Valley Hears IREAD-3 Results
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Monday night, Akron Elementary School Principal Chrissy Mills presented Tippecanoe Valley’s results for her school and Mentone Elementary.
Akron had 60 of 68 students pass without exemptions, or 88 percent, this year. That’s up from 81 percent in 2013. Mentone had 61 of 76 students pass without exemptions, or 80 percent, this year, down from 86 percent in 2013. Overall, Valley had 84 percent pass without exemption, the same percentage as 2013.
With exemptions – which include students with Individualized Education Plans, English Language Learners or students who have previously been retained – Akron had 64 of 68 students (94 percent) pass IREAD-3. Mentone had 72 of 76 (95 percent) pass with exemptions. As in 2013, 94 percent of Valley’s third-graders passed IREAD-3 with exemptions this year.
Mills said those students who don’t pass IREAD-3 have to go through Valley’s summer school program, have interventions and take the test a second time in late June. If they don’t pass the test on the second time, they are then retained.
Corporation wide, Valley had nine students score a perfect 650 on the test, including two at Akron and seven at Mentone. That is down from 12 students scoring perfectly on the test in 2013.
In another matter, the school board tabled increasing the 2014-15 school lunch prices until the May meeting so more information can be gathered.
The recommendation before the board was to increase lunch prices by 10 cents to $1.60 for students in kindergarten to eighth grade; 10 cents for the high school to $1.65; and 25 cents for adults to $3.
Board Vice President Mark Wise said Valley’s cafeterias “for the most part are holding their own. They’re not strapped for cash. The state is raising prices. I don’t want to approve these until they make more noise first.”
According to information provided by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dan Kramer, every student is eligible for a paid lunch, a reduced priced lunch or a free lunch. While Valley receives federal reimbursement on each lunch served, it receives different reimbursement amounts for each particular category of lunch served.
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires that schools participating in the National School Lunch Program provide the same level of support for paid student lunches served as for free/reduced student lunches served.
The current federal reimbursement for a free lunch is $2.93 and for a paid lunch 28 cents, a difference of $2.65. To comply with federal regulations, Valley should be collecting an average weighted price of $2.65 per paid student lunch. Valley’s current charges for paid student lunches of $1.50 and $1.55 are below what it should be collecting.
The federal government is allowing schools to incrementally raise lunch prices each year to meet the minimum.
Kramer told the board that in the last week Valley’s received notification of a waiver process to not increase lunch prices. However, there is no guarantee that Valley would qualify for the waiver.
“I’d like to pursue that,” Wise stated, and made the motion to table the matter until the May meeting. The motion was approved.
At the March school board meeting, Tippecanoe Valley High School student Josh Petgen requested Valley start a soccer team. Boggs suggested Petgen get with Principal Kirk Doehrmann and Athletic Director Duane Burkhart to come up with a plan and present it to the school board later.
Last night, Petgen returned with his research on the financial aspects of starting soccer at TVHS. According to his estimates, it would cost $4,780 for the first year to start a soccer team. He said that was on the high end and included one-time purchases such as goals as well as any other costs he could come up with. His estimates also would be for one high school team of 11 people.
Board President Bryan Murphy asked how many kids might come out for the soccer team. Petgen estimated 30, but that would have to be whittled down.
Murphy said it was his understanding the soccer team would have to start as a club sport, a junior varsity team for a year and then a varsity team for a year.
Sometimes Valley struggles to get kids to come out for other sports, Wise said. How would soccer affect those other teams?
Petgen said soccer is a fall sport and would conflict with football. However, a teacher said students interested in soccer appear to be different from those interested in other sports.
“I just think it’s a whole different group who aren’t involved in anything else,” she said.
TVHS junior Jordan Fraser said he knows Petgen has the passion for a soccer team at Valley. He’s been working on this for a while now, and smaller schools like North Miami don’t have a problem having a soccer team.
Boggs told Petgen to meet with him and Burkhart today to figure out how to gauge student interest in having soccer at TVHS during the 2014-15 school year.
