Second D grade has North Putnam looking for solution
ROACHDALE -- Making the grade has been a tough thing for North Putnam Middle School these past two years. The school has received a D grade in consecutive years and the Indiana Department of Education now classifies it as a priority school.
By being classified as a priority school North Putnam Middle School falls into a category where it can work to improve its grade or it could become a state-run school. If it were to become a state-run school, North Putnam Middle School would have all curriculum, employment and activities devised by the state.
"The state can come in and take over the school if things don't change," North Putnam Community School Corporation Superintendent Dan Noel said. "This is not something we want."
He went on to explain how the state can restructure everything about a school if it were to happen. Noel also stated that the school would need to boost its letter grade to at least a C to show measurable improvement to the state.
To avoid the state-run scenario administration has been scrambling to find ways to improve math and reading comprehension scores for this springs ISTEP testing.
With only 30 days until ISTEP, middle school principal Terry Tippin stated that a plan has been enacted to help boost scores. Part of the plan is before and after school study sessions that help focus on curriculum that is lacking, also a word of the day to help expand student's "testing word" vocabulary. The group that will be focused on is the "tweeners," as Noel calls them.
"Tweeners" is the group of the student body that are not remedial students, but not the "gifted" students either. This target group includes those students in the middle who just need a bit of an extra push to change their test scores.
Noel also believes that this should be a large community concern and was anxious by the lack of parents attending the meeting.
"I haven't been doing this (communicating with community) very well," Noel admitted.
He also said he was "very proud" to be at North Putnam and taking this on as a major challenge. Noel stated that the school board, administration and teachers have been working together to come up with long-term goals to continue to improve the grades of the school. One is curriculum plan, which will help make a standard curriculum for each grade.
Those parents and teachers present at the meeting Wednesday night were curious about what they could do to reach the students that needed help. Noel and Tippin let them know that any input and suggestions from parents and the community would be appreciated, and there would also be committees set up to involve teachers, parents and administration.
Noel thinks this is necessary for the future of not just the middle school but also the other schools in the corporation.
"While the immediate problem is at the middle school," he said. "We also need to focus on the other schools."
The other schools in the North Putnam Corporation scored higher than the middle school. Roachdale Elementary upped its grade to an A this year, while the high school maintained its A grade from last year and Bainbridge Elementary received a C grade.
While focus is on the middle school, Noel is wanting to be able to maintain the A's at Roachdale Elementary and the high school and find a way to boost Bainbridge Elementary to the same level.
"While interviewing a candidate for (Bainbridge Elementary) principal one of our questions is how would the get an A grade," Noel explained.
He also stated that the data received from the state on the high school and Roachdale Elementary is being examined to see what is being done differently at these schools and if it can be translated to the middle school to help the grade.
Even middle school students were concerned by the grade the school had received.
"What can the above average students do to help?" a middle schooler in the audience asked.
"Tutoring at the least," Noel commented "And influence other students by what you say and how you act."