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Officials in Warsaw Community Schools are happy with the district’s elementary ISTEP+ scores and say severe overcrowding in its elementary schools played a negligible role in student test performance.
“We beat the state averages in almost every category in both reading and mathematics,” said Tom Kline, director of the district’s secondary curriculum.
The district is struggling with severe overcrowding in its elementary schools.
Of the district’s seven elementary schools, only one is under capacity, according to Assistant Superintendent Chris Gensinger. Washington Elementary, built to hold 500 students, has 556; Harrison Elementary, built for 700 students, now holds 772.
The district has had to renovate closets and storage areas to create class space. Some students study in portable classrooms.
Officials say the space concerns will be alleviated at the start of the 2010-11 school year, when two new schools and two renovated schools open. Next fall, Madison Elementary and Leesburg Elementary will move to new facilities. Jefferson Elementary and Claypool Elementary, which was closed several years ago, will have completed their renovations. All together, the projects will cost the district $59 million, according to Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott.
Gensinger said that although he is pleased with the scores, he hopes they continue to improve. He admitted that there were “holes” in the district’s elementary curriculum, particularly in language arts, and he said the district will “aggressively work” to correct that problem.
According to state data, 58 percent of Madison Elementary fifth- and fourth- graders passed the English portions of the ISTEP+. Sixty-four percent of seventh-graders at Lakeview Elementary, 62 percent of sixth-graders at Harrison Elementary and 68 percent of third-graders at Jefferson Elementary passed the same portion. In most grades at most of the district’s schools, anywhere from 70 percent to 96 percent of students passed.
Scores on the math section of the exam were similar. Fifty-seven percent of third-graders at Leesburg Elementary passed the math portion. In other grades, anywhere from 60 percent to 93 percent of students passed.
“I would say the scores were good,” Gensinger said. “We would like them to be better, of course, but they were good.”
Gensinger said he doesn’t think the new buildings and renovated schools will necessarily translate into higher ISTEP+ scores next year.
“I don’t think buildings make kids do better on tests,” he said. “I believe that the quality of teaching makes a difference. (The new buildings and renovations) will make the conditions for learning better. Right now, we have rooms that are not designed as classrooms, which limits some of the things you can do with your kids.”
