Standard School excels above provincial learning averages

    Students of Standard School are performing higher than provincial averages in twelve out of sixteen measures, a recent report says.     The report is based on a verity of information sources: diploma examination results, provincial achievement test results, derived measures (drop-out rate, Post Secondary Transition rate, Rutherford Scholarship Eligibility Rate, High School Completion rate, and Diploma Participation Rate) and accountability surveys of Grade 4, 7, and 10 students and their parents plus teachers.
    Along with these results, last year Standard high school students earned, on average, the highest number of high school credits in the Golden Hills School Division for the 2008/2009 year. They have received additional funding because of this, which has allowed them to funnel money into additional programs outside the core curriculum.
    At Standard, 80.8 per cent of students are at the acceptable standard rating in their Provincial Achievement Test results, 79.1 per cent is the current provincial average.
    Along with this, 100 per cent of students received the acceptable standard grading in Pure Math 30, a hard class to do so in, said Principal Karen Smith.
    “We attribute it to a supportive parental community, excellent teachers going above and beyond to work with students, and I think the community’s focus on how important education is,” said Smith.
    “It proves that a small rural school can be successful.”
    Because they are a smaller high school, not every course can be offered, but they do a good job on the ones they do offer, says Smith.
    A photography, art, woodworking, cosmetology and an expanded foods program have brought more choice to the 210 students at Standard School.
    “We’re meeting more students’ individual needs, with programs like work experience, offering different levels of courses,” says Smith.
    The school has traditionally been academic oriented – with kids in lower level courses, like the 10-12’s, having to take distance education courses before; the school is now meeting the needs of those students.
    “We’ve offered different pathways students can take in high school.”