Sunny Wolf Charter School considered a "Model School" by the State

Wolf Creek, Ore — A Josephine county Charter School has a lot of to be proud of.

Just a few years ago, Wolf creek’s Sunny Wolf Charter School ranked near the bottom of the state in terms of performance in reading, math and science.

Sunny Wolf is now in the top 5%, an enormous turn around that teachers say, came with a unique approach to teaching and a little patience. .

“It got better the second year, better the third year, it’s wonderful, said 4th and 5th Grade Teacher Shawn Hardy.

Sunny Wolf is considered a “Model School” by the state for the 2014-2015 school year.

“We are in the top 5% of Title One schools in the state and the top 10% of all schools in the state,” said Director Penelope Digennaro.

It wasn’t always that way. Hardy was there three years ago when Sunny Wolf was given a Level 2 rating from the Oregon Department of Education, putting it in the bottom 15% statewide in terms of performance.

“Getting kids to school, we have the challenge of making sure that the the kids have as much food as they need to eat,” said Hardy.

Now the school, with an emphasis on hands on learning, has made the greatest turn around in the state, earning a Level 5 rating – the top level possible – for performance in math, reading and science.

“We’ve communicated with parents and the students how important school is and by communicating that makes it better,” said Hardy.

A trend Hardy hopes stays with his students as they grow.

“We just continue improving a little bit at a time, that’s the goal, just keep moving forward,” said Hardy.

“Model Schools” are schools that perform in the top 5% with the required percentage of low income students to be considered a Title One school.

Sunny Wolf Charter School was founded a year after Wolf Creek Elementary was forced to shut down due to budget cuts.