Honor Roll represents Texas’ top 12%
Four Arlington ISD schools were recently named to the 2023 Texas Honor Roll. The three elementary schools – Butler, Ditto and Duff – joined Arlington College and Career High School among the top 12% of schools in Texas.
The Honor Roll, presented by Educational Results Partnership (ERP), is part of the national Campaign for Business and Education Excellence. The Campaign engages business leaders in recognizing successful schools and educational systems that are preparing students with the fundamental skills needed to be successful in the workforce and in life.
ERP’s goal with the Honor Roll is to find and highlight successful schools and districts and encourage collaboration among educators on best practices for raising student achievement.
Student achievement is what Arlington College and Career High School is all about. ACCHS is an early college high school where students work to complete high school and an associate degree at the same time. In the State of Texas, approximately 40% of students at early college high schools graduate with their diploma and an associate degree. At ACCHS, more than 90% of their students achieve both.
“I am so proud of the work put in daily by our teachers, staff and students, and they deserve all of the credit for this recognition,” said ACCHS principal Ben Bholan. “Our Titans have overcome many challenges and their ability to focus and dedicate themselves to achieving at a high level never ceases to amaze me. They are changing generational outcomes not only by succeeding in their high school courses, but also by succeeding in the very rigorous college courses they take for dual credit.”
But a successful education doesn’t start in high school. It starts in elementary, where Butler, Ditto and Duff have become leaders in the state.
Pre-K graduation ceremony at Butler Elementary School
That leadership starts at the top with great principals. But all four principals are quick to recognize their incredible teachers, staff and students.
“I am very proud of our teachers, staff and students on receiving this recognition, and I love how we continue to work all together as a team to achieve high expectations,” said Duff principal Cindy Harbison. “The dedication, love and work everyone puts into our school helps it to reach these goals.”
Butler principal Mark Basham feels the same way.
“I am immensely proud of our dedicated teachers and the entire school community for their outstanding achievement in receiving this prestigious award,” Basham said. “This recognition is a testament to their hard work, passion and commitment to excellence for ALL students.”
Ditto principal Margaret Minyard is grateful that her students are getting recognized for their achievement and looks forward to the school achieving even more.
“I am honored to be a part of a strong, collaborative community,” Minyard said. “We will continue to strive to meet our students’ needs and strive for excellence.”
Honor Roll schools represent those that were comprehensively higher performing on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading Language Arts and Math Assessments for all cohorts of student populations served and that are improving outcomes for historically underserved student populations. To make the Honor Roll, a school must have comprehensively performed above the mean at least 80% of the time for all cohorts of students served and for all grade levels served.