OXFORD – Oxford students’ academic accomplishments have earned the high school the designation of “Reward School.” Oxford Academy, along with Unadilla Valley Central High School, are the only schools in the region to have received this recognition from the state Education Department. The award is based on combined gains in Math and ELA test score performance and a graduation rate which exceeds the state average. The Reward School identification system takes the place of the previous High Performing/ Rapidly Improving standard.
Designation as a Reward School makes Oxford eligible for a state grant that may reach as high as $300,000 over a two-year period. Of the 250 schools in the state designated as Reward Schools, only five will receive the grant money.
“This means Oxford Academy is among the top 10 percent of all high schools in the state that have been rated,” said Oxford Academy’s Superintendent Dr. David Richards. “As a new member of the staff, I can not take credit for this achievement,” he said. “I just want to make sure that the schools’ staff, administrators, and of course students, receive the recognition they deserve for all of their hard work.”
According to New York State Education Department’s website, the new Reward School designation follows a more rigorous set of criteria than previous labels. Reward Schools will be “identified annually and be publicly recognized with a press release and a posting of the list to the department’s website, eligible to compete for a Commissioner’s Schools Dissemination Grant of up to $100,000, which is currently funded through the RTTT initiative, (and it will be) a potential factor beginning in the 2012-13 school year in determining which districts receive District Performance Improvement Award Grants,” the website states.
“I believe that Oxford has earned this because of the concerted effort to make sure all of the students succeed,” said Richards. “It is Oxford Academy’s goal to provide an effective instructional program that ensures success for every student and to develop self-directed learners who will have a positive effect on society.”