Harrison Elementary School was recently selected as a 2013 finalist for Indiana’s Title I Distinguished School Award: Closing the Achievement Gap. The purpose of this award is to recognize Indiana Title I schools that have made the most progress in significantly closing the achievement gap.

Eligible schools were identified based on a review of the following criteria: Student Achievement Data (Exemplary Progress); School letter grade (2010-2011, 2011-2012) and comparative ISTEP+ scores (2011-2012, 2012-2013); and Free and Reduced Lunch population of 35 percent or higher (Harrison has a Free and Reduced Lunch population of 66 percent).

Harrison’s State letter grade improved from a “C” in 2010-2011 to an “A” in 2011-2012 and Harrison’s ISTEP+ scores improved 12.6 percent in math and 8 percent in ELA (English language arts) since 2010-2011.

Harrison Principal Lee Snider commented, “We are excited and encouraged to be selected as a finalist for this award. Our growth was the result of an excellent instructional staff that committed to protecting instructional time, focused on student learning and collaborated regularly on student results. These three areas will continue to drive our work as we strive to meet our goals for 2013-14. We are proud of this achievement and thankful for the opportunity to celebrate and share our learning at Harrison Elementary School.”

Rachael Havey, Title 1 Specialist for the Indiana Department of Education, stated, “I greatly enjoyed learning about the exceptional leadership, dedicated staff, hardworking students and excellent programming at this school. Harrison Elementary is to be highly commended for being one of the top six high-growth Title I schools in the state, and we encourage you to keep up the fantastic work with Indiana’s children.”