Sunman-Dearborn, Batesville, JCD Receive Perfect Report Cards

By Mike Perleberg Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools received all A's for the 2014-2015 school year. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. (Indianapolis, Ind.) – Three southeast Indiana school districts earned straight A’s on their report cards. New A-F accountability grades for the 2014-2015 school year were released Tuesday by the Indiana Department of Education. The school grades were delayed for months because of the well-documented issues surrounding Indiana’s ISTEP+ test. Statewide, 56.7 percent of Indiana schools received an A grade on their assessment. About 19.4 percent earned a B, 15.2 percent a C, 6.1 percent a D, and only 2.6 percent an F. Local school districts in which every school building earned an A included Sunman-Dearborn, Batesville, and Jac-Cen-Del Schools. No school in our region received lower than a C. At South Ripley Community Schools, the elementary and junior high each scored an A on their report card, but the high school was rated a C. Superintendent Rob Moorhead said he was thankful for “hold harmless” legislation regarding school letter grades, but said the district would have received an overall A grade for the 2014-2015 school year regardless. “I am proud of our students, staff members and parents for working together to achieve in spite of all of the problems with the 2015 ISTEP+. Looking at individual buildings, we are pleased that our elementary and junior high schools continue to achieve at the highest levels. Even though our high school grade remained the same, when you dig in to the data you see that they made improvement and are much closer to moving above their grade of “C”.  We will continue to push forward and strive to make the improvement necessary to move that grade upward.  Overall, we are very pleased with the progress we are making at South Ripley,” Moorhead told Eagle Country 99.3 Tuesday. Immediate reaction was not available from other area superintendents as they were busy attending the State Board of Education’s meeting in Indianapolis on Tuesday. RELATED: Indiana ISTEP Results Released, But Officials Warn Not To Compare Them Looking at area private schools, A’s were given to Oldenburg Academy, St. Nicholas School in Sunman, St. Paul Catholic School in Guilford, St. Mary School in Aurora, St. Louis School in Batesville, and St. Michael School in Brookville. B’s went to St. John Evangelical Lutheran School in Aurora and St. Lawrence School in Lawrenceburg. Despite falling short of an A, St. Lawrence Principal Michael Odar said he is proud of the progress made by students and staff. “With the many flaws in last years ISTEP test we were able to show that our students continue to achieve at a high level.  While our letter grade remains the same, that is not indicative of the time and effort that everyone in our building is putting forward. We will continue to push for our students to achieve at the highest possible levels,” Odar said. A state law signed by Governor Mike Pence last week ensured that schools could only receive the same or higher letter grade than they did the previous school year. The law was passed because last year’s ISTEP+ test saw a significant drop in student scores due to new, more rigorous state testing standards. Another law signed by the governor held teachers harmless in their performance evaluations for the same reason. “After more than 18 months spent advocating to hold our schools and teachers harmless for the transition to more rigorous college and career ready standards and the results of a more rigorous ISTEP+ assessment, I am pleased to release 2015 school accountability grades that do not penalize schools and communities for this transition.  I want to thank Indiana’s students, educators, and families for their hard work and patience during this challenging school year,” said Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz. Ritz, a Democrat chairing the largely Republican-appointed State Board of Education, repeated her call for state lawmakers to move away from labeling schools. “I support accountability but I support accountability that makes sense.  I look forward to implementing Indiana’s new Student-Centered Accountability System which more accurately reflects the great work happening in our schools and communities every day,” she said.   Local School 2014-2015 A-F Accountability Grades   BATESVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade Batesville High School A Batesville Primary School A Batesville Middle School A Batesville Intermediate School A   FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade Laurel School B Franklin County High B Brookville Middle Sch B Brookville Elementary School A Mount Carmel School C   JAC-CEN-DEL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade Jac-Cen-Del MS/HS A Jac-Cen-Del Elementary A   LAWRENCEBURG COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade Lawrenceburg High School B Greendale Middle School C Lawrenceburg Primary School A Central Elementary School A   MILAN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade Milan High School B Milan Middle School A Milan Elementary School A   RISING SUN-OHIO COUNTY SCHOOLS School Grade Ohio County Elementary School C Rising Sun High School B   SOUTH DEARBORN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade Dillsboro Elementary School A Manchester Elementary School A Moores Hill Elementary School C South Dearborn Middle School A South Dearborn High School B Aurora Elementary School C   SOUTH RIPLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade South Ripley Junior High School A South Ripley Elementary School A South Ripley High School C   SUNMAN-DEARBORN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS School Grade North Dearborn Elementary School A Sunman-Dearborn Middle School A Sunman Dearborn Intermediate Sch A Bright Elementary School A Sunman Elementary School A East Central High School A   SWITZERLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS School Grade Jefferson-Craig Elementary School A Switzerland Co Middle School A Switzerland Co Senior High School B Switzerland Co Elementary School A   SOUTHEAST INDIANA REGION PRIVATE SCHOOLS School Grade Saint Nicholas School A Saint Paul Catholic School A Saint Mary School A Saint Lawrence School B Saint Louis School A Saint Michael School A Oldenburg Academy A Saint John Ev Lutheran School B   RELATED STORIES: Governor Signs Bills Giving Schools, Teachers ISTEP Reprieve Indiana ISTEP Results Released, But Officials Warn Not To Compare Them