Scottsdale Unified School District is leading the way in Arizona education as 22 of its 33 schools received the state’s highest ranking.

Twenty-two schools received the Excelling label, five are ranked Highly Performing, three are Performing Plus and three are Performing.

The Department of Education ranks schools as Excelling, Highly Performing, Performing Plus, Performing, Under Performing and Failing. Ratings are based on student performance on state tests and graduation and dropout rates. Just last month it was announced that 32 of Scottsdale’s 33 schools also made academic “Adequate Yearly Progress” under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Excelling Schools: Anasazi, Aztec, Cherokee, Cheyenne Traditional, Cochise, Copper Ridge, Desert Canyon, Hopi, Kiva, Laguna, Pima, Sequoya and Zuni Elementary Schools; Cocopah, Copper Ridge, Desert Canyon, Mohave and Mountainside Middle Schools, Arcadia, Chaparral, Desert Mountain and Saguaro High Schools.

Highly Performing Schools: Pueblo, Tavan and Tonalea Elementary Schools, Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center and Ingleside Middle School.

Performing Plus Schools: Hohokam and Navajo Elementary Schools and Coronado High School.

Performing Schools: Yavapai Elementary School, Supai Middle School, Sierra Vista Academy* (6-8) and Sierra Vista Academy* (High School).

*Sierra Vista Academy has earned the highest Education label possible for alternative schools which is "Performing".

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) recently released Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determinations for all public schools in order to comply with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is pleased to announce that 32 of its 33 schools made AYP.

In order for a school to make AYP a school must:

• Demonstrate progress toward meeting the goal of 100 percent proficiency on state standards; this goal must be met by the 2013-2014 school year.
• Assess 95 percent of students.
• Meet a 70.5 percent graduation rate (high schools) or a 90 percent attendance rate (elementary schools).

Schools are evaluated based on the performance of the entire school as well as subgroups within the school by grade level and content area. NCLB requires that the following subgroups be evaluated for AYP: major ethnic groups, students’ economic status, special education students and English Language Learners. If a school passes all three measures for all groups evaluated, it is deemed to have made AYP. Failure to meet any one indicator will result in the school failing to make AYP.

Thirty-four Scottsdale Unified School District students qualified as National Merit Semifinalists, and another 33 students received letters of commendation.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Program, about 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT®, qualify as semifinalists.

Scottsdale Area Association of REALTORS® held its annual Education Day with Scottsdale Unified School District on October 4^th. During the event, 20 REALTORS® toured the new Coronado High School, Sierra Vista Academy and Hopi Elementary School. While at Hopi, the REALTORS® viewed a Smart Board demonstration and played Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader with the school's student government 5th grade students. The 5th graders won by one point. The REALTORS® are looking forward to a rematch next year.

Are you looking for an effective way to promote your business? By advertising on the exterior of Scottsdale Unified school buses, you can increase awareness of your business and target specific demographics and neighborhoods.

The highly visible mobile billboards not only promote your company, but also provide much needed educational revenue to SUSD.

For more information about this unique advertising opportunity on SUSD school buses, please visit: www.media-aim.com

Did you know that clients purchasing a home outside of the SUSD boundaries may enroll their child in a Scottsdale Unified School District school? SUSD accepts Open Enrollment applications throughout the year.

Open Enrollment packets are available at all of our 33 schools, on our Web site at http://www.susd.org/district/administrativeservices/openenroll.cfm and in the lobby of the Education Center (SUSD District office located on 44th St. south of Indian School Road).

Once accepted to an SUSD school through the Open Enrollment process, parents will not need to fill out another application for the remainder of their child’s public school career. Parents will need to provide their child's transportation to and from school. There are a limited number of our schools that are not accepting students through the Open Enrollment process because those schools are at full capacity. Please have parents call the school they are interested in to check Open Enrollment availability.