2014 Excellent Schools Detroit Scorecard Now Gives Families Pre-School Ratings in Annual Review Aimed at Helping Families Navigate Schools

DETROIT, Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Excellent Schools Detroit has released its 2014 Scorecard, introducing – for the first time – recommendations for the best early learning and care facilities in metropolitan Detroit,  along with ratings for K-8 schools in the area that have made the Scorecard a must for parents looking for the best schools to fit their children's needs. 

For the fifth annual Excellent Schools Detroit Scorecard, the organization's leadership included early learning and care programs to the Scorecard to better equip parents to make better educated decisions about their school choices at the earliest point in their children's lives.

The 2014 Scorecard reviewed 94 early learning care programs, with more than 40 programs earning quality ratings. Of the nearly 200 Detroit K-8 schools graded overall by parents, experts, and teachers, 32 schools graded received a recommended rating and are considered promising.

"We're pleased to provide parents with measurements for a quality early learning to ensure that children begin school with the skills necessary to be successful students," said Dan Varner, Excellent Schools Detroit CEO. "Our kids deserve a quality education and this Scorecard gives apples to apples comparisons to help parents make informed school choice decisions from early childhood education through 8th grade."

Excellent Schools Detroit recommends schools graded C+ or better, known to generally prepare students for success in college, career and community.

2014 Scorecard highest performing pre-school programs in Detroit:

• Burton International School Pre-K
• Cooke Elementary School Pre-K
• Ellington Conservatory of Music & Art at Beckham Academy Pre-K
• Fiore Center Vistas Nuevas Head Start
• Our Kidz World Learning Center

2014 Scorecard highest performing K-8 schools in Detroit:

• Charles Wright School
• Detroit Merit Charter Academy
• Cornerstone Nevada (Middle and Primary)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Education Center Academy

This year's Scorecard also measured:

• Climate – How a school looks and feels like to visit and what teachers and students think about their school;
• Status  -- Student proficiency on state standardized tests; and
• Progress -- How much students learned over the course of a school year.

Finally, the Scorecards grades considered extra challenges facing schools and students in low-income communities; learning English as a second language; or with different or special abilities.

"Learning begins from day one," said Denise Smith, Excellent Schools Detroit Early Learning vice president. "With more high quality early learning and care programs in Detroit, we will have more students entering the K-12 school systems ready to learn and succeed."

The 2014 Excellent Schools Detroit Scorecard is available at: http://scorecard.excellentschoolsdetroit.org.

About Excellent Schools Detroit
Excellent Schools Detroit was formed in 2010 by a coalition of philanthropic, education, community and civic leaders with an important mission: an excellent education for every Detroit child, from cradle to career, by 2020. To that end, Excellent Schools Detroit produces an annual Scorecard, which grades schools across a multitude of excellence measures, to help Detroit parents and community make an informed school choice. The organization convenes individuals and organizations across multiple sectors as the Detroit community collectively works to achieve excellence in education.

SOURCE Excellent Schools Detroit