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Plenty to be proud of in Canby

Canby Elementary tops all other

elementary schools with 98.18 MMR rating

CANBY – Canby Elementary School recently got some fantastic news – the school was designated as a 2016 Reward school by the Minnesota Department of Education.

The recognition marks the fifth time Canby Elementary has obtained the designation. For its outstanding achievement, MDE Commissioner Brenda Cassellius offered her personal congratulations.

“Your school is once again among the highest performing schools in the state, and this recognition reflects the incredible sustained success of your students and tireless efforts on behalf of your staff,” Cassellius said. “Minnesota’s Multiple Measurements Rating (MMR) allows us to look at the performance of a school in the areas of proficiency, growth, achievement gap reduction and graduation rates. The system emphasizes the importance of both achievement and student progress from year to year, and it allows us to recognize and share the incredible accomplishments in schools just like yours.”

Canby Elementary School didn’t just score well, it scored the highest of all elementary schools in the state.

“It was great,” Canby Superintendent Ryan Arndt said upon being notified of the honor. “It’s always nice to have that Reward School recognition. I’m very pleased.”

Canby Elementary’s MMR rating was 98.18 percent out of a possible 100. The only school that had a higher MMR rating in the state was Nova Classical Academy Upper School, which has students in grades 6-12.

“We were the highest elementary school in the state,” Arndt said. “We scored 25 out of 25 in both Proficiency and Achievement Gap Reduction. On Growth we got a 23.64. It’s hard to grow when we’re high already.”

The fourth area of measurement for the MMR is Graduation Rates. Since Canby Elementary is K-6, the school doesn’t get analyzed in that area.

“I think we have good programs – especially Response to Intervention (RTI),” Arndt said. “That’s for K-6 reading and math. The early intervention helps catch the students early, which is nice. And it goes hand in hand with the efforts of students and staff. We have a phenomenal staff. The staff works hard and as a result, that makes kids work hard. It’s definitely a partnership.”

Arndt said he was “a little bit worried” about the scores this year because there was building construction going on at Canby Elementary this past spring. Fortunately, the construction did not cause enough distractions to matter in regards to the MMR.

“Please accept my best wishes on your remarkable accomplishment as a five-time Reward school, and thank you for your work to ensure every Minnesota child reaches their highest potential,” Cassellius said.

In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law. Cassellius said that under the federal law, Minnesota will design a new accountability and recognition system that amplifies the MDE’s work to increase overall student achievement and reduce opportunity and achievement gaps.

“We look forward to building this new system alongside students, educators and families,” she said. “I believe that if we work together, every Minnesota school can be excellent. By learning from a school like yours, we believe we can accelerate positive results and replicate your successes to help reduce achievement gaps among students. I appreciate the hard work you do every day to ensure the students you serve are successful. You (Arndt), your staff and students are to be commended.”

While there will be celebrations for the students and staff, Arndt said he’s not sure yet what those celebrations will look like. What he does know is that he has a dedicated staff, hard-working students and supportive parents who deserve to be honored.

“Everyone here is a good teacher,” he said. “They do nice things. We reviewed our curriculum and decided to stay with it. And it’s backed by my staff, students and parents. We have to give all them credit. We announced our designation to the staff and to the whole school, but we haven’t done anything yet. We will be doing something very soon.”

MMR data for any public school district in the state of Minnesota can be found here: w20.education.state.mn.us/MDEAnalytics/DataTopic.jsp?TOPICID=132.

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