Jay Schools earn A from state

Jay Schools received a grade of A from the Indiana Department of Education, though a few individual schools have room for improvement.
“You’re always happy when someone says you’re one of the top districts,” superintendent Tim Long said this morning of the report card issued Monday by the State Board of Education. “But we don’t want to get caught up in the letter grades. The reality is it’s all about improvement. Our goal is to improve always.”
Six local schools received the grade of A, one received a B, two received a grade of D, and Jay County High School received a C.
The state defines an A grade as exemplary, meaning at least 90 percent of students passed the ISTEP-Plus exams or a school is showing major gains over a three-year period.
A grade of B is “commendable,” with at least 80 percent passing ISTEP-Plus or showing major gains.
A grade of C means academic progress is being shown, with at least 70 percent passing ISTEP-Plus.
A grade of D puts a school in “academic watch” status. Those schools have fewer students passing ISTEP-Plus or are showing less progress over a three-year period.
A grade of F puts a school on “academic probation” with the state.
Individual Jay County schools receiving A grades were East Jay Middle School and Bloomfield, East, General Shanks, Judge Haynes, and Westlawn elementaries.
Redkey Elementary School received a B, while Pennville Elementary School and West Jay Middle School received a grade of D.
“We have some schools we want to do better,” said Long. “We spend a lot of time teaching to the test now. We start testing as early as Sept. 9 in the acuity system.”
Long noted that Jay Schools posted its highest scores since 2002.
Statewide, a record 775 schools received a grade of A, while 111 received grades of F.
South Adams Schools also received an A grade, with the elementary, middle school and high school all receiving the top mark.[[In-content Ad]]