Van Buren Schools Named An Exemplary District By State

The Van Buren County School System is one of 16 school systems statewide named an “Exemplary District” by the state department of education.

Director of School Cheryl Cope said the designation means the system saw an increase in student achievement, growth and attendance rates.

“We’ve been concentrating big time on ELA and math and we’ve seen growth in both of those areas quite a bit,” Cope said. “Graduation has gone up and ready graduates.”

Cope said some of the achievements fit the school’s five-year plan of increasing ACT scores and 3rd grade reading levels. Cope said while the distinction was appreciated, there is still room to grow.

Cope said the feedback from state testing will be reviewed with teachers to strategize how to continue the student success. Van Buren High School was also named a Reward School based on state test results.