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A Letter From The Superintendent

Dr. Steve Webner December 2020 This document is the Le Mars Community School District Annual Progress Report for the 2019-20 school year. The purpose of the Annual Progress Report is to inform the members of the community about the progress the school district has made in our efforts to provide the best possible education for the young people of the district. The mission of the Le Mars Community Schools is to guide every student in achieving the highest quality education by teaching the basic skills, developing character, and promoting life-long learning, all through an aggressive partnership with the students, families, school, and community. This report contains a great deal of information that has been assembled for the purpose of documenting our progress toward making our mission statement a reality. Specific information about the actions that will be taken during any given year to improve student performance is available at the Central Office. Building level action plans to accomplish the 2020-21 annual improvement goals are now available. I hope you find the information in this document useful and invite you to contact me with any questions or comments you believe would be beneficial to our school improvement efforts in the future.

The Board of Education

Mr. Scott Kommes, President Mrs. Angela Catton, Vice President

Mrs. Jane Arnold Mr. Todd Lancaster

Mr. Dave Miller Mr. Kyle Plathe

Mrs. Makenzie Lang/Mrs. Jill Feuerhelm Mrs. Kim Clarey, Treasurer Ms. Lisa Boehm, Secretary

Administrative Staff Elementary Mr. Neal Utesch Principal, Clark and Franklin Mr. Scott Parry Principal, Kluckhohn Middle School Mr. Steve Shanks Principal Mr. Karlton Hector Associate Principal

High School Dr. Mark Iverson Principal Mr. Kyle Formanek Associate Principal District Dr. Steve Webner Superintendent Mrs. Rachel Leavitt Curriculum Director Mr. Karlton Hector Activities Director Mr. Ted Hallberg Coordinator of Music Programming

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Le Mars Community School

Enrollment – October 2019 Le Mars Elementary

Clark Elementary 271 Franklin Elementary 267 Kluckhohn Elementary 402

Le Mars Middle School 510 Le Mars High School 645 Open Enrolled/ Tuition Out 111 Total Certified Enrollment 2,207.08

Special Education Enrollment 260

Students Served by Title I Reading 136

Open Enrollment Enrollment in from other districts 81 Enrollment out to other districts 104

Instructional Staff Elementary Teachers 68.25 Middle School Teachers 34.5 High School Teachers 41.0 Instructional Coaches 6.0 Total 149.75

Per Pupil-Certified Staff Ratio (Includes all certified staff in building not just regular classroom teachers; does not include instructional coaches) Elementary 14.68 Middle School 15.13 High School 15.95

Property Tax Levy 2019-20

General Fund $ 9.41659 Management Fund $ .84848 Debt Service Fund $ .0000 PPEL Fund $ .3300 Total Levy $ 10.59507

“Bulldog Highlights” 2019-20 School Year

15 Division I ratings at State Large Group Speech with 5 groups (28 students) being selected All State.

11 All State Musicians

Division I ratings at State Show Choir and State Jazz Band contests

State Large Group and State Solo & Small Ensemble music contests and State Large Group speech contest cancelled due to COVID-19

3 MS students auditioned for Opus Honor Choir

2 MS students selected for State Middle School Honor Orchestra which was cancelled

3 HS students selected for State High School Honor Orchestra which was cancelled

1 MS student selected for All Iowa 8th Grade Honor Band which was cancelled

8 MS students qualified for the National History Day State competition and 2 MS students advanced to the National Competition held virtually

Football—new game, season, and career records set in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, passing attempts, completion yards, and touchdowns

Boys Cross Country— 2 state qualifiers

Girls Cross Country—1 state qualifier; second female in school history to be a 4-time state qualifier

Volleyball—new school record set for “Digs in a Career”

Boys Basketball—new school record set for “Individual Points in a Game” with 51 points

Girls Basketball—advanced to the regional final game for the 4th straight season, the first such

accomplishment in school history

Girls Bowling—12-0 record; team qualified for state and placed 4th at state tournament

Boys Bowling—12-0 record; team qualified for state and placed 7th at state tournament

Boys Wrestling—5 state qualifiers

Girls Wrestling—10 girls competed in the IWCOA state tournament

Three cheerleaders selected to the IBCA All-Star Squad; Four cheerleaders chosen to participate in the Shrine Bowl; three cheerleaders selected to the Special Olympics cheer squad

Softball—advanced to the state tournament

Spring track, tennis, and golf cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

LeMars Community Schools Foundation awarded $77,200 for 137 scholarships; have awarded over

$1 million since the program began in 1993

Board of Education earns Award of Merit from Iowa Association of School Boards for 20th straight year

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Financial Information

Budgeted Operating Fund Revenues 2019-20

State Foundation Aid $14,727,022 59.4% Local Taxes $8,680,801 35.0% Other State Sources $ 138,500 0.5% Local Misc. Revenue $ 694,758 2.8% Federal Revenue $ 562,500 2.3% Total $24,803,581 100%

Public education is an investment in the future of our young people. It is important that the public knows and is satisfied that the Le Mars Community School District is operating effectively, efficiently, and equitably.

