Announcement of Rewards - Arkansas School Recognition Program

The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is pleased to announce that a total of $6,950,900 will be awarded to 163 schools through the Arkansas School Recognition Program. Awards are based on student assessment results from the 2022-2023 school year and graduation rates from the 2021-2022 school year.                                                                  

The Arkansas School Recognition Program (Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-2107) provides financial awards to the top 10 percent of public schools that achieve high student performance on the state-required assessments in grades 3 through 10 and the top 10 percent of public schools that achieve high student academic growth, including high school graduation rates where applicable.

Schools receiving recognition funds are required to establish a committee to determine the best use of the funds. The committee includes the principal, a teacher elected by the faculty, and a parent representative selected by the local Parent Teacher Association or another parental involvement group. Districts and schools do not have to submit documents to DESE but should keep on file the committee agenda, minutes, sign-in sheets, and documentation on how the recognition funds were spent for auditors.

The totals for each category are listed below. To see the complete list of schools and amounts they are eligible to receive, go to Division of Elementary and Secondary Education - Offices - Public School Accountability - School Performance and Monitoring - Rewards and Recognitions.

2023 Schools on the Move Toward Excellence

Schools on the Move Toward Excellence recognizes Arkansas schools who make significant progress on their Public School Ratings and ESSA School Index Reports. Each year, schools are identified (where appropriate by grade span) for various aspects of improvement:

• 34 schools (20 Elementary, 5 Middle School, 9 High School) increased their letter grade and overall ESSA School Index score by 5 points or more (from 2022 to 2023),
  • 1 school improved from F to C
  • 7 schools improved from B to A
  • 11 schools improved from C to B
  • 10 schools improved from D to C
  • 5 schools improved from F to D
• 28 schools increased their weighted achievement scores by 10 or more points (15 Elementary, 2 Middle School, 11 High School)
• 25 schools scored better than 97.5% of schools in Value-Added Growth for 2023 (2 standard deviations above the mean).
  • 15 Elementary Schools scored 86.97 or better
  • 5 Middle Schools scored 84.67 or better
  • 5 High Schools scored 84.08 or better

Congratulations to these schools for their efforts to improve student performance!

For the complete list of schools, visit the Schools on the Move Toward Excellence webpage.

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