Emmetsburg News (Emmetsburg, IA)
July 21, 2011
Headline: Emmetsburg District Deemed School in Need of Assistance

By Lori Hall

The Emmetsburg Community School District has joined the ranks of hundreds of other Iowa schools deemed a School In Need of Assistance (SINA). The announcement came during the Board of Education's regular meeting on July 18.

Superintendent John Joynt explained that the district did not meet one of their federal goals this year-Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP-for No Child Left Behind. The deficiency is the result of middle school special education students failing to meet their reading goal for the year.

"Last year we missed two goals in middle school-one for reading for middle school students in general and the other for kids on free and reduced lunch," Joynt explained. "With great effort and great pride, we fixed those problems and now those two categories are proficient. Last year we were on the 'watch list' and if you don't meet your goals two years in a row, you're a 'school in need of assistance'. So, we improved our goals from last year, but this is the second year in the same category-middle school reading."

Joynt noted that 200 Iowa schools are currently on the "watch list" and over 300 Iowa schools are considered a School In Need of Assistance. Letters will go out to residents of the district explaining the SINA designation.

Joynt said that the district will work with the AEA (Area Education Agency) to develop a plan to improve in the deficient area.

"We've already got things in motion," said Joynt. "We've hired another special ed. teacher at the middle school and will have meetings with the AEA. There are no sanctions or penalties. We just need a plan to improve."

"What percentage of our kids are in special ed.?" asked Board President Karla Anderson.

"Fifteen percent or so," Joynt responded. "We have 37 special education kids in the middle school and 31 were here for a full academic year, so they only took the scores of 31 students. Only 11 were proficient. If we would have had 29 or fewer students in that category, they wouldn't have counted it. Our goal is to have more kids proficient."

"Spencer and Spirit Lake are on the list, too," Anderson remarked.

"Yes, there's hundreds on the list," said Joynt.

"We don't like to be on the list at all," Hagen said.

Anderson wondered, "In the future, do you foresee this going up?"

"Oh yes," said Joynt. "Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education for the United States, predicted that 85-percent of schools would be on that list this year. He's making a push to reform the No Child Left Behind law."

"With No Child Left Behind, you have to keep going up until you reach 100-percent proficiency, and that's impossible," added Board Member Steve Pelzer.

"Well, congratulations on getting the other categories under control," Anderson concluded the conservation. "We'll keep working to improve, but with almost 85-percent of schools on the list, it doesn't seem like such a stigma anymore."