Published: December 28, 2007 11:02 pm         

Westview pursues academic growth

EMMA, Ind. — Continued academic growth of students is the ongoing goal of the staff and administration at Westview Schools, which saw evidence of academic achievement in the recent reports of ISTEP+ scores, administrators said.

Westview School Corp. officials were able to implement full-day kindergarten for all their students this current school year.

Space was found at all elementary schools, as the new Meadowview School had space that could be used, and redistricting allowed the change at other schools, explained school board president Dave Mehas.

“Westview has experienced growth,” said Superintendent Randy Zimmerly. “Not explosive growth, but predictable growth.”

Zimmerly called the move to full-day kindergarten a great benefit to the school district, but said it was a lot of work for teachers, principals and parents.

Teachers made adjustments in their curriculum, modifying it for the longer day for student, and principals worked with parents of the kindergarten students.

Zimmerly said last year school official.s felt good about the improved passing rates of the students taking the ISTEP tests. The schools will use their own local assessment tools to continue improving math and reading at Westview.

“We feel very comfortable that the efforts of our kids paid off,” Zimmerly said. “We’re paying attention to the goal of having continued improvement of every student.”

“We are doing quite well,” Mehas said. Test scores are improving gradually. “Overall there is improvement every year.

Drama and Judging

“We look back and see some really nice growth in the co-curriculum at our school,” Zimmerly said. He pointed out two great performances by the drama and music departments, success by the competition speech team, the ag judging and other academic teams.

“Westview is well-known for its success on the playing field, and accomplishments and support have been outstanding,” Zimmerly added.

Mehas explained the management style of the Westview School Board is one that delegates and makes decisions after study and receiving recommendations.

“We delegate well,” Mehas said. “We have committees do the homework” and they and administrators return recommendations to the school board for action.

An ongoing study now is one started after the board received a request this year to consider sponsoring junior high and high school football teams. The committee is looking at programs across the state now, he explained.

Mehas credited the school administration for smooth operation of the Westview schools.

“From my perspective, we are very pleased with the administration. They make the job easier,” the board president explained.

Looking forward, the superintendent stressed that the corporation has a goal to continue working toward the academic success of every student.

“I think that is a mandate of every public school,” he said.

“Bob Evans, director of curriculum, has compared Westview to the top 10 schools in the state. It is a new measuring stick. Can we get to the top 10? We will continue to focus on the success of every individual student,” the superintendent said.

Zimmerly also said the school corporation is “on pretty good, solid ground financially,” noting they haven’t been hurt by state funding formulas.

Staff Development

“We have some really good conversations taking place at the junior-senior high school regarding curriculum. The staff is taking over staff development. We were talking about growth of children as they modify their curriculum to meet the needs of the kids,” Zimmerly said.

And Westview is looking seriously at the wellness curriculum, too, he said. It may be a little different for the school to stress this, but health and lifestyle is important to the lives of students.

The health and wellness and healthy lifestyles emphasis, while it may be elective, could help improve the health of teachers, students and families. One side benefit of healthier staff may be seen in future health insurance costs.

“We want to thank our families and our community for making our school district as good as it is. We do the work, but our families and community are the real reason we have a good school district,” Zimmerly said.

Among the projects that may be discussed in 2008 will be continued work at the high school baseball complex. There are plans to build a concession stand and rest rooms after new dugouts were recently completed.

The school board will look at needs and capital projects and ask the administration to prioritize a list, Mehas explained.