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| The Center School Achieves Highest High School Performance Ranking |
| The Center School | Media - In the News | |||
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(excerpted from SPS News Release:"Seattle Public Schools celebrates strong growth in high school performance") Dec. 15, 2011 For the first time, two high schools reach Level 5, the highest performance level The majority of high schools in Seattle Public Schools showed strong academic growth during the 2010-11 school year – thanks to great principals, great teachers and involved families who are connected to their schools, reported Dr. Susan Enfield, Interim Superintendent.
“Improving student achievement at the high school level poses a particular challenge for any school system,” Enfield said. “The gains we are seeing at our high schools are a testament to the tremendous instructional leadership of our principals and assistant principals and the dedication and talent of our teaching staff.” Seattle schools are ranked by their absolute performance and year-to-year growth from Level 1 (low) to Level 5 (high). A total of 20 schools overall achieved the highest ranking, Level 5, including two high schools, which reached that level for the first time. In addition, the number of schools at the lowest levels declined sharply, as schools improved enough to move up. No high schools were ranked at Level 1, and only two were ranked at Level 2. High schools throughout the city showed robust improvement: Ballard High School and The Center School moved from Level 3 to Level 5; Nathan Hale High School moved from Level 3 to Level 4; and Chief Sealth, West Seattle, Ingraham and Cleveland high schools moved from Level 2 to Level 3. Please see The Center School Report Card for more detailed information. Center School focuses on rigor, relevance and relationships
 At The Center School, which also moved up from Level 3 to Level 5, Principal Oksana Britsova uses one word to describe her school’s success: “focus.”“We focus on the three R’s,” Britsova said, “rigor, relevance, and relationships.” This focus led to significant gains between 2009-10 and 2010-11. The number of Center School graduates who had taken a college-level course (AP or IB) increased from 66.7 percent to 95.1 percent, and the percentage of test-takers who successfully passed a college-level test during high school (in AP or IB) increased from 68.2 percent to 75 percent. For underclassmen, the percentage of 10th-grade students meeting standard on the state reading test increased from 90.8 percent to 96 percent; and the percentage meeting standard in writing increased from 90.9 percent to 96 percent. Britsova noted that students’ performance was a direct result of increasing rigor in the classroom. “All our staff strive toward excellence,” Britsova said. “We have high expectations for student work, and we make sure students know that.” She pointed out that The Center School has developed a reputation as a college-focused, academically-oriented school, and teachers and staff work hard to help students succeed. On the second of the three R’s, relevance, Britsova pointed out that The Center School’s arts integration focus provides a natural way to make academics relevant to students. “We have a goal of involving at least two community members in each unit to show how our lessons relate to the world around us,” she said.
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The Center School Annual Report
Principal Letter for School Reports 2011