Like many school districts, Lake Forest had some huge gains and some noticeable misses in this year’s DSTP results. J. Glenn Davidson, administrative assistant – curriculum, detailed the reasons for the hits and misses and what the district is doing to improve at the Aug. 21 school board meeting.

    Average second-, fourth- and sixth-grade reading and sixth-grade math scores all were above the state’s average, but some of the biggest gains were made in writing.

    Fourth- and 10th-graders both improved upon last year’s average scores by 25 points. Unfortunately, both third and seventh grades had fewer than 50% meeting the state’s standards.

    Superintendent Dr. Daniel Curry said writing results were the most frustrating for the entire state. Curry is on a panel that is working toward developing a new exam for the spring 2010 test, and he said the state needs to find a better way to evaluate a student’s writing. The panel also hopes the exams would be administered in May, not March.

    Another frustration for Lake Forest was the fact that for a fourth year, W.T. Chipman Middle School has been placed on academic watch and is under school improvement. This comes after a year of improvements in seventh-grade reading and math. Also this year, Chipman’s eighth-grade math scores beat the state average by 12 points.

    Principal Jim Cave pointed out that when a cell of students, which is 40 or more in a certain demographic, does not reach state-approved levels, the entire school receives a lower rating. In the past few years, Chipman’s special education cell has not been reaching the appropriate levels. Cave said the school is committed, however, to serving those students, and that instead of potentially raising the school’s achievement level by moving some of them out of special education, they will stay there as long as needed.

    “You can play a numbers game or you can do what’s right for kids,” is a common saying for Cave, according to Davidson.

    Lake Forest High School Principal Dr. Betty Wyatt-Dix also is familiar with having underachieving cells. The high school is rated as academic progress and under school improvement this year. That is a result of its special education and low-income cells, Wyatt-Dix said.

    She agreed with Cave that serving the students, not numbers, is most important, and added that while two cells are still struggling, the school’s minority students have made significant gains.

    Davidson said special education students’ progress across the district needs attention. The district also will focus on addressing standards in each lesson, previewing new materials before new lessons and making sure lesson reviews connect learned knowledge to new materials logically, he said. The district also listed engaging parents and continuing growth in high school math as targets.

    The district’s elementary schools ranked better than its secondary schools, with South and Central listed under academic review and East and North garnering superior ratings.

In other news ...

    • Construction on the new South Elementary School is moving forward with paving, landscaping, wiring and tiling. Although kindergarten orientation is set for Thursday, Aug. 28, that might be pushed back depending on whether the school gains approval to open by the fire marshal and county.

    “We still anticipate being on schedule,” Curry said.

    Board members discussed having a ceremony for the new school and possibly an open house for the community in September.

    • The board amended the communication device policy to incorporate time that students will be on their ways to and from school on the bus. That means that students are not allowed to use cell phones, wireless communication devices, pagers and other devices while in school or on the school bus. Drivers will refer students to the school and students will receive the same punishments as if they were using the devices in school.

    Transportation Supervisor William Morris said cell phones with cameras are especially disruptive on buses. He added that “common sense exceptions” could be made in the case of the bus breaking down or other instances where students might need to call parents for safety reasons.

     Email Sarika Jagtiani at sarika.jagtiani@doverpost.com