“We appreciate all your effort and determination in this,” Boggs said to him.[[In-content Ad]]
Monday night, Akron Elementary School Principal Chrissy Mills presented Tippecanoe Valley’s results for her school and Mentone Elementary.
Akron had 60 of 68 students pass without exemptions, or 88 percent, this year. That’s up from 81 percent in 2013. Mentone had 61 of 76 students pass without exemptions, or 80 percent, this year, down from 86 percent in 2013. Overall, Valley had 84 percent pass without exemption, the same percentage as 2013.
With exemptions – which include students with Individualized Education Plans, English Language Learners or students who have previously been retained – Akron had 64 of 68 students (94 percent) pass IREAD-3. Mentone had 72 of 76 (95 percent) pass with exemptions. As in 2013, 94 percent of Valley’s third-graders passed IREAD-3 with exemptions this year.
Mills said those students who don’t pass IREAD-3 have to go through Valley’s summer school program, have interventions and take the test a second time in late June. If they don’t pass the test on the second time, they are then retained.
Corporation wide, Valley had nine students score a perfect 650 on the test, including two at Akron and seven at Mentone. That is down from 12 students scoring perfectly on the test in 2013.
In another matter, the school board tabled increasing the 2014-15 school lunch prices until the May meeting so more information can be gathered.
The recommendation before the board was to increase lunch prices by 10 cents to $1.60 for students in kindergarten to eighth grade; 10 cents for the high school to $1.65; and 25 cents for adults to $3.
Board Vice President Mark Wise said Valley’s cafeterias “for the most part are holding their own. They’re not strapped for cash. The state is raising prices. I don’t want to approve these until they make more noise first.”
According to information provided by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dan Kramer, every student is eligible for a paid lunch, a reduced priced lunch or a free lunch. While Valley receives federal reimbursement on each lunch served, it receives different reimbursement amounts for each particular category of lunch served.
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires that schools participating in the National School Lunch Program provide the same level of support for paid student lunches served as for free/reduced student lunches served.
The current federal reimbursement for a free lunch is $2.93 and for a paid lunch 28 cents, a difference of $2.65. To comply with federal regulations, Valley should be collecting an average weighted price of $2.65 per paid student lunch. Valley’s current charges for paid student lunches of $1.50 and $1.55 are below what it should be collecting.
The federal government is allowing schools to incrementally raise lunch prices each year to meet the minimum.
Kramer told the board that in the last week Valley’s received notification of a waiver process to not increase lunch prices. However, there is no guarantee that Valley would qualify for the waiver.
“I’d like to pursue that,” Wise stated, and made the motion to table the matter until the May meeting. The motion was approved.
At the March school board meeting, Tippecanoe Valley High School student Josh Petgen requested Valley start a soccer team. Boggs suggested Petgen get with Principal Kirk Doehrmann and Athletic Director Duane Burkhart to come up with a plan and present it to the school board later.
Last night, Petgen returned with his research on the financial aspects of starting soccer at TVHS. According to his estimates, it would cost $4,780 for the first year to start a soccer team. He said that was on the high end and included one-time purchases such as goals as well as any other costs he could come up with. His estimates also would be for one high school team of 11 people.
Board President Bryan Murphy asked how many kids might come out for the soccer team. Petgen estimated 30, but that would have to be whittled down.
Murphy said it was his understanding the soccer team would have to start as a club sport, a junior varsity team for a year and then a varsity team for a year.
Sometimes Valley struggles to get kids to come out for other sports, Wise said. How would soccer affect those other teams?
Petgen said soccer is a fall sport and would conflict with football. However, a teacher said students interested in soccer appear to be different from those interested in other sports.
“I just think it’s a whole different group who aren’t involved in anything else,” she said.
TVHS junior Jordan Fraser said he knows Petgen has the passion for a soccer team at Valley. He’s been working on this for a while now, and smaller schools like North Miami don’t have a problem having a soccer team.
Boggs told Petgen to meet with him and Burkhart today to figure out how to gauge student interest in having soccer at TVHS during the 2014-15 school year.
“We appreciate all your effort and determination in this,” Boggs said to him.[[In-content Ad]]
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