National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

DeKalb Elementary School is a pre-kindergarten to 4th-grade campus in the DeKalb Independent School District located in rural North East Texas. The campus has had a history of highs and lows related to academic performance. In the early 2000s, students excelled due to a high level of teacher professional development and grant funds allowing teachers additional preparatory work and time for data analysis. Then curriculum and practices shifted over time and foundational gaps in learning widened and student achievement decreased. Approximately seventy percent of students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. These circumstances caused DeKalb Elementary to struggle each year to bridge gaps and to meet increasingly more difficult expectations. In the past two years, the campus rallied to find long-lasting strategies for improvement.

Through a culture of caring and collective teamwork, the campus and its students have experienced exponential growth and unprecedented progress. At DeKalb Elementary, the focus is on every student. Teachers assess where each individual student is, identify specific needs, develop an instructional plan, and help students set attainable personalized goals. When students met their goals, they are celebrated. Students begin to see their success, as a result of their hard work, which builds momentum, motivation, and ownership of their learning. Students begin to believe that they can achieve at high levels, and they do just that. This laser focus on every student seeing their own progress gives students confidence where they once may have had doubts. In the true spirit of DeKalb tradition, it's a great day to be a DEKALB BEAR!