Hamilton USD 390 administrators and students received a special visit from Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson and State School Board member Jim Porter on Monday, Jan. 29.
During a district wide assembly, Dr. Watson announced Hamilton as one of six districts in Kansas to receive the 2023 Commissioner’s Award with Highest Distinction through the Kansans Can Star Recognition Program.
The Commissioner’s Award recognizes those districts that outperform their predicted postsecondary effectiveness rate above a .40 standard deviation. A district’s predicted postsecondary effectiveness rate factors in the degree to which identified risk factors known to depress effectiveness rates, such as poverty, chronic absenteeism and student mobility, are present in a district’s student population.
Hamilton USD 390 also received a Silver Star Award in recognition of exceptional student success in the area of postsecondary success; and a Gold Star Award in recognition of exceptional student success in the area of high school graduation.
A district’s postsecondary effectiveness rate is the percent of its students who began high school in ninth grade and who either earned an industry-recognized certification, a higher education degree or continued their education two years after graduation.
The postsecondary predicted effectiveness rate recognizes that Kansas communities are all different. This measure attempts to level the comparison by recognizing certain risk factors (cumulative poverty, chronic absenteeism and student mobility) as influences on success. Accounting for the degree to which risks factors are present, this measure predicts a district’s expected effective rate.
Pictured above from left to right are Porter, Hamilton USD 390 Superintendent Mike Ronen, Principal Stephanie Nelson and Dr. Watson.
