Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The only school to win a Four Star School Award in Warsaw Community Schools is now closed.
Atwood Elementary was named one of 147 Indiana schools to be awarded the four-star designation for the 2003-04 school year by the Indiana Department of Education. All schools - elementary and secondary - are considered.
There are more than 1,900 schools in Indiana.
The Four Star School Award is the highest the state awards, and is based on ISTEP results and overall attendance. Atwood had an attendance rate of 97 percent and an overall ISTEP passing rate of 86 percent.
Former Atwood principal Jacqui Brandenburg attributed the honor to a number of factors.
"We've had high ISTEP scores over the years," she said, which was a result of connecting students to the curriculum, providing a non-threatening environment and including a strong phonics component to encourage reading.
"We also had a good remedial program with a lot of parent involvement," she said.
Important for the school's academic success, she said, was the fact that the "teachers were definitely a team ... they were concerned about every student in every class."
"I've always been very, very proud of the staff and the students and the parents - the whole community has really been a part of that school and that's what makes a strong school," Brandenburg said.
Each year, the Indiana Department of Education presents the Four Star Schools Award to schools who meet all accreditation requirements and perform in the top 25 percent of all Indiana schools in the following categories: attendance rate, ISTEP+ mathematics and English/language arts proficiency scores, and the percentage of students meeting state academic standards on ISTEP+ in both English/language arts and mathematics.
The award is non-monetary and is given on an annual basis. Schools must be fully accredited by the Indiana State Board of Education and must meet Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to be eligible for consideration.
"The Four Star School Award is a mark of distinction of which schools and their respective corporations and communities can be extremely proud," Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed said in announcing the awards.
