Comox Valley secondary school improving quickly, says Fraser Institute

Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School is one of the fastest-improving secondary schools in B.C., according to the annual Fraser Institute rankings.The school is one of just 14 public secondary schools in the province receiving this distinction.Isfeld school principal Bill Village said being named one of the fastest-improving schools is validation for the work that staff — and students — have done, and plan to continue."It's a nice recognition for the work that a lot of people have spent a lot of time with, and I think we can keep building on that," said Village, adding, "I don't think that this is a flash in the pan. This is a trend that has got some longevity to it and that's pleasing to me — it's not just a one-off."The school scored 7.3 out of 10 for 2011, and has received progressively higher scores since 2008 when it scored 6.1 out of 10. It ranked 53rd out of 280 schools for 2010/2011.The rankings use indicators from data in the annual provincewide exams administered by the Ministry of Education.Village said he doesn't believe the ranking results show the complete picture of how a school is doing."I look at these results with a degree of skepticism, but it is just another piece of data, no different than any other data we look at," said Village. "It's not the be all and end all but it's something to put in the hopper with other things that we look at and it's nice that it's positive."Village pointed out the school's success in not only academics, but also in citizenship, the arts and athletics during the school's 10-year renaming anniversary ceremony in March.Tuesday, he said regardless of the school's ranking by the Fraser Institute, it still has room for improvements. "Every school has its strengths and its areas to continue to work on and we've got lots to work on here still, but I really am pleased," said Village. "This school is really well positioned to continue that trend. I think there's a real momentum around this school that we're really proud of."G.P. Vanier Secondary School scored 5.6 out of 10 for 2011, and ranked 164 out of the 280 schools measured. Highland Secondary School scored 6.7 out of 10 for 2011 and ranked 93 out of 280.Visit www.britishcolumbia.compareschoolrankings.org to see how B.C. schools scored.writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com