Battle Creek Times

Administrators in the Harper Creek School district would like to see better results from their students when it comes to test results

At their March 13 board meeting, the district board of education welcomed school leader to provide updates from Sonoma Elementary and Harper Creek High School.

Kevin Faraci, the student support specialist and interim principal from Sonoma Elementary addressed the board first, sharing how the school utilized their recent NWEA data.

Data was examined for each grade level to determine what students needed to concentrate on.

Kindergarten did not meet their expected growth, likely due to the Developmental Kindergarten students who will be redoing Kindergarten. Second grade students showed 13% exceeded the 80th percentile while 3rd graders were right in the middle.

Faraci said that, moving forward, they needed an adequate staff to meet the intervention needs for students, academically and emotionally.

Ed Greenman, the principal of Harper Creek High school, also presented academic data and explained that it revealed a great deal of information.

“For us, it's the first year that we have done the NWEA,” he said. “So, that was a little bit difficult for us. And we were focusing on how we can get the kids tested. And we're kind of unique from what maybe what the entries are like or the middle school because of the scheduling that our kids have, the different all the different classes that they have, the different teachers that they have. They might take math one semester and then have it for two semesters and then have it again.”

The school had some obstacles to overcome, however, they were able to train their staff and test administration on how to read the reports afforded to them, said Greenman.

“We did find that from a percentage of tests we went from in the fall in the 92 to 94 percent of our kids were tested. And then learning from that and making some adjustments, in the wintertime, 96 to 98 percent of our kids were able to be tested,” he said.

They were able to identify tier I intervention students, encouraging them to take more advanced classes next semester, and tier II and III students who will be supported by either instructional coaches or alternate classes.

Greenman concluded his presentation by admitting the school was concerned about the results and felt that students needed more motivation to succeed.

Both principals, when asked by the board what their ideal support would be if there were no limits, said increased certified instructors acting as interventionists and coaches would help alleviate some of their concerns.