of our results.”
Both Cardinal and Covington Elementary saw their ratings improve from “Good” to “Great” and Dakota City Elementary’s ascended from “Great” to “Excellent” in the latest ratings.
While only three of the eight buildings improved their ratings, leading to an overall “Good” rating for the district, each of the district’s buildings saw some improvement over the last year.
“Every school contributed to this forward momentum,” said Lance Swanson, the school’s director of communications
and community engagement. “We’re raising the floor across the district, and it’s gratifying to see our
collective progress reflected in the state’s ratings.”
Ortega said the school district will be celebrating these improvements in the coming weeks, including special recognition for schools earning Excellent and Great classifications. The district plans on continuing this momentum by strengthening attendance, maintaining consistent instructional practices, and provide targeted support to students closest to proficiency, strategies that they believe will continue the district’s upward trend.
The other three districts in the Dakota County Star coverage area all received good marks in their AQuESTT rankings.
Ponca’s school district scored the highest with an “Excellent” overall ranking and “Excellent” rankings at both Jackson and Ponca Elementary and the high school. They ranked “Great” at the middle school level.
Emerson-Hubbard’s school district ranked “Great” across the board, including its elementary, middle and high schools. Homer was rated “Good” overall with “Good” rankings at the elementary and high school levels and “Great” at the middle school level.
