Students will head back to school Wednesday at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. Students in Edinburgh schools started back on July 25, and students in Jennings County will go back Tuesday.
The start of this school year is a time of profound change for BCSC particularly, but also for public education overall in Indiana.
At BCSC, new leadership starts at the top with Superintendent Chad Phillips starting his first school year after succeeding longtime leader Jim Roberts this summer. Phillips is an experienced leader in the local school system who has been a key engineer of BCSC’s ongoing plan to invest more than $300 million over the next decade in new facilities and renovations.
For all local students, the start of the new school year is a time bristling with excitement and new possibilities. Our wish for every student is the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and caring educational environment. We also believe schools should allocate resources so that any student who requires individual attention to meet their potential — and, let’s face it, to pass state-mandated tests — receives it.
We understand schools are doing this, but it cannot be stressed enough how important individual attention for struggling students is going to be this year and in the years ahead. Their literal progress may depend on it.
This school year, all students, teachers and schools will face new challenges. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention parents also have an obligation to help their children meet these challenges. Volunteers who work with schools to help students also play an important role in their development and academic achievement.
Likely the most pressing new challenge for students and schools is the new state requirement affecting third-graders based on reading test scores on the state-required IREAD test. As Indiana Capital Chronicle reported:
“… (I)f, after three tries, a third-grader can’t meet the IREAD standard, legislators want school districts to retain them. That number could reach into the thousands, according to 2023 data. New IREAD results for tests taken in Spring 2024 are expected to be released next month.
“Nearly 1,100 schools opted-in to administer IREAD to second grade students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). All will be required to do so when giving students the test in March 2025.
“… Students who demonstrate reading proficiency in second grade won’t have to test again, and their passing score will be reflected in the following year’s IREAD results for third grade students.”
We know local school districts have ground to make up here. Here are the local IREAD 3 first-time test pass rates from spring/summer 2023, according to the IDOE:
- BCSC: 80.1%
- Flat Rock-Hawcreek: 88.9%
- Edinburgh: 83.1%
- Jennings: 77.7%
These numbers and the 2024 numbers soon to be released must form a starting point from which the only direction is up.
With proper support and individual attention for students who need it, everyone’s goal should be ensuring third-graders get the help they need to pass a test that ensures they can read at grade level.
If at first they don’t succeed, we cannot fail to help them.
