Matthews Elementary celebrates higher school score

By WVUA 23 News Student Reporter Emily Benito

Matthews Elementary School in Northport celebrated Friday as the school’s rating went from an “F” rating to a “C” rating.

To become a C-rated school, students must take exams that evaluate reading, writing and mathematics. Schools in Alabama get those grades from the ACAP test in addition to attendance records and several other factors.

Grades are based not just on the latest test scores, but how much students improved from the year before.

Matthews Elementary Principal Kimberly Lavender said the celebration is a representation of her appreciation for the educators and staff who worked hard and encouraged students to rise to the challenge.

“I wanted to show some appreciation to the staff for their recent accomplishments,” Lavender said. “Matthews has come from an F on the state report card to a C. That’s a huge accomplishment for us. We still have a long way to go but you have to crawl before you walk. We just want to take time along the way to celebrate until we get to that A.”

Matthews Elementary fourth grade teacher Kanesha Hood said improving the school’s rating wasn’t easy, but doing better is always worth the effort.

“It’s really hard,” Hood said. “We have to stay focused ourselves and make sure we keep the kids engaged and focused in all of our lessons and all of our strategies that we do with them to make sure that they make those gains that we want to see every year.”

The state of Alabama releases new ratings every year, and you can check out any school’s rating right here.