Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MENTONE - Each of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. schools met Adequate Yearly Progress this year as required under the "No Child Left Behind" legislation.
But the school corporation as a whole did not.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to measure each public school's and district's achievement and establish annual achievement targets for the state. The goal is for all students to meet or exceed standards in reading and mathematics by 2014.
Each year, the state will calculate a school's or district's AYP to determine if students are improving their performance based on the established annual targets.
Assistant superintendent Dr. Karen Boling told the school board Monday that each of their schools met AYP this past school year, where last year, Mentone Elementary did not. Over the past two years, testing scores have improved.
At Akron Elementary School, she said, the school has fewer than 40 students in special education. Since the school doesn't have the minimum number of special education students (40), those students' scores were not included in the AYP.
Akron has 41 students who qualify for free and/or reduced lunches, so their test scores were counted toward AYP. Those students, Boling said, still did very well, which, she said, tells her TVSC's free and reduced lunch students are no worse or better than the other students.
Mentone Elementary also has fewer than 40 special education students, so they also weren't counted towards AYP.
The only "subcatergories" at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School are whites and free and/or reduced lunch students.
Tippecanoe Valley High School, Boling said, did meet AYP in math and language testing previously but not in its graduation rate. Last year, the graduation rate dropped to 77 percent from 81 percent. TVHS was cited for the downturn.
When Tippecanoe Valley put together its school improvement program, it addressed the graduation rate and included the alternative learning school. This year, the graduation rate was met.
While each of the schools met AYP this year, the reason the school corporation as a whole did not meet AYP, Boling said, is because since TVSC has 72 special education students, their scores do count towards TVSC's AYP.
In language arts, passing is a score of 45 but the average score is around 18. "I don't know how you do that realistically," said Boling of getting special education students to meet the passing score.
She was more hopeful for the special education math scores. For math, passing is 43 and the average TVSC special education student score is 36. "That isn't so unattainable," she said.
Next year, TVSC needs to focus more on the special education population.
If the No Child Left Behind legislation is not changed, Boling said, there will be no schools that meet AYP.
The Department of Education has not posted AYP results from other schools yet, Boling said, to compare TVSC to them. A letter explaining AYP will be sent out to the community.
In other business, the school board:
• Recognized Boling, who is retiring at the end of June from the school corporation. She started with TVSC in July 1988 as assistant superintendent, then as superintendent beginning with the 1992-93 school year. Boling will continue her education career at IPFW.
• Heard a report on the Northwest Evaluation Association test results from school counselor Lora Harp.
"Nationally," said Boling, "our kids are comparing favorably."
• Approved the 2004-05 textbook rental fees: kindergarten, $55; grade one, $91; grade two, $88; grade three, $104; grade four, $89; grade five, $89; grade six, $99; grade seven, $99; and grade eight, $100.
• Approved teacher contracts for the 2004-05 school year.
• Approved summer school and program contracts.
• Approved the Title I grant application.
• Approved the contract with Kosciusko Community Hospital for an athletic trainer.
• Accepted a $715 grant from Fulton County Solid Waste Management District for Akron Elementary School.
• Approved the hiring of Ivy Lyvers, math teacher, TVHS; Brandi Gaither, school psychologist intern; and Lisa Sponseller, occupational therapist.
• Approved the resignations of Mike Nixon, special education, Burket; Diana Herbst, language arts, TVMS; Darrel Bruner, bus driver; and Evan Boggs, assistant track coach, TVMS.
• Approved Lori Stiffler, head cheerleading coach, TVHS.
Board members are Bryan D. Murphy, David E. O'Brien, Rod Eaton, Hal D. Hoffman and Mark Wise. Superintendent is Daniel Kramer. The board meets at 7:30 p.m. in the board meeting room at Mentone Elementary School on the second Monday of every month.
