North Putnam principals address 2017 IDOE grades

BAINBRIDGE -- Recent buzz surrounding school accountability grades across the state, as delivered by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), has given all four principals within the North Putnam School Corporation an opportunity to interpret the state’s findings.

North Putnam Schools faired better than most, coming up with the highest number of “A” schools -- Roachdale Elementary, up from a “B” in 2016; and North Putnam High School, up from a “B.”

Bainbridge Elementary received the lowest grade, a “C,” staying the same, while North Putnam Middle School received a “B,” also staying the same as 2016.

Asked to present their grades at public session Thursday, each principal explained why their respective schools garnered the grades they were given.

Beth Waterman, principal at Roachdale, began by iterating why she thinks her school received the highest grade in the county.

“I was just so thrilled,” she said. “When I looked at how many schools there are in Indiana -- over 1,800 -- and we came in as number 277, so we’re in the top 15 percent in the state, and we were the top school in Putnam County.

“We really appreciate the hard work and dedication of the teachers,” Waterman continued. “We wouldn’t be here without their hard work. I just appreciate them so much.”

The other A-rated school for North Putnam was NPHS, of which Principal Jason Chew spoke highly, though he included some tough truths that may be right around the corner.

“There’s been a lot of change, and this is the first year, at the high school, that we’ve ever had a growth element -- looking at this new ISTEP test from the eighth grade to the 10th grade,” Chew said. “We really didn’t know what that would do to our grade ... standard growth through the DOE is about 100 points of growth, and we showed 126-127 points.

“We did score an ‘A’ again this year, and I temper that a little bit,” he continued, “because, every year, for the next two or three years, accountability for the high school will change. Next year, they’re going to give us two grades .. one similar to this one and a federal accountability grade ... also next year they’re going to remove general-diploma recipients from our graduation rate, which is a concern for all high schools. The state and federal government have basically said ‘if you earn a general diploma, you are the equivalent to a drop out in the state of Indiana. We think that’s wrong and, unfortunately, we’re dealing with that. We’re excited that we’ve received an ‘A,’ but we’re very realistic that things change every year.”

NPMS Principal Scott Miller said his school received the highest grade of all four middle schools in the county.

“We had a higher percentage than we had last year, and we were the top middle school in the county, again,” Miller said. “We’re not where we want to be, what we continue to work for, we want to be an A-rated middle school and the students and staff are working hard to get there. We’re on the right track -- we keep growing and next year I hope to sit here and tell you that we achieved an ‘A’ status.”

Finally, Bainbridge Elementary Principal Rodney Simpson said his students and staff have been working tirelessly and should be proud of the improvement they’ve made over the past year, regardless of what grade the school received.

“We had a great year of improving,” he said. “We received a letter grade of a ‘C’ but we improved the percentage of that over 2016.

“I’d like to encourage you to, please, email the teachers, talk with them and encourage them -- let them know that the improvement is important,” he added. “They need to feel that encouragement -- that they did improve that percentage. It would be very uplifting for them to know that from you (the board). We’ve made a lot of changes and are working very hard.”

In other business:

• Principals Chew, Miller, Simpson and Waterman each recognized a student from their respective schools Thursday as part of the board’s “Celebrate Success” initiative. They were: Bainbridge Elementary, student Keaton Parent; Roachdale Elementary, student Sandra Miles; NPMS, students Ruby Sullivan, Carter Thomas, Brenden Oliver and Brant Sheldon (Dairy Foods Team); and NPHS, student Michael Hudson.

• A sign for the middle school has been delivered and is set to installed some time next week. Check back later for more information and a picture on this story.

• The board accepted a donation in the amount of $1,000 from a “Tools for Schools” grant to be used at Roachdale Elementary.

• The board accepted a donation in the amount of $1,000 from the Indianapolis Colts and United Healthcare for football helmets at North Putnam High School.

• The next regularly-scheduled public session for North Putnam will be on Thursday, Nov. 16 in the high school’s media center.