Literacy growth prompts new designation for MSD

Students showing strong gains in ATLAS testing

By ANDY WELD

MSD Communications

Following strong literacy growth in last year’s ATLAS testing, the Marion School District has earned a new designation from the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The district was noti_ed last week that is has been removed from the state’s “coordinated support” list. This is a result of major gains in student performance on the ATLAS exams. ATLAS, which stands for Arkansas Teaching and Learning Assessment, is the annual exam taken by all students in Arkansas public schools.

“This is a direct result of the hard work our teachers have put in,” said Greg Hodges, Marion’s Director of K-12 Curriculum, Instruction, Professional Development & K-6 Elementary Education. “We have been stretching our teachers and pushing our kids. The teachers have responded and the results speak for themselves.”

Hodges also credited the district’s literacy curriculum, which is called “Wit & Wisdom.”

“It’s extremely rigorous, and it’s tough to teach,” Hodges said. “It has forced our teachers to really be intentional with internalizing their lessons. I would say those actions really inuenced our students’ growth, and we think it will help us build sustained academic excellence with our students.”