By Daniel Schoettler
Correspondent
All five Whitewater Unified School District Schools are performing at or above expectations according to the annual school and district report cards released by the state Department of Public Instruction last week.
The district report card for the 2015-16 school year came out as a 70.2 rating, which met expectations for schools throughout the state.
“We’re proud of the work our staff has done in preparing our students,” District administrator Mark Elworthy said. “(It’s) one of several data points and (I’m) just really proud of the improvement we have had this year.”
The district’s two elementary schools, Washington and Lakeview posted the highest grades at 91.6 and 85.6, respectively, to earn the rating of significantly exceeds expectations.
Whitewater High School, at 69.2, and Whitewater Middle School, at 63.4, were both rated as meeting expectations.
The Lincoln Inquiry Charter School was rated at exceeding expectations with a composite grade of 76.2.
Schools scoring between 83 and 100 significantly exceeded expectations, between 73 and 82.9 exceeded expectations, 63 to 72.9 met expectations, 53 to 62.9 met few expectations and zero to 52.9 failed to meet expectations.
Scores are based on four areas of priority: student achievement on state reading and math exams, student growth, closing gaps between student groups and measures of readiness for graduation and postsecondary success. Three additional factors – state test participation, absenteeism and drop out rate – are considered.
Course changes OK’d
In a separate matter, the board approved curriculum and course changes at the high school level. This adds four courses that students can take at the high school, including Environmental Conservation, Workplace Communications, Advanced Foods and Global Foods, and a second probability and statistics class.
“We pride ourselves on having a comprehensive curriculum,” Elworthy said. “We’re into continuous improvement, so we look at what we are offering, what our students would benefit from, and this is the collaborative effort of administration and staff to give opportunities for students to extend their learning.”
Field trips approved
There were two overnight field trips that were approved by the board on Monday. The first being a trip for the high school robotics team to attend the regional competition in La Crosse over the Good Friday holiday.
“Just great extensions of the curriculum,” Elworthy said. “The robotics one has been very well received and (has) over 40 students participating for a new club, which is fantastic.”
The second overnight trip, proposed by Karen Tordera, is for travel to the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association Honors Choir in Wausau. Five students are to be involved in the honors choir that will include two concerts for them to perform in on the trip.
Referendum progress
The board was also updated on the design process that pertains to the projects that were included in the Nov. 8 referendum.
“Last week, we kicked off the design process,” Elworthy said. “Our business partners came in and met with the district leadership team to finalize the plans for design and (we’re) getting a lot of feedback from our staff in critical areas.”
