Pelham High School Named One of State's Top Performers

Pelham Memorial High School has been named a “Reward School," the New York State Education Department announced today.

The high school is one of 250 schools in 164 districts to received the recognition this past school year. According to the Education Department, Reward Schools are schools that have either made the most progress or schools that have the highest achievement in the state and do not have significant gaps in student achievement that are not being closed.

Pelham Memorial High School was recognized for the high progress it made during the school year. The designation is important, because Reward" schools are eligible to compete for a pool of federal grants.

The designation is one of the new steps the state must take in order to maintain the waiver it received from the the No Child Left Behind Act in May. The new school accountability measurement system now categorizes schools as either Priority, Focus or Reward schools.

Priority schools are among the lowest performing schools in the state based on combined  ELA and math performance that are not showing progress or that have had graduation rates below 60 percent for the last several years.  Priority schools must develop a plan and implement an improvement plan that follows federal guideline by the 2014-2015 school year.

Focus schools are that lowest achieving of the schools in the priority category.

All of the schools in the Pelham school district have been listed in good standing, according to the state Education Department.

Check here for additional information about the Education Department's announcement.