Report cards are in, and Cullman City Schools has scored straight A’s once again.
The State of Alabama’s annual state report cards for the 2022-2023 school year found Cullman City Schools achieved increases across the board that rank the district among the best statewide.
From last year to this year, every school posted increases in overall scores. The state report card grades districts in academic achievement, academic growth, graduation rate, college and career readiness, chronic absenteeism (students missing 18 or more days of school), and progress in English language proficiency.
Cullman City Primary School and West Elementary increased from 91 last year to 94 this year; East Elementary School increased from 94 last year to 98 this year; Cullman Middle School increased from 92 last year to 96 this year; Cullman High School increased from 86 last year to 91 this year; and the overall system grade increased from 91 last year to 94 this year.
“Our teachers and students work extremely hard day in and day out. I am so happy for their work to be recognized through these exceptional state report card grades,” Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said. The greatest percentage of the parameters used to calculate these grades come from academic performance and academic growth which takes place in the classrooms on each campus. Our employees take their calling seriously — all credit for this achievement goes to them.”
Based on the criteria, a numerical grade and corresponding letter grade is assigned to each public school in Alabama. School report cards are used to determine what level of support schools and school systems are to receive from the Alabama Department of Education.
Cullman High Principal Allison Tuggle also credited the educators in the classroom for Cullman High’s improvement, noting their efforts have made a massive impact on students over the past year.
“The academic success Cullman High School has achieved over the past year is a credit to the hard work of our classroom teachers,” she said. “Last year when we were given our report card grade we knew we had room to grow, and our faculty and staff worked together to demonstrate outstanding commitment and skill in guiding students to academic success, as reflected in the 2023 report. Their efforts are truly making a difference in shaping bright futures for all our students.”
Cullman City Primary School Principal Elizabeth Shaddix echoed those sentiments, noting the school’s approach to professional development and community engagement is critical to its success.
“Cullman City Primary School continues to have outstanding success in our students' academic achievement. Our scores are a reflection of the dedicated work of our teachers each day. We are thankful for the committed support of our parents and community,” Shaddix said. “Our focus will continue to be on providing teachers with professional development on the implementation of the Science of Reading as well as focusing on the importance of both student and staff attendance.”
Cullman City Schools full categorical breakdown showed a 90.46 grade in academic achievement; 100 in academic growth; 93.65 in graduation rate; and 90.87 in college and career readiness. The district was in the single digits for chronic absenteeism (a scale where you want a lower number), with just 9.71 (down from 13.78 the prior year), and showed 51.16 progress in English language proficiency, improving from 47.5 the prior year.
