HANCOCK COUNTY — Officials with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) have a lofty goal of 95% literacy when it comes to third grade students passing the IREAD test. Some 242 elementary schools across the state met that mark in 2023 and were recognized for the accomplishment.
State officials with the IDOE gathered for a celebration of those school leaders late last week at the State House where officials handed out “Certificates of Achievements” to the schools where the vast majority of their students (95%) passed the assessment.
The three Hancock County public schools invited to take part in the celebration were Eden Elementary, Fortville Elementary and New Palestine Elementary, while one private school, St. Michael, was also recognized.
“While we urgently work to overcome our reading crisis in Indiana, we also must take time to celebrate the schools that continue to improve outcomes for students,” Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said in a release from the IDOE.
County educators say reading is the fundamental building block toward a good education and hitting the high benchmark is great for students.
Greenfield-Central Community Schools Superintendent Harold Olin said it’s awesome to see state officials honor those educators, administrators and schools where students are achieving high standards.
“We continue to be proud of the ongoing academic successes that are featured by the students and staff of Eden Elementary School,” Olin said.
Principal of Eden Elementary Joseph Bowman said the school is indeed a special place.
“The staff at Eden Elementary work incredibly hard at providing quality instruction for our students, and the families also support our efforts,” Bowman said. “We are so proud of our students for performing well. We also are proud of our students, staff and families instilling the love of reading in our students.”
The Principal of Fortville Elementary School, Vince Edwards, said reading is such a complex skill, and trying to meet all the needs of the individual students can be a real challenge.
“Taking on that challenge has to be done with a multi-faceted approach, and this particular measure of success should be attributed to the efforts of our entire K-3 staff as well as support from families,” Edwards said.
Edwards explained how educators at Fortville Elementary have done a lot of work in the past few years to align their curricular resources and instructional practices with the components of the science of reading, including making sure all of their kindergarten through second grade teachers are certified in Orton-Gillingham, a highly structured approach that breaks reading and spelling down into smaller skills involving letters and sounds, and then builds on the skills over time.
“Our dedicated and talented classroom teachers and interventionists work really well, collaboratively, to support one another so that all of our students will learn and grow,” Edwards said. “We have developed a master schedule that, in addition to providing time for high-quality core instruction, also supports daily times for multi-tiered interventions to take place.”
Edwards noted school officials have developed systems to help educators identify struggling readers as early as possible and to provide targeted intensive remediation as needed.
“If students are not responding to all of these layers of support, we consider the possibility of a disability that is hindering their progress, and we discuss with parents if we should evaluate for special education eligibility and an individual education plan,” Edwards said.
As for future reading goals, on the one hand, Edwards said he wants to be able to say they have 100% of their students pass, so they can be completely satisfied. But, he noted that they also talk a lot about the importance of taking the time to share and enjoy student-centered celebrations with each other to encourage educators all to believe what they are doing matters.
“So, I do think this is a meaningful recognition, and one we are proud to receive,” Edwards said of the state honor. “We want to use it to fill our buckets a bit more so we can continue to pour ourselves into the work we do that makes a difference for kids.”
New Palestine Elementary Principal, Kayleigh Fosnow said she was just excited for her staff, which she is incredibly proud of, including teachers and students, as they are the ones who accomplished the outstanding achievement on the IREAD assessment.
“Our teachers and literacy specialist work extremely hard to make sure that every student receives quality reading instruction and interventions,” Fosnow said. “They are constantly looking at data and creating small groups to meet their students’ needs.”
She said education starts at home and everyone at New Palestine Elementary is grateful for the families who continue to support and foster the love of reading away from school.
As for literacy goals moving forward, Edwards said educators at Fortville Elementary know every group of students is unique, so teachers can’t get bored.
“Broadly, we definitely want to keep our passing rate at 95% or higher, but more importantly, we want to continue to meet the needs of the individual students we serve,” Edwards said. “The results may look a bit different from year to year, but we focus a lot on growth because we are always playing the long game when it comes to kids.”
St. Michael Catholic Church and School was honored for their 100% passing rate. Teachers Emily Capen and Cindy Geswein along with Principal Ruth Hittel represented St. Michael at the Statehouse to receive the recognition. They were presented an award for ‘Outstanding Performance of Third Grade Students’ by Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.
“What made this accomplishment even more special is that many of the students achieved their pass rate by the end of their second grade class year,” stated a press release from St. Michael Church and School. “With Indiana’s third grade literacy rates remaining down 9.5 percentage points, from the highest ever proficiency rate (91.4%) for the 2012-2013 school year, this comes as a major win for the school.”
State officials noted that, for the first time ever, they hosted a celebration for schools who are hitting the statewide reading goal to recognize the importance of hitting the benchmark.
“Mastering foundational literacy skills by the end of third grade is vital to achieving our goal that 95% of Hoosier students are reading proficiently by 2027,” Governor Eric Holcomb, said in the IDOE release. “Across our state, educators, families and communities are linking arms to help more students read, and it is important that we celebrate this impactful work.”
