DM Register: Sept. 5

Record number of Iowa schools fail to meet federal targets

This was the headline of Saturday's paper. I knew it was coming, but that doesn't dull the sting of seeing it in print! It didn't take long for me to skim the list of schools and find DCG Middle School--math in the dead center---ouch!

Since then, I have followed the reader's comments which range from a list of "reasons" for making the list to a bashing of public education. To my surprise, I haven't heard from any DC-G patrons yet, but I would like to take the time to explain how our middle school made the list, and the efforts we are taking to remove ourselves ASAP!

DCG Middle School was placed on the SINA list (Schools in Need of Assistance) in the area of special education math (it was interesting that the paper didn't list the special education part). This means that our special education population did not make enough growth on the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) to reach proficiency. In Iowa, "Proficiency" means the 40th percentile or above.

The majority of our special education students currently score between the 1st and the 15th percentile on ITBS. In fact, one of the indicators that qualifies a child for special education is a low ITBS score. If our students DID score in the 40th percentile or above, the teachers would be calling a meeting with the parents to discuss if the child should be discontinued from the special education program.

So now what? Our staff is dedicated to working as hard as possible to give the special education students the math skills they need to be successful in life. Since the beginning of the year, we have met regularly to form an action plan and begin implementation. One of the biggest changes this year is that we have added a Math Intervention Class entitled, M and M---Math and Maintenance. Students attend this extra math tutoring session once every three days. The class sizes are small (6-8 students) and the program is 42 minutes of intense math tutoring. We are using a research-based program that was recommended by several area schools. It is called iSucceed by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Additionally, we have added tutoring for general education students, increased the frequency of our progress monitoring, and concentrated on instructional strategies that have been proven successful. The staff at DCG Middle School is focused on providing the best math instruction available. We are confident that we can improve scores enough to remove our school's name from "the list", but more importantly help ALL our children succeed in today's globally economic world. We need the support of all parents and community to help us reach this goal. If you have questions, comments or ideas, we welcome your input!