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Schools get So-So State Report Card overall grade
The school district's State Report Card showed that overall it did not make adequate progress in reading. It did in math, one of
the two main subjects that are surveyed.
Reading and math head the concerns of the Report Card with science factored in some grades. Students are tested in grades
3-8 and the 11th grade. The complete Card will be posted on the district's website later this week, no later than Friday.
The report credited Auburn with adequate yearly progress at both elementary schools and the middle school. But, both reading
and math were down at the junior high level while at the high school, reading was not up, but math was.
Supt. of Schools Kathy Garrett, who noted that the high school math score rose because of an added emphasis this past year,
said "The No Child Left Behind" federal legislation requires that all students in the district be assessed and included in the grade
level results.
"In addition, it requires that the state examines the performance of various groups of students and how that performance
compares to the state expectations for adequate yearly progress (AYP).
"Thus, although our district did well and made improvements at many grade levels, we did not make AYP for the subgroup of
students with disabilities at the junior high level in the area of reading and math.
"At the high school, we had really focused efforts in math and made the AYP this year, but in the area of reading we did not. The
state testing is just one snapshot of how students in the district are progressing."
In other business in the less than two hour meeting attended by all seven members, the board tabled the FY2008 audit;
appointed Fred Jessup as delegate to the Illinois Association of School Boards meeting upcoming in November; and were
apprised of school board election procedures.
Five members of the board are up for re-election next spring. The four year terms of Jeff Mortimer, Mike Heren, Tim Seifert and
Laurie King are expiring along with that of Jessup. The latter was appointed to fill a vacancy created with the resignation of Tom
Berola, thus because more than two years remain on the term, he must stand for re-election. The other two members are Casey
Norris and Chuck DuBois.
The board accepted the resignation of Terese Svetlik as a district nurse; employed Krissy Pickrel as a part-time individual aide;
Darby Martin as a full-time individual aide; approved Bill Reynolds as a volunteer assistant high school wrestling coach;
employed Judy Stuhmer as junior high cheerleading coach, Francisco Nunez as a custodian, Lindsay Reed and Crystal Fay as
playground supervisors and hired three bus drivers, Barbara Bickhaus, Fay and Courtney Gerberding.
The school district's State Report Card showed that overall it did not make adequate progress in reading. It did in math, one of
the two main subjects that are surveyed.
Reading and math head the concerns of the Report Card with science factored in some grades. Students are tested in grades
3-8 and the 11th grade. The complete Card will be posted on the district's website later this week, no later than Friday.
The report credited Auburn with adequate yearly progress at both elementary schools and the middle school. But, both reading
and math were down at the junior high level while at the high school, reading was not up, but math was.
Supt. of Schools Kathy Garrett, who noted that the high school math score rose because of an added emphasis this past year,
said "The No Child Left Behind" federal legislation requires that all students in the district be assessed and included in the grade
level results.
"In addition, it requires that the state examines the performance of various groups of students and how that performance
compares to the state expectations for adequate yearly progress (AYP).
"Thus, although our district did well and made improvements at many grade levels, we did not make AYP for the subgroup of
students with disabilities at the junior high level in the area of reading and math.
"At the high school, we had really focused efforts in math and made the AYP this year, but in the area of reading we did not. The
state testing is just one snapshot of how students in the district are progressing."
In other business in the less than two hour meeting attended by all seven members, the board tabled the FY2008 audit;
appointed Fred Jessup as delegate to the Illinois Association of School Boards meeting upcoming in November; and were
apprised of school board election procedures.
Five members of the board are up for re-election next spring. The four year terms of Jeff Mortimer, Mike Heren, Tim Seifert and
Laurie King are expiring along with that of Jessup. The latter was appointed to fill a vacancy created with the resignation of Tom
Berola, thus because more than two years remain on the term, he must stand for re-election. The other two members are Casey
Norris and Chuck DuBois.
The board accepted the resignation of Terese Svetlik as a district nurse; employed Krissy Pickrel as a part-time individual aide;
Darby Martin as a full-time individual aide; approved Bill Reynolds as a volunteer assistant high school wrestling coach;
employed Judy Stuhmer as junior high cheerleading coach, Francisco Nunez as a custodian, Lindsay Reed and Crystal Fay as
playground supervisors and hired three bus drivers, Barbara Bickhaus, Fay and Courtney Gerberding.
Issue Date: Oct. 30, 2008
