Titan Hill Identified as School in Need of Assistance
by Kent Stopak
September 18, 2009
DATE: September 11, 2009
TO: Titan Hill Intermediate School Parents
SUBJECT: Notice of Adequate Yearly Progress and School Choice
Options
Many of you are aware of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Act, which requires schools to assess students annually and to meet
student achievement goals. If a school does not meet those
assessment and achievement goals (termed “adequate yearly progress”
or AYP) for two consecutive years, and if the school receives
federal Title I funds, then it is placed on a federal “Schools in
Need of Assistance (SINA)” list and subjected to federal
sanctions.
Schools or districts are cited if they a) don’t meet 95% participation rate for assessments, b) don’t meet student achievement goals, or c) don’t meet attendance rate for elementary and middle schools or graduation rate for high school.
I am writing to inform you that Titan Hill Intermediate School has
been designated as a “School in Need of Assistance,” or SINA, under
these federal guidelines because a portion of our students did not
reach proficiency goals on their reading and mathematics tests for
two consecutive years. As a result, our district is required by law
to offer your student the opportunity for school choice to another
school within the district that has not been designated as a school
in need of assistance. Unfortunately, our district is unable to
provide school choice because there are no alternate schools
available for students to attend.
Please know that the SINA designation refers to federal criteria.
We remain a fully accredited school in complete compliance with
State of Iowa regulations.
WHY TITAN HILL INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DIDN’T MAKE AYP:
Schools don’t make AYP when they don’t achieve one of the measures
listed above: a) 95% participation rate for assessments, b) student
achievement goals, or c) 95% attendance rate for elementary and
middle schools or 90% graduation rate for high school.
Titan Hill Intermediate School is listed because not enough
students met their goals in the following areas:
1. Low socio-economic sub-group reading, 64.91 % proficient (75.5%
was the state AYP goal)
2. Special Education sub-group reading, 41.77% proficient (75.5%
was the state AYP goal)
3. Hispanic sub-group mathematics, 64.71% proficient (75.1% was the
state AYP goal)
4. Special Education sub-group mathematics, 37.97% proficient
(75.1% was the state AYP goal)
Under the NCLB law, only schools receiving federal Title I funding
must offer school choice options, if available. Again, our district
is unable to provide school choice because there are no alternate
schools available for students to attend.
HOW TITAN HILL INTERMEDIATE WILL IMPROVE:
Although we have many indicators that show Titan Hill Intermediate
is offering a top-quality education, we know that continuous
improvement is important to ensure all of our students are reaching
their highest potential. Using data about the students and their
achievement, our staff already has begun to identify areas for
improvement. For example:
Targeted intervention services in reading at all elementary levels.
All staff members will work with the Reading Leadership Team to learn and implement research based strategies to improve fluency, accuracy, vocabulary, and comprehension.
All staff members will work with the Math Leadership Team to learn and implement math strategies that deepens staff’s conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts, supports students’ learning needs, develops students’ conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts, and helps students to become mathematical problem solvers.
Some student groups may require additional instructional
interventions, pending a review of our current programs and
services. In addition, the Iowa Department of Education and the
Lewis Central district already have begun providing technical
assistance to Titan Hill Intermediate as required by the NCLB
law.
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:
Parent support is essential to help your student reach his or her
highest academic success, but parents may need ideas about the best
way to be involved. A few suggestions include:
Communicate regularly with your child’s teachers about overall goals for the year and your child’s progress toward those goals.Make sure your child attends school regularly.
Attendance is important at every grade level. When your child must be absent, please talk with the teacher to coordinate make-up work and assignments.
Help your child with his or her homework. If you are unable to
help, contact the school to request a tutor.
Volunteer at the school. Every teacher needs volunteers to help in the classroom, or even with projects that can be done in your home. Other areas in the school, such as the office or cafeteria, also need volunteers.
HOW TO REQUEST A SCHOOL CHOICE:
Again, our district is unable to provide school choice because
there are no alternate schools available for students to
attend.
As parents, you can be assured your students continue to receive a
high quality education at Titan Hill Intermediate. The assessment
results cited by NCLB are one useful measurement for us, but we
also have many other indicators to demonstrate our students’
achievement. You’ll note from our school report card on the Titan
Hill page of the Lewis Central web site (lewiscentral.org) that
each class at Titan Hill has a number of success stories. For
instance:
Much of our growth data is positive, showing that we are adding
educational value to the lives of children. We have spent several
years studying literacy and the results of those efforts are
beginning to positively impact our reading data.
Students had an average National Standard Score growth of 18.1
in reading on ITBS. This exceeded the goal of 16.5 and exceeded one
year’s average growth which is 14.0.
Students had an average National Standard Score growth of 18.6 in math on ITBS. This exceeded the goal of 17.6 and exceeded one year’s average growth which is 14.0.
Students had an average National Standard Score growth of 16.5 on ITBS. This met the goal of 16.5 and exceeded one year’s average growth which is 14.0.
Special education students, on average, made more than one year’s worth of growth in math on the ITBS.
We are very proud of our students and of the education they receive from the staff at Titan Hill Intermediate School. We also are committed to continuous improvement, and so will continue to seek new data and make any changes necessary to benefit student learning. We appreciate and depend on your ongoing support and assistance, and welcome your suggestions.
Sincerely,
Kent Stopak, Principal
