MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Six of the 18 Tennessee schools honored this week for academic gains are located here in the Mid-State. Two are located in Rutherford County.
Principal Barbara Sales of Murfreesboro’s Hobgood Elementary and Principal Andra Helton of Rutherford County’s Thurman Francis Elementary picked up “Value-Added Achievement Awards” for their schools on Monday.
The awards are based on data tracked by the Tennessee Department of Education and indicate schools that show significant improvement in test scores year-over-year.
Hobgood Principal Barbara Sales said a dedicated staff and faculty is the key to her school’s success.
“They really take a personal interest in every child. They get to know the families and they get to know the kids personally and they see where the kids are when they come into their room. They set personal goals for themselves and for the children to make sure that the children are moved up in their learning by the time they leave them at the end of the year.”
If you’d like to see the rankings for your school, you’ll find all of Tennessee’s grade schools ranked on the website of the Education Consumers Foundation: education-consumers.org.