News : Better grades for VS: District, Shellsburg and Middle school improve under NCLB

VS has achieved sufficient AYP on its AMO to lose its DINA and SINA designations, according to the ITBS and the ITED, as stipulated by NCLB.

In other words, the Vinton-Shellsburg School District has helped its students make Adequate Yearly Progress on the Annual Measurable Objectives. That has resulted in the United States Department of Education removing the district from its list of "Districts in Need of Assistance." Also, the Shellsburg Elementary and Vinton-Shellsburg Middle Schools are no longer considered "Schools in Need of Assistance." The high school, however, is still considered a SINA because of test scores in math and reading.

(You can download a copy of the entire report on Iowa schools HERE.)

That is very good news for the district to those who understand the acronyms; it's evidence that the school's effort to target areas of improvement is working.

All of those acronyms in the first sentence are part of the way the federal government measures the progress of schools through the No Child Left Behind program.

The Vinton-Shellsburg School District has received better grades in its latest "No Child Left Behind" report card.

The report, which was made public last week, no longer lists the district as a "District In Need of Improvement (DINA)." And the Shellsburg Elementary and the Middle School are no longer considered Schools in Need of Improvement (SINA)."

The high school, however, is still on the list as a SINA because of test scores in math and reading. The school has been on the list for reading scores for three years and math scores for two years.

The District, Shellsburg and the VSHS have been moved from the "In need of assistance" category to the "Delay" category. If the students continue to test well, the "Delay" status will be removed, as well.

In the district's September newsletter, Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock said that VSMS and VSHS have been on SINA lists for a few years, while Shellsburg was added last year.

The district responded by appointing a committee to discuss the specific areas of improvement needed, and how to address those in the classroom.

Hainstock said there are at least 35 ways in which a school could be designated as a SINA, and seven different ways of testing students, under the federal No Child Left Behind program.

All of the neighboring school districts in Benton County also have at least one building on the 2011-2012 list. In Benton Community, the Norway Elementary building was added to the SINA list this year. The Center Point-Urbana Middle School was upgraded from "SINA" to "Delay." And at Union, the high school was added to the SINA list this year while the middle school is in its second year with a SINA status.

Anyone can review specific reports about Iowa school districts, and each building in that district, HERE.

Below is a description from the Iowa Department of Education about the No Child Left Behind Act and how it evaluates schools and districts:

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), public school districts and public schools must report the academic progress of all students in grades 3 to 8 and 11. Student academic progress is reported by subgroups and their test participation rates in the subject areas of reading and mathematics. Public elementary and middle school average daily attendance (ADA) rates and public high school graduation rates are the other academic indicators for public school districts.

If a district does not meet the annual Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) state participation goals or state Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO) in either the “all students” group or any one of the subgroups within the required grade spans (3 to 5, 6 to 8, and 11) in the same subject area (either reading or mathematics) for two consecutive years, it shall be identified as a district in need of assistance. If a district does not meet the goals for district level K to 8 average daily attendance rate and high school graduation rate for two consecutive years, it also shall be identified as a district in need of assistance. Districts remain identified until they have met AYP for two consecutive years.

If a school does not meet the annual AYP state participation goals or state AMO in reading or mathematics assessment in either the “all students” group or any one of the subgroups for two consecutive years, it is designated as a school in need of assistance. If a school does not meet the goals for its other academic indicator (K to 8 average daily attendance rate or high school graduation rate) for two consecutive years, it is also identified as a school in need of assistance. Schools remain identified until they have met AYP for two consecutive years.

Based on 2010-2011 performance, 30 of 359 (8.4 percent) public school districts were identified as a district in need of assistance for the 2011-2012 school year. There were 1,401 Iowa public schools that provided services to students in grades K to 12. A total of 415 public schools (29.6 percent) were identified as a school in need of assistance. This is up from 7.5 percent of public school districts identified as in need of assistance and 24.9 percent of public schools identified as in need of assistance for the 2010-2011 school year.