Five Polk County school districts will receive a Distinction in Performance rating from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Bolivar R-1 and Half Way R-3 will receive the rating for the sixth consecutive year, while Humansville R-4 and Marion C. Early R-5 will receive distinction for the first time. Pleasant Hope R-6 is a veteran Distinction in Performance school, and will receive the rating for the first time since the 2008-09 school year.

“We’re really excited about getting Distinction in Performance,” Marion C. Early Superintendent Eric Kurre said. “The APR scores are from a five-year window. It doesn’t live off one year. So we’ve been working on this for quite a few years to get all 14 and get Distinction in Performance. Excited is really an understatement. It’s a big thing for us. We’ve come a long way.”

DESE released Friday the final 2011 Annual Performance Reports for all of Missouri’s public schools. Preliminary reports were released earlier this year, and schools had the opportunity to dispute the data.

The Half Way R-3 School District originally met just 13 of the 14 indicators, but Superintendent Dr. Tim Boatwright said based on the district’s increasing scores, it should have received the 14th indicator point.

“We thought there were some problems when (the preliminary report) came out,” Boatwright said. “We’re excited that we have received Distinction in Performance six years in a row. We take it as a big deal around here. We always want to strive to be the best. We think our staff and kids work really hard, and we’re proud of them.”

“I’m proud of my teachers and my students, that they continue to perform quite well,” said Half Way High School Principal Tammy Highley.

According to a press release from DESE, “three out of every five school districts across the state met every standard. Another one out of five met all but one.”

Fair Play R-2 was one of the district’s that met every standard but one. According to DESE standards, schools can meet 13 of the 14 criteria and still receive Distinction in Performance; however, all MAP initiatives must be met. The district lacked only in one area — English II communication arts end-of-course exam. Fair Play, however, is not without its accolades. The district received Distinction in Performance in 2008-09, 2007-08 and 2004-05.