Brandywine Senior High School in Niles and Eagle Lake Elementary in Edwardsburg are among the 286 schools statewide receiving designation as a Reward School for the 2011-12 school year by the Michigan Department of Education.

No other schools in Leader Publications readership area received this designation.

Reward Schools include the top 5 percent of schools on the MDE’s annual Top-to-Bottom ranking of all Michigan schools, and the top 5 percent of schools making the greatest academic progress over the previous four years. Schools identified as Beating the Odds schools were also deemed Reward Schools.

Brandywine Supt. John Jarpe said Brandywine High received Reward School status because it fell into the category of the top 5 percent of schools making the greatest gains in achievement.

“I’m real pleased that the state recognizes our improvement efforts,” Jarpe said. “We will continue to work hard to improve at all grade levels.”

Eagle Lake Elementary was deemed a Reward School by virtue of its status as a Beating the Odds school, according to Myra Munroe, Edwardsburg assistant superintendent.

“It proves that our staff is working hard at making sure that all students learn at high levels,” Munroe said.

The MDE also released a Top-to-Bottom ranking of nearly all schools statewide. Schools were ranked based on student performance in math, reading, writing, science and social studies. In each subject, schools were also held accountable for three aspects of performance: achievement, improvement and achievement gap. An achievement gap is calculated by identifying the unique gap between the highest and lowest 30 percent of each school’s student achievement. In addition, graduation rate data was factored in for high schools.

All schools with two years of data for 30 or more students and two or more tested subjects were included in the ranking.

Ranking is shown as a statewide percentile. Here is how our readership schools ranked:

Niles Community Schools

Niles High: 77th

Ring Lardner: 73rd

Howard: 63rd

Ballard: 32nd

Oak Manor Sixth Grade Center: 14th

Brandywine Community Schools

Brandywine High: 58th

Brandywine Elementary: 48th

Merritt: 27th

Brandywine Middle: 13th

Buchanan Community Schools

Buchanan High: 92nd

Buchanan Middle: 53rd

Ottawa: 50th

Buchanan Elementary: 48th

Moccasin: 21st

Edwardsburg Public Schools

Eagle Lake: 91st

Edwardsburg Middle: 83rd

Edwardsburg Intermediate: 81st

Edwardsburg High: 64th

Dowagiac Union Schools

Kincheloe: 76th

Union High: 57th

Justus Gage: 54th

Dowagiac Middle: 50th

Sister Lakes: 36th

Patrick Hamilton: 18th

Cassopolis Public Schools

Ross Beatty: 33rd

Sam Adams Elementary: 23rd