Tippy Valley Parents Question F Grade, Taste of Milk
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
On Aug. 29, the Indiana Department of Education released its grades of schools for 2011, giving letter grades to each school and school corporation based on a variety of factors including ISTEP results. Tippecanoe Valley received an “F.” Individual school results at Valley included Akron Elementary receiving an “A”, the high school and Mentone Elementary receiving “D’s” and the middle school earning an “F.”
After the board approved the school improvement plans, parent Chris Morehouse asked the board if the improvement plan was to get the middle school out of the “F” rating. Her son attends the middle school.
Mark Wise, board president, said the board approves the plans every year, and they are modified each year.
Superintendent Brett Boggs encouraged Morehouse to meet with Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Principal Earl Richter. Boggs said Richter should be able to explain the plan to her.
Not happy with the answer given to her, Morehouse brought the issue up again later in the meeting.
She said while she had the utmost respect for the board, she felt “thrown under the bus” with their answer to her question.
“Are you guys worried?” she asked.
Rod Eaton, board member, said if the state would have given grade letters last year.
Previously, instead of grade letters, the state rankings included “exemplary”, “commendable”, “academic progress”, “academic watch” and “academic probation”.
Last year, Rochester Schools got an “F” but received a “B” this year, Wise said. He said the state’s grading system was kind of a “yo-yo thing.”
“It does concern me but there’s such a discrepancy with the state,” Wise said. Next year, even if Valley improves, the best the school corporation can get is a “C”, he said.
Boggs asked Morehouse how much she wanted to know because explaining the rating system would probably take a good hour. Morehouse said “all of it.”
She said the middle school has a lot of bullying and there’s a lack of morale. It’s “really bad” at the middle school, she said.
“I just think some of our teaching staff has ... I don’t want to say outrun their contracts ...,” she said.
In Alabama, where Morehouse’s sister lives, teachers have to recertify after every five years. That could be a good thing, she said.
Boggs told Morehouse that he would be willing to sit down with her and go over the state ranking and how the state arrived at the grade. As far as the school’s improvement plan, though, he told her to meet with Richter.
“You think he can do that, honestly?” she asked.
Boggs said he could and he expects him to do that.
He said the letter grade is one picture and there’s a lot to it. He is concerned with the state grade, but Valley is doing a lot right. There are things, however, that Valley needs to work on.
Eaton said they’ve been told that eventually all schools will fail under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Angie Miller, Mentone Elementary principal, said Mentone had growth and still earned a “D.”
“It’s questionable at times how they got those letter grades,” Boggs said.
“You have a lot of parents freaking out,” Morehouse said. “I know they should be here, but they’re not. I think parents get this view that you’re not really doing anything and everything will improve. You need to do something to calm the waters. Do something just so people know you are concerned.”
“We are concerned,” Dave O’Brien, board member, said.
Chasity Osborne, parent, asked if the letter grade was for teachers’ lack of getting involved with students and students failing. She said she’s e-mailed teachers and got no response from them. She wants to keep updated on her children’s grades.
“If the grades are not being posted, then the principal needs to know that,” Boggs said. “If they’re not responding in a timely manner, then contact the principal. If that doesn’t work, let me know.”
“And we’ll start some fires,” Wise said.
Katina Webb, parent, asked the board what was up with the milk.
“You can’t even drink it,” she said.
Student representative Brody Cook said the milk does taste a little different.
Webb said her child will only drink the chocolate milk because the white milk is so bad, but he will only drink the chocolate milk after eating a lot of food because it’s so bad.
Wise said the milk is fat free because of new nutritional guidelines handed down to schools.
“How does it help if kids won’t drink it?” Webb asked.
Osborne said if the kids won’t drink the milk, maybe the schools should offer water as an alternative.
“If kids aren’t drinking it, then that’s a problem,” Wise said.
Cook said the chocolate milk was the best, then the white milk and the strawberry milk was the worst.
