Portland celebrates its 'Gold Star' status
May 7, 2007
Portland Elementary School held a celebration assembly May 4 for students and staff after Portland was among only 16 Missouri public elementary schools selected as a “Gold Star School” for 2006-07.
The award cites Portland, with 228 students, for successfully meeting U.S. Department of Education assessment criteria as a Title I school. Over a three-year period the number of Portland students on free and reduced lunch rose from less than 55 percent to more than 72 percent.
During that same period, students showed dramatic improvement in reading and math scores on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test.
This is the first Gold Star award for a district school since the 2002-03 school year when Wanda Gray and Pittman elementary schools each received one. Portland and this year’s other 15 winning schools were formally honored May 3 at a forum in Jefferson City.
