(St. Leon, Ind.) - East Central High School has been placed on academic probation under progress guidelines by the Indiana Department of Education.

It’s not that East Central High School has seen students underperforming on standardized tests or meeting adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act. The school had a graduation rate of 90 percent in 2010.

However, East Central’s respectable numbers have not been improving.

The Indiana Department of Education’s Public Law 221 places the state’s schools into one of five categories based upon student performance and improvement data from the state’s ISTEP+ assessments in Grades 3 through 8 and End of Course Assessments in Algebra I and English 10. 

P.L. 221 says schools which don’t show progress can go on “academic probation” – the department’s lowest rating for public schools. East Central had been on “academic watch” – the second lowest rating – since 2006.

The Sunman-Dearborn School Board will take public comment regarding academic probation Thursday evening, Feb. 10, at 7:00. The meeting will be held in the East Central High School cafeteria.

According to the DOE, schools under academic probation face a series of interventions designed to provide addition support to improve student achievement.

In addition to Thursday’s hearing, Sunman-Dearborn Schools may have to look to a school improvement committee to revise the school’s improvement plan. That could include shifting resources and changing personnel.

The school board could also request the State Board of Education to appoint an outside team to assist with the changes.