Setting high standards for her students and herself and then reaching those benchmarks has earned Kellie Spratt, a sixth-grade math teacher at Cambridge Middle School, the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools Outstanding Middle School Teacher Award.
Middle School math teacher Kellie Spratt (center) was recognized by Middle School Principal Heath Hayes, Superintendent Dan Coffman, and the rest of the Cambridge City School District Board of Education for winning the CORAS Outstanding Middle School Teacher award.
In nominating Mrs. Spratt, CMS principal Heath Hayes wrote, “Her stellar reputation as a teacher with high standards for students is evident, but what is more evident are the even higher standards she sets for herself.
“She leads her classroom with a sense of expectancy and structure,” Hayes continued. “A passion for teaching and learning can be witnessed upon entry to her classroom.”
Proof of her accomplishments is not just anecdotal as the data backs up the many success stories. In 2022, according to Ohio Education Value-added Assessment System (EVAAS), there was significant evidence that Mrs. Spratt’s students made more than expected growth while in her classroom.
In her advanced mathematics class, 100 percent of the students scored proficient or higher on the Ohio State Test with 67 percent scoring at the highest performance level of advanced.
Data also indicates that she helped each level of students to grow more than expected with 60 percent of all of her students scoring proficient or higher on the Ohio State Test well above the state average of 49.6 percent. The Ohio State Report Card for CMS indicated that all sixth-grade students “made more progress than expected.”
Although the data fully supports the award, more importantly is the opinion of her students that say she helps them “get it.” One student said, “Mrs. Spratt explains math in a way that helps me understand the concept.”
“There are many teachers in our region that deserve such a special recognition and I believe that there are others within this district and this building that deserve such a nomination,” Hayes wrote in his nomination. “But none have the level of accomplishment supported through data and student perception to compare with Mrs. Spratt. The results speak for themselves; she helps students learn and be successful.”