Test results show Harbor City students soaring

Harbor City students. Submitted

New test scores released today by Minnesota Department of Education show Harbor City International School students achieving at high levels and the school helping at-risk students exceed proficiency goals in reading and mathematics.

Harbor City, a small public high school in downtown Duluth, achieved an overall score of 74.44 percent on the Multiple Measure Rating system, the state?s new accountability system for most public schools. Harbor City also received a score of 71.53 percent for reducing the gap between at-risk students and higher-performing peers. Harbor City?s at-risk students exceeded the state goals in math and reading.

?Over the past three years, our school has made significant improvements in our academic program,? said Principal John Haire. ?As we reach our 10th year, we?re able to say with confidence that there is a place for you ? for all students ? at Harbor City International School. If you choose our school, you will reach your academic goals.?

Haire noted that the school also is completing its first year of Advanced Placement coursework and is one of the only schools in the region to fully align its teaching with AP standards. Nineteen of the school?s 180 students took 32 AP exams earlier this month.

Harbor City?s small classes enable students to learn at their own pace with close teacher attention, said Dawn Buck, the school?s director of operations. The average class size is 17, and students participate in homework laboratories and directed studies programs through the day, she said.

?We can focus on students better here because we?re smaller,? she said. Teachers and school administrators regularly meet to discuss individual student performances, and then tailor learning programs to meet students? needs.

Harbor City students also take innovative approaches to learning, including hands-on experiences that reinforce what they experience in the classroom. This week and next, all Harbor City students are participating in ?Symposium? classes, which include sailing, flying airplanes, building bicycle trails and designing computer games.

?Harbor City International School is a school on the move,? Haire said. ?Whether you are facing academic challenges or reaching for the highest standards of academic achievement, there is a place for you at our school.?

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