November 11, 2003

"We have much to celebrate," Dr. Jan Voss, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, told the board last night in regards to student achievement and test scores.

Dr. Voss presented the annual student assessment report to the board. The report indicates that Arkansas City Schools are making district achievement gains, increasing attendance and improving graduation rates. Most schools made significant gains in reading and math in 2003.

Dr. Voss indicated that three schools made the State's Standard of Excellence, and three schools also earned the Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force's Challenge Awards. Both honors have rigorous standards to meet, are highly sought after and difficult to achieve.

The three schools that made the Standard of Excellence in 2003 are C-4 in science, Frances Willard in reading and math, and Jefferson in math. The three schools that earned Challenge Awards are Frances Willard, Jefferson and IXL.

Dr. Voss also indicated that IXL is the school that has shown the most improvement in the past three years.

"These kinds of gains are phenomenal and reason for celebration," she said.

Dr. Voss said the district has some challenges at the secondary level, especially in the coming years. She said 11th grade reading and 10th grade math scores were "pretty dismal" in 2003.

"But these are the brutal facts, and we have to face them. We still must continue to focus on reading and math at the secondary level," she said. "The good news is that we've increased the graduation rate, we made AYP [adequate yearly progress] at the high school, writing scores have increased significantly, and ACT scores remain virtually unchanged."

Student achievement was also a focus in the vocational-technical education report given by several high school staff. Angela Harding, career/technical educator, said vo-tech programs "kind of get a bad rap" and are perceived as less rigorous or academic than core subject classes. Harding said this is not the case.

"[Vo-tech] teachers spend many hours on curriculum and with the kids," she said.

Ken Culbertson, science teacher, echoed Harding's comments. He said some people say vo-tech classes are not rigorous, but he disagrees. He said the classes are challenging.

ACHS teachers Culbertson, Deb Hargrove, Jamie Hibbs, Karen Cornejo-White, Carolyn Burroughs, Aaron Bucher, Kay Ryan, Matt Schweer, Cory Epler and Steve McRae presented information about their specific areas and classes. They provided the board with a tour of their facilities and information about classes and student achievement.

The board/teacher panel Superior Service Award recipients for October were honored as well. Doug Anderson, third-grade teacher at Frances Willard, received the certified staff award. Linda Enderud, building aide at Roosevelt, received the classified staff award; and Jim Miller received the volunteer award. Anderson and Enderud attended the meeting and received certificates from Daren Reese, board president.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the resignation of Rachel Stigers, four-year-old aide at Roosevelt.
• Approved the hiring of Donald McCann, computer aide at the middle school and high school; and George W. Cunningham, interim middle school principal.
• Approved the new high school graduation requirements. This item was a first reading at the previous board meeting.
• Witnessed opening and closing ceremonies performed by the high school SkillsUSA VICA group. They were accompanied by sponsor Deb Hargrove, ACHS family and consumer science teacher.
• Scheduled a special board meeting with the Winfield board of education on Dec. 1, at 5 p.m., at Gallaway's in Winfield for the purpose of meeting with legislators and discussing legislative matters.
• Accepted the Library Media Handbook as presented.
• Approved the spring break trip for the high school choir and science departments.
• Set the scope and length of the strategic plan. All facets of the district will be included in the strategic plan with special priority given to curriculum and instruction, facilities and budgeting. The length of the plan was set for three years.
• Received copies of the first annual report to the community from Public Relations Director Kristen Martinez.

The next regular board meeting will be Monday, Nov. 10, at Arkansas City High School at 7 p.m. All meetings are open to the public.

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