MAC board hears test results
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At their regular meeting held Monday, March 10, the Mount Ayr Community Schools board of directors heard results from the latest round of testing at the elementary, approved e-rate funding for tech projects, and approved the renewal of sharing agreements with neighboring school districts.
Assessment results
“I’m very excited.”
Those were the words used by elementary principal Chris Elwood to introduce the results of the winter round of reading assessments in his building. For the aReading test, Elwood reported overall student proficiency increased from 55 percent in the fall to 64 percent in the latest tests. The Adaptive Reading (aReading) assessment measures a student’s phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and print concepts.
This chart shows the overall improvement in the aReading assessments from fall (blue) to winter (red) among Mount Ayr Elementary students. Only in fourth grade did score decline slightly.
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade take the aReading assessment in the fall, winter, and spring. Because they are still learning to read, kindergarten and first grade students take a modified assessment suited to their skill level.
A second assessment, the CBMr, measures a student’s fluency – how fast they can read with comprehension.
This test is given to students in grades 2-5.
This graphs shows improvement in CMBr scores from fall (blue) to winter (red) in all grades 2-5.
Mount Ayr elementary students in all grades improved their fluency, rising from 45 percent proficient in the fall to 57 proficient in the winter tests. Elwood explained the state now requires that students who test below proficiency for two consecutive testing periods must be provided with a personalized reading plan.
He reported that 63 students qualified for personalized plans following the fall testing period. After the winter test, 14 of those students reached proficiency. In addition, 16 students who tested below proficiency for the first time in the fall reached proficiency in the latest round, thus averting the need for a personalized plan.
Seven new students fell below proficiency for the second consecutive testing period and now qualify for a personalized plan.
E-rate funding
E-rate is a program that helps schools and libraries afford improvements to their telecommunications capabilities.
Under the program, the federal government covers 70 percent of costs for qualified equipment and services.
At Monday’s meeting, the district approved the bid of $102,272 from RTI for improvements to the district’s Internet systems, including a point-to-point arrangement that will connect the school, athletic fields, and bus barn. After applying the e-rate discount, the district will spend $33,866 for the project.
The board also approved the bid of $650 from Mediacom to continue providing Internet service to the district.
Sharing agreements
The board renewed agreements to continue the sharing of certain personnel with neighboring districts. The state provides financial incentives for such agreements. For example, in sharing the services of superintendent Jason Shaffer, the Bedford and Mount Ayr districts both receive increased funding equivalent to per pupil funding for nine students each. This school year, per pupil funding is set at $7,864, which translates to nearly $80,000 in increased revenue when other incidental funding components are included.
The remaining sharing agreements approved Monday were with the Diagonal district for human resource director (four student equivalent), transportation director (four student equivalent), curriculum director (two student equivalent), and special education director (two student equivalent).
Pre-school changes
As part of his report, principal Elwood also presented to the board changes to the pre-school program effective next year.
Due to decreased enrollment, pre-school will go from three sections to two sections, with a cap of 20 students per section.
So far, only 33 students have registered for pre-school next year.
Bethany Knox, one of the three current pre-school teachers, will move into a full-time early childhood special education position.
Emphasis will be on enrolling incoming four-year-old students, but Elwood believes room will be available for returning five-year-olds next year.
Elwood plans to send a letter to parents of current pre-school students to explain in more detail the changes and to answer parent questions.
Other business
In other business, the board:
• set the public hearing for the 2025-26 district budget for Monday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m.
• approved the hiring of Chelsey Clymer as the summer concessionaire.
They also approved the resignations of Christine Brammer as custodian and Ashton Trullinger as wrestling cheer coach.
• approved agreements with Southwestern Community College for summer courses and automotive and carpentry courses.
• approved an out-of-state trip for the track team to compete at Maryville, MO.
