Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
Sophomores pass state writing test
By William Kincaid
FORT RECOVERY - The entire sophomore class passed the writing section of the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) this school year, according to high school Principal Dave Warvel.
"I'm very pleased," Warvel told board members during the regular school board meeting Tuesday evening. "If you look at the numbers, they speak for themselves."
All high school students must pass the OGT in order to graduate, Warvel said.
Warvel also said that 96 percent passed the reading test, 99 percent passed math, 97 percent passed science and 95 percent passed social studies.
The students who didn't pass the respective sections of the test are required to get 10 hours of intervention before they retake the test. Students begin taking the test their sophomore year and have until graduation to pass it.
Warvel said the school will offer a summer school in July, where the students will receive one-on-one help from teachers. Each class will have a maximum of 10 students, with some having only five students.
"These kids are going to be contacted and persuaded (to take the summer class)," Warvel said.
By taking the intervention classes during the summer, Warvel said the regular educational curriculum in the fall will not be interrupted.
Warvel also pointed out the administration is now searching for ways to improve future scores, even for those who pass the test. For example, only 1 percent of the students obtained the advanced score on their writing test, while 67 percent achieved an advanced score on the math section.
"We need to look at the top tier as well as the lower tier," Warvel said.
In other news, the board took the following actions:
• Awarded the school district general liability, property and inland marine and fleet insurance to Indiana Insurance through Fort Recovery Insurance for $35,098 a year. The award is a three-year contract.
• Scheduled the next regular school board meeting for 7 p.m. July 12 in the boardroom.
• Approved the employment of Crystal Guggenbiller and April Kaiser as full-time teachers and Carrie Wellman as a part-time teacher for next school year.
• Approved the employment of Scott Mattraw and Chris Summers as high school assistant football coaches.
• Approved Michelle VanSkyock, Jennifer Grieshop, Anne Geier, Bob Heitkamp, Laura Pearson, Leslie Goettemoeller, Carrie Wellman, Joe Bruns, Bob Perkeybile, April Kaiser, Kathy Schwieterman and Robyn Armstrong as summer school teachers.