“If we get enough complaints, maybe we’ll get something done,” Wise suggested.[[In-content Ad]]
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On Aug. 29, the Indiana Department of Education released its grades of schools for 2011, giving letter grades to each school and school corporation based on a variety of factors including ISTEP results. Tippecanoe Valley received an “F.” Individual school results at Valley included Akron Elementary receiving an “A”, the high school and Mentone Elementary receiving “D’s” and the middle school earning an “F.”
After the board approved the school improvement plans, parent Chris Morehouse asked the board if the improvement plan was to get the middle school out of the “F” rating. Her son attends the middle school.
Mark Wise, board president, said the board approves the plans every year, and they are modified each year.
Superintendent Brett Boggs encouraged Morehouse to meet with Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Principal Earl Richter. Boggs said Richter should be able to explain the plan to her.
Not happy with the answer given to her, Morehouse brought the issue up again later in the meeting.
She said while she had the utmost respect for the board, she felt “thrown under the bus” with their answer to her question.
“Are you guys worried?” she asked.
Rod Eaton, board member, said if the state would have given grade letters last year.
Previously, instead of grade letters, the state rankings included “exemplary”, “commendable”, “academic progress”, “academic watch” and “academic probation”.
Last year, Rochester Schools got an “F” but received a “B” this year, Wise said. He said the state’s grading system was kind of a “yo-yo thing.”
“It does concern me but there’s such a discrepancy with the state,” Wise said. Next year, even if Valley improves, the best the school corporation can get is a “C”, he said.
Boggs asked Morehouse how much she wanted to know because explaining the rating system would probably take a good hour. Morehouse said “all of it.”
She said the middle school has a lot of bullying and there’s a lack of morale. It’s “really bad” at the middle school, she said.
“I just think some of our teaching staff has ... I don’t want to say outrun their contracts ...,” she said.
In Alabama, where Morehouse’s sister lives, teachers have to recertify after every five years. That could be a good thing, she said.
Boggs told Morehouse that he would be willing to sit down with her and go over the state ranking and how the state arrived at the grade. As far as the school’s improvement plan, though, he told her to meet with Richter.
“You think he can do that, honestly?” she asked.
Boggs said he could and he expects him to do that.
He said the letter grade is one picture and there’s a lot to it. He is concerned with the state grade, but Valley is doing a lot right. There are things, however, that Valley needs to work on.
Eaton said they’ve been told that eventually all schools will fail under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Angie Miller, Mentone Elementary principal, said Mentone had growth and still earned a “D.”
“It’s questionable at times how they got those letter grades,” Boggs said.
“You have a lot of parents freaking out,” Morehouse said. “I know they should be here, but they’re not. I think parents get this view that you’re not really doing anything and everything will improve. You need to do something to calm the waters. Do something just so people know you are concerned.”
“We are concerned,” Dave O’Brien, board member, said.
Chasity Osborne, parent, asked if the letter grade was for teachers’ lack of getting involved with students and students failing. She said she’s e-mailed teachers and got no response from them. She wants to keep updated on her children’s grades.
“If the grades are not being posted, then the principal needs to know that,” Boggs said. “If they’re not responding in a timely manner, then contact the principal. If that doesn’t work, let me know.”
“And we’ll start some fires,” Wise said.
Katina Webb, parent, asked the board what was up with the milk.
“You can’t even drink it,” she said.
Student representative Brody Cook said the milk does taste a little different.
Webb said her child will only drink the chocolate milk because the white milk is so bad, but he will only drink the chocolate milk after eating a lot of food because it’s so bad.
Wise said the milk is fat free because of new nutritional guidelines handed down to schools.
“How does it help if kids won’t drink it?” Webb asked.
Osborne said if the kids won’t drink the milk, maybe the schools should offer water as an alternative.
“If kids aren’t drinking it, then that’s a problem,” Wise said.
Cook said the chocolate milk was the best, then the white milk and the strawberry milk was the worst.
“If we get enough complaints, maybe we’ll get something done,” Wise suggested.[[In-content Ad]]
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