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North Putnam schools continue upward trend
Despite funding cuts and changes being made in the school system to make up it, North Putnam Community School Corporation continues to make strides when it comes to student academics.
Superintendent Dan Noel said for the first time in the history of the corporation, North Putnam overall is considered an 'A' school through the Indiana Department of Education's (DOE) A through F accountability scale for the 2013-14 school year.
Being recognized for academic achievement is an ongoing theme at North Putnam High School. Principal Jason Chew said the high school has been recognized as a Four-Star school for the third year in a row.
In order to receive the distinction, a school must be in the top 25th percentile of schools in two ISTEP-based categories, as well as earn an "A" in the state's accountability system and be accredited by the Indiana Department of Education.
The middle school made a huge leap in the 2013-14 school year, jumping from a 'D' grade to an 'A', while Roachdale also received an 'A'. Bainbridge Elementary received a 'C' grade, which Noel noted was due to slow growth.
The accountability grades at the high school level, according to the DOE, are based on student performance in the areas of Language Arts and math on the End of Course Assesments, student improvement from grades 8 to 10 and grades 10 to 12, graduation rate, as well as college and career readiness.
At the elementary and middle school levels, the accountability grades focus on performance and improvement on the ISTEP testings, the level of growth on standardized testing and participation of students being tested.
"Our administration and teachers have been working extra hard. They are focused on the needs of the students," Noel stressed.
"Even the students are taking it serious."
Noel said there will always be some sort of assessment to gauge where students and the school overall stand when it comes to academics, and the only way to continue the corporation's success is to embrace the changes and find ways to push past the challenges. The corporation needs to continue the upward trend in order to keep bringing families, and subsequently students, to the North Putnam area.
"Realtors, people moving to our community and businesses all look at this (information). It's very competitive," Noel said.
Noel presented some numbers to the school board recently showing the strides North Putnam has made in just a few years. For example, the school's graduation rate in the 2011-12 school year was 84.3 percent and in the 2013-14 school year the graduation rate jumped to 93.1 percent.
ISTEP scores, for the most part, have raised in recent years, as well as SAT average scores and AP test scores.
In an effort to better understand what the students need to be successful, the teachers have started curriculum mapping for math, science and social studies. Noel said this is a massive undertaking for the teachers, but they have taken it upon themselves to start the process.
The teachers have tried to ease student anxiety when it comes to testing by making learning fun. The teachers produced a mock rap video and hosted a faculty basketball game.
"We know the seriousness of the testing. Sometimes you can have a little fun with it. They can laugh about it and sometimes the teachers can laugh at themselves," Noel said.
Noel said while the school the school is making great strides, there are still plans to continue working with the students. For example, the school board recently approved the advertisement of a graduation coach.
This new position would follow students from sixth-grade to graduation to ensure students do not fall through the cracks. Noel said the school counselors are overloaded and the graduation coach would focus on identifying the needs of those students falling behind.
"It's easy for a student to say, 'I don't have my homework.' The problem is, we've got to go back and revisit why that student didn't have the homework finished," Noel stressed.
The superintendent said in addition to the hard work of staff and students, the school has seen positive feedback from the community. He stressed the importance of the communities being understanding as the school and the board have to make difficult decisions to keep the process running smoothly.