Budgeted Operating Fund Expenditures 2019-20

Instruction/Instruction Support $18,801,173 78.2% Maintenance $ 1,459,323 6.1% Administration $ 1,868,205 7.8% AEA Services $ 1,180,784 4.9% Student Transportation $ 735,277 3.0% Total $24,044,762 100%

Total Operating Fund Budget….………………………………………. $24,044,762 Total Tax Rate ……………………………………………………….… $10.59/1,000 State Average Total Tax Rate ………………………………………… $13.41/1,000 Taxable Valuation Per Pupil…….………………………………..……… $392,092

State Average Taxable Valuation Per Pupil…………...…………………. $360,716 State Regular Program Cost Per Pupil……………………….…………….. $6,880 Percent Budget From Taxes…………………………………………………. 35.0% Percent of Budget From State Aid & Miscellaneous Sources…………….. 62.7%

(Source: School Valuations Iowa Dept. of Management School Tax Rates and Aid and Levy 10.8 and 10.9)

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Philosophy, Mission, and Vision

Philosophy

Our students are the focus of our mission. The LeMars Community School District exists to develop the intellectual, creative, physical, social and civic capabilities of all students. This school district believes that all students can learn and recognizes that not all students have the same background, abilities, motivation, or interests. Therefore, our programs and services must effectively meet the needs of all students. We know that learning occurs most effectively in an environment that includes:

A clear sense of purpose

High expectations

A focus on the basic skills

An opportunity for exploration, experimentation, and expression of creativity and talent

A sense of personal security

Mission

The mission of the LeMars Community School District is to guide every student in achieving the highest possible educa-tion by teaching the basic skills, developing good character, and promoting life-long learning, all through an aggressive partnership with students, families, school, and community.

Core Beliefs

1. All people can learn.

2. Our schools must nurture honesty, integrity, and interpersonal skills necessary for productive citizenship.

3. Our schools must serve the unique needs of all students.

4. Our schools must teach the skills and promote attitudes necessary for life-long learning.

5. Our schools must promote respect for worth and dignity of individuals.

6. The families, the schools, and the community must all be advocates for quality education.

7. We must develop, communicate, and maintain high standards for everyone involved in education.

8. Our schools must emphasize basic skills in reading, writing, calculating, speaking, listening, thinking, and utilizing technology.

Vision

A common goal shared is to raise achievement expectations for students and staff. In doing so, we will provide the needed time and dollars to develop skills, methods, curriculum, classroom space, and technology to meet the achieve-ment expectations. All student activities – academic, vocational/technical, co-curricular and extra-curricular will be utilized to develop motivated, life-long learners. These students, when assessed, will indicate the success of meeting and exceeding the raised expectations. The concern for the process and assessment goals should not overshadow the need for encouragement of students and staff to progress beyond their present achievement levels. The partnership of students and staff should produce mature decision-makers. At the end of the day, both student and staff should say “I made a difference today.” To accomplish this vision will require, to some degree, each of the following ideas:

Maintaining reduced class sizes

Hiring the most qualified staff to fill program needs that resources can provide

Providing classroom space and improved facilities for extra-curricular activities to meet the needs of our students

Additional time for teams of teachers to collaborate, to develop and refine curriculum, instruction and assessment methods

Involved and supportive parents along with business and community cooperation

Advancing technology skills and equipment

Diversified and expanded learning experiences

Data driven and research based decision making

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Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP)

This would have been the second year for the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, but because of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, testing did not occur. Consequently, there are no test results to share for the 2019-20 school year. The ISASP tests include Math (grades 3-11), English Language Arts (grades 3-11) and Science (grades 5, 8, and 10). The Iowa State Board of Education ap-proves cut scores that determined student level of performance. These cut scores are used to establish student proficiency.

