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Making ‘significant progress’

Marshalltown Schools officials look back on 2017-18, ahead to the future

T-R FILE PHOTO - Marshalltown Schools administrators said the 2017-18 school year brought more learning opportunities to students district-wide. They said more summer programming, online platforms and building business connections through the Junior Achievement Program and Bobcat Ready are accomplishments.

From classes and programs to facilities and tech, Marshalltown Schools administrators said the 2017-18 school year was one of progress.

“I’d say probably one of the biggest things that I would celebrate from my department is the work we’ve done in curriculum instruction and programming,” said district Director of Instruction Lisa Stevenson. “We were able to launch a new math curriculum — that’s been very well-received and we’re hoping, in years to come, to see gains in math learning and student achievement.”

That curriculum, called Go Math, is supported by an the online ST Math program, which adapts to each student’s pace of learning. There were other achievements Stevenson said she is proud about.

“We were able to ask the (school) board last winter to be able to have some additional funding to support an expansion of summer programming for our students,” she said. “We know that attendance and achievement and connectedness to school are factors that impact student learning for at-risk students.”

District Superintendent Theron Schutte said the at-risk budget, totaling $2.29 million, did not cause an increase in tax rate for district residents.

“As it turned out, that really didn’t require additional funding even though the board had approved it as such, so hopefully we’ll be in a position to, again, ask for that additional funding to reach more kids with summer programming (next summer),” he said.

The district’s at-risk budget funds summer programs like Bobcat University, which is geared toward raising proficiency and slowing summer learning loss in 264 elementary students. The Marshalltown High School summer credit recovery program is also under way.

“Kids were earning back credits daily by making up missed work and re-taking exams they had not passed the first time,” Stevenson said of the credit recovery program. “It’s been exciting to see kids want to finish their year in a positive way so they can get started, ready to learn in August.”

She said the district also expanded Project Lead the Way to the elementary level in 2017-18. The STEM program had already been in place at MHS.

Schutte said it was encouraging to see the high school graduation rate increase 4 percent in 2016-17 from the previous year. The drop-out rate also decreased at the same time.

“Hopefully, we can keep on that trajectory,” he said. “To be at 88 percent graduation rate with a population that has the challenges inherent with 70 percent-plus being Free and Reduced Lunch and 40 percent being second-language, that’s miraculous, really.”

Both administrators said the goal is to reach and get beyond the state average 91 percent graduation rate.

Community ties

One of the goals of the district in 2017-18 was to strengthen relationships with Marshalltown’s businesses and industries. Schutte said two efforts that helped were the Junior Achievement Program and Bobcat Ready.

“The first half of implementation was really successful with 57 volunteers from our community representing 25 or more local businesses helping us get things off the ground at Rogers, Hoglan and Fisher (elementaries) as well as Lenihan,” he said of the JA program.

That program is set to expand to the other three elementary buildings, sixth grade at Lenihan and Miller Middle School next school year.

The Bobcat Ready college- and career readiness platform has seen support from the City of Marshalltown and Iowa Valley Community College District. It aims to ensure students meet certain academic and extracurricular standards to show they are ready for wherever life takes them after high school.

Technology

Technology is another area Schutte and Stevenson said education has improved for district students.

“I think we’ve made some great inroads in better assuring that the large commitment that the district has made to computer technology has been implemented with fidelity,” Schutte said. He used ST Math and the Lexia Reading Core 5 literacy program as examples of good tech investments.

Schutte said those efforts will be expanding in the future.

“We’ve got some new coursework that will available at (Miller) Middle School, the elementaries and Lenihan (Intermediate School),” he said. Schutte said that coursework will better educate students in computer science.

Stevenson also praised technology use at the district.

“I couldn’t even list all the ways teachers are using chromebooks and using digital access to personalize and improve the learning environment for kids, which goes a long way toward people wanting to be at school and doing well while they’re here,” she said.

Facilities

While the district’s long-range facilities plan is still being worked up, Schutte said there are already some areas of focus.

“Air conditioning at the high school as well as making sure we have effective air conditioning at the other buildings … will be part of that,” he said.

Marshalltown High School was closed early during a couple of hot days at the end of the school year because the building is not entirely air-conditioned. Schutte said Miller Middle School has a floor without air conditioning, too.

“We’re also evaluating our student activity spaces — the athletic facilities as well as the fine arts facilities — to determine what we need to do there,” he said. “Those are instrumental areas for helping develop kids, as well.”

The ongoing Roundhouse Phase II project, which will add a wrestling room and auxiliary gymnasium to the existing structure, is scheduled for substantial completion on Nov. 28, Schutte said.

In conjunction with that project, he said the district plans to use leftover grant dollars from bringing the Drills sculpture to the Roundhouse entrance for an another art project on the north side of the building.

“The plan there is to have some silhouettes representing the various student athletics and activities that we offer kids to provide a nice visual there,” Schutte said.

Another project on the horizon is replacing the MHS-Community Auditorium roof and fixing the building’s HVAC system.

“The (Marshall County) Community Foundation is investing significant dollars in terms of upgrading the interior of the facility as well, but all of that is awaiting the roof and the HVAC,” Schutte said.

“I think we’ve made significant progress in trying to implement a lot of different and new things,” he said.

Stevenson said the work of district teachers and staff is essential to students’ success.

“It’s not just the decisions that get made at board meetings or the work we do at Central Office, it’s the people that working with the kids day to day that make a huge difference,” she said.

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Contact Adam Sodders at (641) 753-6611 or asodders@timesrepublican.com

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