A federal law, known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), impacts every public school district in the nation. The law requires schools to test students annually and to meet specific achievement goals.

WDMCSD Perspectives

We believe the West Des Moines Community School District provides students with an exceptionally high quality education. We hope you agree! We are proud of our reputation of educational excellence and the strong test scores our students achieve across the district.

However, under the criteria of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, three schools have been cited as “Schools in Need of Assistance” (SINA) by the Iowa Department of Education: Indian Hills Junior High School, Valley High School and Valley Southwoods Freshman High School. In addition, the school district, Crestview Elementary, Hillside Elementary, Phenix Early Childhood Center, Stilwell Junior High School, Walnut Creek Campus, Valley and Valley Southwoods have been identified as not making adequate yearly progress this year. For more information on the NCLB requirements, please see the reverse side of this document.

The SINA and not making adequate yearly progress designations are based on results from the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) taken during the 2007-08 school year.

Schools In Need of Assistance (SINA)

• Valley High School was cited because students identified as being of low socioeconomic status did not meet the state’s proficiency target in mathematics and reading on the Iowa Tests of Educational Development
• Valley Southwoods Freshman High School is cited because the state considers it as part of Valley High School.

These schools do not receive federal Title I funding, so no sanctions will be imposed.

• Indian Hills Junior High School was cited into a category called Delay-1 for the special education group in the area of reading comprehension. This designation indicates that this group of student improved sufficiently from 2006-07 scores to make adequate progress, but the school is kept on the list until the group stays at the higher level for two consecutive years.

Not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress

• Phenix Early Childhood Center was cited because third grade students did not meet the state proficiency targets in mathematics on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).
• Hillside Elementary was cited in the area of reading comprehension in three subgroups — students of low socioeconomic status, special education students and students of Hispanic ethnicity — on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).
• Crestview Elementary was cited in the area of reading comprehension in three subgroups — students of low socioeconomic status, special education students and English Language Learners (ELL) — on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).
• Stilwell Junior High School was cited because the special education group, the low socioeconomic group and the students of Hispanic ethnicity did not meet the state’s proficiency targets in reading comprehension on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).
• Valley and Valley Southwoods were cited because eleventh grade low socioeconomic students did not meet the state’s proficiency target in reading comprehension nor in mathematics on the ITED.

These schools also did not meet the expected rate of students taking the assessments in the special education group. This is called participation rate.

• Walnut Creek Campus was cited for not meeting the state’s proficiency targets in reading comprehension nor in mathematics on the eleventh grade ITED for all students and the white ethnicity subgroup. They were also cited for not meeting participation levels for the same group and overall.
  

The West Des Moines Community School District was cited because the following groups of students did not meet the state targets on ITBS or ITED:

• Reading: special education grades 3-5 and grades 6-8, low socioeconomic status grades 3-5 and grades 6-8, English Language Learners grades 3-5, Hispanic subgroup in grades 3-5 and 6-8, and for participation in grade 11 special education.
• Mathematics: special education grades 3-5 and grade 11, low socioeconomic status grades 6-8, low socioeconomic status students in grades 6-8, English Language Learners in grades 6-8, and the Hispanic subgroup in grades 6-8 and grade 11, and for participation in grade 11 special education.

Despite the No Child Left Behind designations, we have much good news to share from the past school year:

• Based on the 2007-08 ITBS scores, 86.7 percent of all district fourth graders tested are proficient in math and 85.1 percent are proficient in reading.
• District eighth graders were reading at the 10.3 grade level, tested in math at the 11.4 grade level and tested in science at the 11.8 grade level.
• All district seniors who took the ACT college entrance test had an average composite score of 24.6, compared to the state average of 22.4 and the national average of 21.1. 465 seniors took the ACT test last year.

Teachers continue to identify and implement a number of instructional strategies and other activities to help all students achieve. Schools are working to identify students near or in the low proficiency groups, determine the services that are being provided to these students and develop additional ways to assist the students.

Please join our efforts to help all students achieve at their highest levels. Assure your child has a healthy breakfast and plenty of sleep. Ask your student about class lessons and homework. Make sure your student is at school – every day, if at all possible. Attend conferences; be involved in your child’s education.

Dr. Tom Narak
WDMCS Superintendent
633-5000

Dr. Vicky Poole
Valley High School Principal
633-4000

Kim Davis
Walnut Creek Campus Principal
633-6400

Kent Abrahamson
Valley Southwoods Freshman High School Principal,
633-4500

Shane Christensen
Indian Hills Junior High School Principal
633-4700

Tim Miller
Stilwell Junior High School Principal
633-6000

John Villotti
Crestview Elementary Principal
633-5700

Dr. Robert Davis
Hillside Elementary Principal
633-6200

Andrea Boyd
Phenix Early Childhood Center
633-6600

For more details about No Child Left Behind, contact your building principal or call Dr. Donna Wilkin, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Services, at (515) 633-5057 or Dr. Gordon Dahlby, Director of Curriculum and Technology, at (515) 633-5059.

Glossary of Terms

AMO (Annual Measurable Objectives)
A minimum percentage of students who must meet or exceed the proficient level of academic achievement on a standardized test

AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress)
A measure of year-to-year improvement in student achievement

Watch List
A list of schools and/or school districts that do not meet all requirements of NCLB for one year

(SINA) School in Need of Assistance
A school that does not meet all requirements of NCLB for two consecutive years

(The law requires that every parent at a SINA school receive a letter explaining the designation.)