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Local Assessment Results

Fall Winter Spring

LCS 65% 78%

AEA 62% 67%

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FAST Reading Assessment

Kindergarten (Excluding TK)(% Proficient)

Fall Winter Spring

LCS 71% 77%

AEA 65% 67%

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FAST Reading Assessment

1st Grade(% Proficient)

The Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) is a suite of assessment tools to measure student literacy skills. FAST is designed for screening, progress monitoring, and program evaluation. Percent proficient within the FAST assessments are determined by the testing program; the cut score is a fluid score (it may differ from year to year). Le Mars Community Schools is utilizing the FAST as a means to identify student strengths and areas for improvement in order to provide programming to meet student needs. Because of school closures in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FAST testing did not occur in the spring.

Kindergarten students showed significant growth on the FAST screener from the fall to the winter. Overall, a greater percentage of LeMars kinder-garten students were proficient on the screener as compared to NWAEA.

LeMars 1st grade students showed growth on the FAST screener from the fall to the winter. Overall, a greater percentage of LeMars 1st grade students were profi-cient on the screener as compared to NWAEA.

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Local Assessment Results

Fall Winter Spring

LCS 78% 78%

AEA 63% 64%

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FAST Reading Assessment

2nd Grade(% Proficient)

Fall Winter Spring

LCS 74% 80%

AEA 68% 72%

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FAST Reading Assessment

3rd Grade(% Proficient)

Fall Winter Spring

LCS 73% 79%

AEA 68% 72%

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FAST Reading Assessment

4th Grade(% Proficient)

2nd grade students remained consistent in the percentage of students proficient from the fall to the spring. LeMars 2nd grade students scored well above the percent of students proficient in NWAEA.

3rd grade students showed some growth on the FAST screener from the fall to the spring. LeMars 3rd grade students scored slightly above students in NWAEA.

4th grade students showed improvement in the percentage of students proficient on the FAST screener. LeMars 4th grade students scored slightly higher than NWAEA.

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Local Assessment Results

Fall Winter Spring

LCS 72% 73%

AEA 68% 71%

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FAST Reading Assessment

5th Grade(% Proficient)

5th grade students showed a slight growth in the percentage of students proficient on the FAST screener. LeMars 5th grade students scored above other 5th grade students in NWAEA.

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Graduate Information

Post-Secondary Plans

86% of the 2020 graduating class went on to post-secondary education or training.

Dropout and Graduation Rates

2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

6 9 11 10 6

0

2

4

6

8

10

12Number of 9-12 Students Dropped Out

4 Year

College

2 Year

College

Other

TrainingEmployment Military Undecided

2015-16 45% 37% 3% 4% 5% 5%

2016-17 46% 41% 0% 5% 2% 6%

2017-18 34% 55% 0% 4% 1% 7%

2018-19 38% 34% 1% 12% 2% 13%

2019-20 52% 34% 0% 3% 5% 6%

0%

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50%

60%

Post Graduate Intentions

2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

LCHS 98.9% 96.9% 96.7% 96.9% 97.0%

State 90.8% 91.3% 91.0% 91.4% 91.6%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Graduation Rates

The number of students dropped out decreased compared to the prior year.

The LCHS graduation rates, as calculated by the Iowa Department of Education, have been significantly higher than the statewide rates.

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The number of reported altercations in the district decreased for the 2019-20 school year.

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Elementary 6 2 3 4 9

Middle School 3 6 3 21 14

High School 5 3 4 7 2

District 14 11 10 32 25

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Fighting

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Elementary 0 1 0 2 0

Middle School 0 3 4 0 0

High School 0 1 1 0 0

District 0 5 5 2 0

0

1

2

3

4

5

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Weapon Violations

The number of weapons violations decreased to zero for the 2019-20 school year.

Student Behavior

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2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Violations 70 38 68 62 69 45

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Code of Conduct Violations

(High School & Middle School)

Student Behavior

The number of Code of Conduct violations reflected a significant decrease versus last year.

2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Elementary 0 0 0 0 0 0

Middle School 1 0 0 2 2 2

High School 0 0 0 0 0 3

District 1 0 0 2 2 5

0

1

2

3

4

5

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Incidents of Harassment

The number of incidents of harassment, by State of Iowa definition, increased from the previous year.

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2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Elementary 97% 97% 96% 96% 96%

Middle School 95% 96% 95% 95% 95%

High School 96% 96% 96% 95% 95%

90%91%92%93%94%95%96%97%98%99%

100%

Average Daily Attendance Rates

Attendance