State releases schools' A-F grades

The Indiana Department of Education released 2013 A-F grades for Indiana schools Dec. 20, with 12 schools in the Monroe County Community School Corporation receiving As, five receiving Cs, one a B and two Fs. No school received a D.

The only schools to receive Fs this year were Fairview Elementary and Highland Park Elementary. Fairview also received an F last year.

Five MCCSC schools have received As all four years since 2010: Childs, Binford, Lakeview, University and Rogers Elementary Schools.

Templeton Elementary School was able to improve their grade from an F last year to an A this year.

“We are very proud at Templeton to be rated an A by the IDOE for the 2012-2013 school year,” Templeton principal Donald Carver said in an email. “It is definitely a more accurate reflection of the students, staff and families of Templeton.”

Carver said their school works to implement new policies to help each student achieve their full potential.

“With our rigorous curriculum based on the state standards we are constantly looking for ways to engage students, enrich and intervene every single student based on their individual needs to maximize their success, and we work together on a regular basis to continue to be better practitioners of our craft,” he said.

Tammy Miller, director of elementary education for MCCSC, said schools are working to individualize learning for each student.     

“We need to help each student reach their potential with an individualized approach while also addressing the Twenty First Century Skills,” Miller said in an email.

Miller said it is important to think of students first.

“Higher achievement rates are often associated with schools that build instructional delivery systems emphasizing the needs of students first,” she said. “There is an emphasis on guaranteeing that each student will achieve mastery of the core curriculum and all aspects of the school are focused on this goal.”

Gov. Mike Pence said the grades reflected the hard work of the students and teachers of Indiana.

“The release of the 2012-2013 accountability grades demonstrate that our schools have risen to the challenge of improving outcomes across the state of Indiana and our kids are better for it,” Pence said in a press release. “These strong results are a testament to our students and the teachers whose dedication is delivering greater levels of success in the classroom every year.”

Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.