Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ISTEP scores for Warsaw Community Schools may be above the state average, but there is still room for improvement, the WCS assistant superintendent said Monday.
"As far as the state goes, we look OK," said Dr. Tony Etienne. But the administration is not satisfied, he said.
Etienne gave his presentation to the school board Monday.
According to state ISTEP scores, Etienne said, WCS had the following results: grade three math, 32 percent below state standards (statewide scores were 37 percent below), and 67 percent above state standards (statewide 62 percent); grade three English, 26 percent below (statewide 32 percent), 73 percent above (statewide 67 percent).
For grade six math, 32 percent of the scores were below state standards (statewide 37 percent), with 67 percent above the standards (62 percent statewide); in grade six English, 31 percent of the scores were below (37 percent statewide), with 69 percent above state standards (statewide 62 percent).
For grade eight math scores, 27 percent were below state standards (36 percent statewide), with 72 percent above (62 percent statewide); in grade eight English, 23 percent were below (26 percent statewide), with 75 percent above state standards (72 percent statewide).
For grade 10, 36 percent of math scores in WCS were below state standards (34 percent statewide), with 63 percent above state standards, both in WCS and statewide. In grade 10 English tests, 31 percent of WCS students scored below state standards (30 percent statewide), with 68 percent above the standards (66 percent statewide).
State standards were toughened for this year's test, which was given in the fall instead of the spring, Etienne said.
"The main thing is, are the test and the results helping us help kids?" he said. The test allows the school corporation and individual teachers to identify weak areas that can be improved.
Also during the meeting, the school board tabled approval of the proposed school calendar for the 1997-98 school year.
Usually a routine matter, the proposal came under fire this year by parents of children in elementary schools without air conditioning.
School Superintendent Dr. Lee Harman recommended the board make no decision on the calendar until the April meeting, and that the time until that meeting be used to "assess additional options" on how to handle the heat in August.
Harman said options could include starting the elementary day earlier and releasing students earlier to avoid the hottest part of the day.
The administration has considered sending out a survey, he said, but has questions about to whom the survey would be sent, how it would be distributed and how the results would be tabulated.
"We don't want to create more problems in addressing the concerns," he said.
When school board member Joel Scrafton suggested including parents on the committee that puts together and evaluates the survey, board president Gordon Vanator said, "Joel, we only have one month to do this."
Eight of the district's 10 elementary schools have no air conditioning in the classrooms. Parents recently have expressed their concern that temperatures in the classrooms in August can sometimes reach over 90 degrees.
The school corporation has estimated the cost of adding air conditioning to the eight schools at approximately $10 million.
In other business:
• The school board unanimously approved Warsaw Community High School's partnership with Vincennes University on teaching some college-level courses in the vocational education department.
• The school board also approved advertising for bids for two new 84-passenger school buses. The contracts will be awarded at the April board meeting.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the administration building.
