Spartanburg school exceeding despite challenges

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Arcadia Elementary is defying the odds, and its successes have attracted the attention of federal researchers.

Nearly all of the Spartanburg school’s 420 students live in poverty, and two-thirds are Hispanic.

Yet, the school posts higher marks than many schools with far fewer challenges. Seventy percent of third- through fifth-graders passed state-standardized tests last spring in reading and math, and Arcadia has met federal education goals for three consecutive years.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Education Department sent two researchers to Arcadia as part of a study on how to improve education programs for immigrant students who are learning English. The district was among 20 school districts nationwide selected for the study. Its results will hopefully provide practical advice to educators nationwide, according to the federal agency. The contracted researchers spent time at Arcadia and another elementary school in the district with large numbers of Russian and Ukrainian students.