From Superintendent Andrew Melin, Ph.D. for the week of March 14, 2011:
Five VCS schools earn “Four Star” status which is indicative of Indiana’s best schools
Five VCS schools have earned “Four Star” status according to the Indiana Department of Education: Ben Franklin Middle School, Central Elementary, Cooks Corners Elementary, Memorial Elementary, and Northview Elementary.
Only 188 public schools (out of 1808) and 13 private schools (out of 261) earned “Four Star” status.
Schools that earn “Four Star” status rank in the top 25th percentile in the state according to two criteria. Elementary and middle schools: 1) Combined passing percentage in English/Language Arts and Math on the most recent ISTEP+ exam; and 2) Percentage of students passing both English Language Arts and Math on the most recent ISTEP+ exam. Schools must have also made Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) the previous year. In order to achieve “Four Star” status, a school must exceed the criteria in each grade level tested, i.e., third through fifth grades.
High schools must also rank in the top 25th percentile in the state according to two criteria: 1) Combined passage on the English 10 and Algebra I end-of-course exams for the 2012 cohort; and 2) Percentage of students passing both the English 10 and Algebra I end-of-course exams for the 2012 cohort. In addition, schools must have made AYP the previous school year.
Although Valparaiso High School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School made the initial two criteria, both missed making AYP last year; therefore, they did not make “Four Star” status. VHS did not make AYP due to passage of special education students in ISTEP+ language arts and the percentage of special education students participating in the ISTEP+ math assessment, while TJMS did not make AYP due to passage of black students on the ISTEP+ language arts assessment. Flint Lake, Hayes Leonard, Parkview, and Thomas Jefferson fell short by not achieving the criteria in each grade level tested.
Our administrative team will begin analyzing the data and work with our teaching staff to determine the specific adjustments necessary to enable all of our schools to one day earn “Four Star” status.
The VCS Strategic Plan will be integral in this endeavor. In the Student Achievement and Instruction section of the plan, numerous advisories have been established which are designed to help assess areas in which VCS can improve. The advisories will be responsible to identify those areas, to research best-practice, and to develop recommendations designed to effectively address the identified area.
A key aspect of the strategic plan will be to establish specific goals or targets VCS will use to determine success of various initiatives. One of the targets worthy of consideration is the “Four Star” status because it is a distinction that exemplifies the top academically performing schools in Indiana.
VCS News
We have added a “Viking University” tab to our web site under the “Parent” tab on our home page. Upcoming meetings and PowerPoint presentations from past sessions have been added. We plan on adding videotaped presentations of our sessions as well.
VCS Standouts
Congratulations to our VHS gymnasts for winning the IHSAA Regional Championship last Friday.
We also want to congratulate our VHS students who competed in the State Mock Trial on March 5 & 6 in Indianapolis. The “Quantum Disco Team” finished 2nd in the State for the 2nd year in a row. The team consisted of: Ingrid Adams (Top Lawyer Award), Brendan Biesen, Kaleb Hagen, Gareth Kaye Maya Major (Top Lawyer Award), CJ Skok, and Alan Whipps. The “Destination: Speculation Team” finished 10th in the State. The team consisted of: Andew Antonetti, Roshni Dhoot, Erik Muntzing, Chandler Nielsen (Top Witness Award), Jacqui Peterschmidt, Emma Porter, McCaul Sawina, and Sarah Simon.
Important Dates:
- March 15 Board Meeting
- March 25 End of 3rd grading pd.
- March 28 Spring Break begins
- April 8 Grade Cards Distributed