Elbow Elementary, Forsan High School/Junior High and the district as a whole were ranked as Recognized — the second-highest rating possible — for 2008 by the TEA.

The agency annually ranks districts and individual campuses based on student performance on state tests such as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), dropout rates and high school completion rates. Ratings range from the highest, Exemplary, to the Academically Unacceptable.

This marks the first year in recent memory that FISD pulled off the Recognized trifecta.

“I just want to say how thrilled I am that students and staff are getting recognized for all their hard work,” Superintendent Randy Johnson said. “I'm very excited for all of them.”

   Rating success is no stranger to Elbow students and staff — this is at least the sixth straight year that campus has ranked as Recognized or better — but officials are still pleased with the feat.

  “Great students, great staff, great parents,” Principal Steve Osborn said, giving the reason for the school's ranking success. “Overall, I thought this was the best year we've had since I've been here.”

More of a surprise was how the junior high/high school performed. Johnson said this was the first time in at least six years that the campus had achieved such a high rating.

“This is a big deal for us,” Johnson said. “When you consider that it's a multi-level campus and we're taking the TAKS at seven different grade levels, the more you have the test, the more opportunity you have to mess something up. To have all that come together is a pretty big deal. I'm proud of the students and staff for pulling that off.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it