At  the corner of 51st and Caswell Avenue sits Ridgetop Elementary School. During a recent discussion with some members of the Hyde Park community, I realized that people in our neighborhood don't know very much about the campus.

It is rich with history (built in 1934), and has seen its share of controversy. Once a low-performing school, it has become a source of pride to those of us in the neighborhood actively involved in making it a better place.     As a parent of two students enrolled (3rd grade and Kindergarten), I would like to share some information with Hyde Park neighbors. In recent years there have been discussions about closing our school because of our small enrollment numbers. Those rumors continue to circulate, but district officials assure us that as long as we continue to maintain the high levels of student achievement and community involvement, that will not happen. The administration, teachers, and parents do everything we can to help our students excel.     The demographic profile of our campus for the 2002-03 school year showed a total of 223 students (this year there are about 255 students enrolled). Of those 223, 6% were Anglo, 4% African American, and 89% Hispanic. The percent of those considered economically disadvantaged was 89%, and 59% had limited English proficiency. 13% of our students were in the Gifted/Talented Program, and 29% were in the Special Education Program. Our attendance rate for all grades was 93.9%.     In the performance analysis from the Office of District and Campus Accountability, Ridgetop is rated 8th citywide in the percentage of students passing "All Tests Taken" among 74 elementary schools. To put that into perspective,

if you listed every elementary school in Austin based on performance from 1-74, we would be among the Top Ten Schools! (Another public school in our neighborhood, Lee Elementary, is rated #2!). Because the Texas Education Agency is not issuing accountability ratings this year, we will retain the "Recognized" status we achieved. We would be an "Exemplary" campus based on our test scores, but because the new TAKS tests were implemented last year, ratings are not being given. Our TAKS test scores were 94% passing Reading, 96.1% Math, 90% Science, and 94.1% Writing. (Only one student failed the writing portion, but because of our small enrollment, one student can make or break our ratings.) Our goal this year is not just to continue making high test scores, but to pinpoint where our students' strengths and weaknesses are and ensure that every child does their very best.     Because of our high population of immigrant and bilingual children, our success in reaching the Exemplary level has been a real challenge. Collaborative efforts with staff, parents, and community members make it possible to teach each student. All our teachers are G/T certified, and many have special training in Reading Recovery and other specialized areas to make it possible for each grade level to have differentiated learning in the classroom. Mentor programs through various UT groups work with struggling Continued on page 12