At the end of the 2016-17 school year, Nob Hill Elementary (NHE) was identified for school improvement status due to some groups of students not meeting learning proficiency goals. The NHE staff immediately began working on improving the school's system for instructing students, focusing on the whole child and student growth, not on testing proficiency only. In 2017-18, NHE was recognized by the state of Washington for improving student growth and closing the achievement gap and was again recognized in 2018-19.
It appeared that the school would be taken out of improvement status, and then...the pandemic. Though the parents and staff continued to instruct students during this difficult time, the state did not run the normal testing cycles and NHE remained in improvement status. On March 16, 2023, NHE was notified that they had worked their way out of improvement status based on data from the 2021-22 school year.
How did they do it? Hardworking students, supportive families, and dedicated staff members. The Yakima community worked together to create a strategic plan for the Yakima School District. The NHE staff created goals aligned with that plan that were influenced by input from student and parent surveys. The goals were monitored for their effectiveness on student growth. They celebrated successes, honored students for their hard work, and challenged the status quo. Congratulations to all Nob Hill Elementary stakeholders-it takes a village!
