Email: "STC Middle School in Toledo: Among 35 in Iowa “low achieving”"
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TOLEDO CHRONICLE -

STORY UPDATE- The Iowa House of Representatives passed the related 'Race to the Top' legislation and it was signed by Gov. Chet Culver. The Iowa House voted 56-37 to approve hte me3asure.

Culver commented, "“We feel really good about this bill and we’re excited this will now quality Iowa for $175 million in Race to the Top funds at a time when we desperately need to make sure we have adequate resources to fund our schools. We are very excited about what this might mean for education reform and allowing Iowa to continue to lead the way in terms of educational excellence."

He added, "...we want to work collaboratively and cooperatively with school districts with our ISEA partners, with administrators, with parents to make sure we implement these reforms in a fair way. That will be very important part of the process moving forward. The key here with this legislation is that we are now going to be in the position to partner more than 220 school districts across the state that have agreed to work with us and move forward to secure these Race to the Top funds.”



The South Tama Middle School in Toledo has been ranked by the Iowa Department of Education as one of 35 in Iowa which are “persistently low achieving schools.” South Tama Superintendent Kerri Nelson confirmed this finding in a blog on the school’s website - www.s-tama.k12.ia.us - on Jan. 13. Official enrollment at the Middle school for the 2009-10 school year totals 312 students.

What this means, Nelson wrote is “a decline in the number of students that are proficient in reading and math” over the past three years.

Nelson told The Chronicle South Tama officials were notified of the Middle School status on Friday, Jan. 8 and of a deadline to apply for participation in the new federal education program ‘Race to the Top’ on Jan. 14.

The South School Board, administration, and Teachers Association executive leaders agreed to participate and have signed the memorandum of understanding, Nelson told The Chronicle.

“I was very pleased with the professionalism demonstrated by the South Tama Teacher’s Association,” Nelson said

While falling short of terming it a “silver lining” as Waterloo Schools Superintendent Gary Norris did, Nelson said in her Jan. 13 blog the ranking makes South Tama eligible for additional funds in Iowa’s Race to the Top application and eligible for “significant funds under the Title I School Improvement Grants.” (Norris told television station KWWL at least one Waterloo elementary school was among the persistently low achieving schools.)

Legislation directly tied to the Race to the Top federal education program was approved in the Iowa Senate last week and was before the Iowa House at Chronicle deadline.

One part of Iowa Senate File 2033 requires school boards to work directly with the teachers union to address issues in the 35 persistent low achieving schools. This was reportedly added to the bill to open up an avenue for additional federal funding.

ON SF2033 - State Sen. Tim Kapucian (R-Keystone) voted no. State Sen. Tom Rielly (D-Oskaloosa) voted in favor. Each senator’s district includes a portion of the South Tama School District.

Kapucian said in a news release following the vote Gov. Chet Culver has urged passage of the legislation to enable Iowa to secure additonal education funding up to a totla of $175 bmillion with an additional $18 million for the persistently low-acieiving shcools.

“This legislation uses one time federal funding to fund ongoing expenses, places an additional burden on the property taxpayer and shifted authority to union bosses from elected school officials,” Kapucian said in the news release. “Unfortunately this has become a race for the cash instead of a race to the top and our children will be saddled with the consequences.”

In Nelson’s Jan. 13 blog, she addressed staff members concerning the placement of the Middle School in this ranking.

She said, in part, the South Tama District already had recognized “we can improve” and has already begun an “aggressive School Improvement Plan.”

Nelson wrote, “Increased student achievement will take time, but we have been clearly committed to reforming our school and most importantly doing what is right for our students.”

What is used to make the determination by the Department of Education is Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED) scores from tests administered in February in the years 2007, 2008 and 2009, Nelson said in an email response to The Chronicle seeking comment.

What may loom as the the most controversial in the Race to the Top initiative is the method required to “turn the lowest achieving schools around.”

Four models are prescribed and one is required to be chosen.

1.Turnaround Model: Replace the school principal, rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff, grant principal operational flexibility (staffing, calendars - tim and budgeting) to implement fully comprehensive reform.

2. Restart Model: Convert a school; close or reopen it under a charter school operator, a charter management organization or an education management organization; rigorous review process.

3. School Closure model: Close a school and enroll the students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving

4. Transformational Model: Implement each of the following strategies- replace the principal; develop and increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; institute comprehensive instructional reform; increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; provide operational flexibility and sustained support.

It is reported the Iowa Department of Education does not plan to make the list of 35 schools public until some time in February.

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