Highlights from the January 14th School Board Meeting
Below are highlights from the January 14th Board of Education meeting. Please remember these are just highlights and should not be considered the official minutes.
During the regular meeting, Associate Superintendent Nathan Wear provided an overview of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to the Board of Education.
ESSA replaces No Child Left Behind and focuses directly on school accountability and equity for all students while shifting the decision making to the state and school district level.
Under ESSA, the state must develop plans for accountability and support, set achievement goals for all students to reach, identify schools for support and improvement every three years, and publish school report cards with data and information.
- The identification of Iowa schools for support and improvement are based on:
- Student participation in state assessments
- Academic achievement (proficiency and average scale score)
- Student Growth
- Graduation rate
- Progress in achieving English language proficiency
- Conditions for learning
Schools may be identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement, and Targeted Support and Improvement based on the measures above.
In addition, the state will publish report cards that reflect school and district performance. Iowa School Performance Profiles that reflect school performance on the core accountability measures can be found at the Iowa School Performance website.
The School Board also approved a motion to set a public hearing at 7:00 pm on Monday, January 28 for approval of the proposed plans and specifications for the Bowman Woods classroom renovation project.
The full agenda and exhibits from the January 14th board meeting can be viewed on the Board of Education website.