Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - Preliminary ISTEP scores are in, and the initial results look good for Manchester Community Schools.
Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the Manchester Community Schools Board of Trustees, Manchester Elementary School Principal Bonnie Ingraham and Laketon Elementary School Principal Bill Reichhart spoke with the board about the preliminary information they received.
"We are heading in the right direction," Ingraham said. "I am pleased with the results."
Seventy-nine percent of students in the third grade at Manchester Elementary School passed both the English/language arts and math portions of the ISTEP test.
At the MES fourth-grade level, 76 percent of students passed both portions of the tests.
Students in both third and fourth grades improved in the writing applications portion of the ISTEP.
Laketon Elementary School fifth- and sixth-grade students improved their ISTEP results as well.
According to Reichhart, students at the sixth-grade level recorded the highest scores in school history in the math portion of the test. Eighty-six percent of sixth-grade students passed the math section of the ISTEPs.
Eighty percent of LES sixth-graders passed the English/language arts section of the test.
At the LES fourth-grade level, 78 percent of students passed the English and language arts portion and 79 percent of students passed the math portion of the test.
"We are very pleased at Laketon with the results," Reichhart said. "Credit our teachers and staff for the gains."
"You can tell what we've been doing is making a difference," said MCS Superintendent Dr. Diana Showalter.
In other business, the board:
• Approved Chad West and Joe Egner as volunteer assistant boys basketball coaches at Manchester Junior High School.
• Approved a request from Kim Meyer to extend her maternity leave through the end of the 2006-07 school year at Manchester Elementary School.
• Accepted the resignation of Kevin Walter, language arts teacher at Manchester Junior High School at the end of the 2006-07 school year.
• Approved a request for a reduced schedule for a Manchester Senior High School student due to family hardship.
• Approved a Sunday activity request for Marilyn Mason for Sunday rehearsal and performance for the production of "The Night of January 16th" on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17.
• Approved a professional leave request for Terry McKee to attend the IMEA Convention Jan 18-20 in Indianapolis.
• Agreed to participate in two grants and accepted a third grant. MCS will participate in a Rural Development Fund Workforce and Educational Development grant with Wabash City Schools for $80,000; and participate in the Community Foundation of Wabash County Grant with Wabash City Schools for $10,000. Accepted a Professional Development grant for $9,000.
• Accepted an anonymous $100 donation to help cover expenses associated with the Manchester Junior/Senior High School musical production held in October.
• Held the first reading for several NEOLA policies and by-laws.
Board members are Sally Krouse, president; Todd Speicher; Jan Fahs; Brian Schilling; Steve Lambert; Kent Terrill; and Steve Flack. Lambert and Flack were absent from Tuesday's meeting.
