The Free Press, May 03, 2012

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Academy celebrates the earth

Summer Socials kicks off - Page 3 SWIMMING

Elk Valley Dolphins host meet - Page 7 ELKFORD

Students celebrate aboriginal culture Page 8

SPARWOOD

Fernie Academy students and teachers took part in a whole day of environmental awareness activities on Friday, to celebrate Earth Day. Turn to page 2 for the full story and more pictures and visit www.thefreepress.ca. Photo by Jamie Hide

Fernie gets ahead in school rankings By Angela Treharne Free Press Staff

Arts and culture week - Page 17

RCMP

Crime reports Pages 16 and 26

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he Fraser Institute today published its annual rankings of B.C. and Yukon secondary schools, showing which schools are improving, or falling behind, in terms of academics. Overall, Fernie is ranked 119 out of 280 schools while Sparwood is ranked 177. Fernie’s rank is above average while Sparwood is below provincial average. Fernie got marked 6.3 out of 10 for its performance while Sparwood was 5.5. This is a change from the previous year where Sparwood ranked

higher than Fernie, and was above the provincial average. Elkford and the Fernie Academy did not receive ranks because there were not enough students sitting exams to enable the Institute to give them significant rankings. There has to be at least 15 students taking the exams in order for the school to receive a ranking. “Our rankings are the No. 1 source for parents who want to find out how their child’s school is doing compared to others in their community,” said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies. The Report Card on Secondary Schools in British Columbia and

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Yukon 2012 rates 280 public and independent secondary schools in B.C. and Yukon based on seven key indicators using data from the annual province wide exams administered by the B.C. Ministry of Education. The full rankings are available in an interactive and searchable format or as a free PDF at www.compareschoolrankings.org. The report card displays individual school results for the past five years, showing whether schools have improved or fallen behind over time. It also includes information about each school’s make up, including parents’ average income, the percentage of ESL students, and

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the percentage of special needs students. “When comparing school performance, it’s important to consider all factors that affect learning. That’s why our report card offers demographic data in addition to exam results,” Cowley said. According to the report, 14 of the fastest-improving secondary schools in B.C. are public schools. Of that total, 10 are below the provincial average in terms of parental incomes. “Our rankings show that every school is capable of improvement, regardless of the personal and family characteristics of its student population,” Cowley said.

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Fernie Golf and Country Club • Saturday, May 12th, 2012

Call Aysha Haines 250-531-3999 or email golf@fernierotary.org


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