The Robert Benjamin Wiley Community Charter School is planning an AYP bash.
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Students at the East Lake Road charter school met federal math and reading proficiency standards -- called Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP -- for the second consecutive year.
"We're proud of how far we've come," said Peter Russo Jr., co-chief administrator of the charter school. "We believe that our school has become one of the finest urban, public school experiences around."
In March 2010 PSSA testing, 68.7 percent of Wiley Charter School students met proficiency standards in math, well above the 56 percent required to make AYP.
Charter school students did not meet proficiency levels in reading, but met "safe-harbor" standards instead.
Safe-harbor provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation allow a school to earn AYP even if its students do not meet proficiency benchmarks, so long as their test scores improve significantly.
In March 2010 testing, 53.6 percent of Wiley Charter School students scored at the proficient level in reading, compared with 39.2 in March 2009.
"We've met the safe-harbor standards, and met others standards straight up," said Kathryn Olds, the school's other co-chief administrator. "And we plan to keep improving."
Each of the school's four major subpopulations -- economically disadvantaged students; white students; black students; and special-needs students -- also made AYP for 2009-10.
By earning AYP two consecutive years, the Wiley Charter School is no longer subject to possible corrective action by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The school had been on a PDE watch list for making AYP only one year, in 2008-09, since federal No Child Left Behind standards took effect in 2003.
"The increased achievement across the past two years has been so significant that it has taken us completely out of any such classification with the PDE," Russo said. "So making AYP two consecutive years is huge. We're thrilled."
New 2009-10 AYP results were released to schools across the state on Monday. Schools can question or dispute the results before they are made public by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in late August.
Wiley Charter School officials decided to release the school's scores immediately.
The school will celebrate AYP with a block party during parent orientation in early September.
"AYP isn't the only good thing going on. We have new programs and other great things ahead that we will share with parents at that time," Russo said.
VALERIE MYERS can be reached at 878-1913 or by e-mail.