SMYER, Texas (KCBD) – Teaching through a pandemic wasn’t easy, but Smyer ISD made it look that way. Its students’ test scores improved after a rocky 2020 school year. Mike Schaap, the secondary principal in Smyer, says his teachers were going above and beyond to keep students engaged during the lockdown.
”The staff at that time was working really hard not just going through the checklist and making sure that the kids were turning in worksheets. There was actually some instruction going on there,” said Schaap.
Smyer ISD Superintendent Chris Wade said getting students back in the classroom was the most important thing to do to prevent gaps in student learning.
“We were hybrid for about a month and realized that wasn’t going to work, so we brought everybody back in and just hit the ground running,” he said.
Hitting the ground running paid off. Not only did it reflect in students’ test scores but it also gained recognition from the U.S. Department of Education. Smyer is one of the 31 schools in Texas that earned a Blue Ribbon Award. The award is based on two categories: high performance, and closing post-COVID learning gaps.
“We like to recognize our students and staff as much as we possibly can so when something like this comes down from the federal government we thought what an honor and just use this as a springboard to keep improving and set high goals,” said Superintendent Wade.
The bar is set high but Wade says now Smyer schools are dedicated to keeping students on this high level of success.
“We have a very supportive community, and our school board is top notch and lets the staff do their job and is here for the kids 100 percent,” said Superintendent Wade.
Of the 31 schools in Texas, three are on the South Plains: Smyer ISD, Springlake-Earth ISD, and Muleshoe ISD.
National Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective school practices for state and district educators and other schools throughout the nation. A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school’s entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.
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Read More: Smyer ISD named National Blue Ribbon School by U.S. Department of Education
