LPOHS, charter school lay out improvement plans

SANDPOINT — Local schools are on their way to make met national standards after forming school improvement teams.

While most Lake Pend Oreille School District schools performed well enough on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test to achieve adequate yearly progress, Lake Pend Oreille High School and Sandpoint Charter School tests came in under par. In response, the schools have put together teams to address the situation by studying individual circumstances and making appropriate changes.

“This takes a tremendous amount of work, and my hat goes off to the teams at Sandpoint Charter School and Lake Pend Oreille High School,” district superintendent Dick Cvitanich said.

At the district board meeting Tuesday night, school administrators laid out their plans to encourage students toward superior test scores. First up at bat, LPOHS principal Rick Dalessio outlines a promising future for the school based on rising test achievements.

“If you look at our scores, I think we’re going in the right direction and doing a darn good job,” he said.

The LPOHS school improvement team identified five key areas to address.

First, teachers aim to engage each student in the classroom and improve attendance. To accomplish this, they’ve met with students bearing poor attendance rates and their parents, asking for suggestions to keep them in the classroom. The efforts seem to be working — attendance rates have risen from 69 percent to 86 percent in the space of a year. The ultimate goal is 90 percent.

An efficient use of data based on in-class observations is the second goal. School administrators are using a revised data collection rubric system to support this process.

Oftentimes, Dalessio himself does the data collection, which fits into the third goal. The principal aims to spend 50 percent of his time outside of his office and working with teachers in the classroom.

“That works for me,” he said. “I’d rather be out of the office anyway.”

Fourth, the school improvement team will encourage the professional development of LPOHS teachers. Finally, teachers will implement measures to ensure students understand the daily lesson’s topic, theme and significance.

As for Sandpoint Charter School, principal Alan Millar said the difference in educational philosophies made ISAT preparation difficult. However, the school improvement team had developed several ideas to push test scores into adequate yearly progress territory.

“The main goal is to marry achievement on the ISAT with general education,” he said.

The team has come up with several practical changes to facilitate that goal.

In math and sciences, teachers seek to instruct their students using techniques that motivate and encourage the pursuit of advances studies after high school.

One means to that end — not only in math and science, but all subjects — is a project-based approach to education that help reinforce concepts in student minds.

When it comes to testing time itself, Millar said the school will implement improved conditions. Student will take the ISAT in large computer rooms meant to accommodate full grades at a time. This will help teachers limit distractions and improve comfort. Students will also have chances for food, water and rest to keep their minds sharp.

“We intend to meet ISAT goals and make any changes required to be successful,” Millar said, later adding, “Testing isn’t going away in America, but the one hope we would offer is that it will get a lot better.”