Reading Improvements Keen and a Letter Unseen

LARWILL-After Wednesday’s Board of Finance Meeting at 4pm and the Reorganization Meeting that followed (both in the lecture room), the normal work session took place in the WCA TAP room. Amid the rattle of the noisy radiator, the board opted to wait a few minutes to be certain to start at the printed 4:45, which had been an estimate for when the two prior meetings would end, though the absence of any clocks in the lecture room may have been a factor in the time difference. Superintendent Tim Pivarnik shared that starting early and depriving the public from their right to attend had gone very poorly for other organizations in the past.

Whitko School Board Members and Whitko Career AcademyPhoto byMelany Love

The only agenda-related business discussed was that of the American Reading Company (ARC) program and the results seen so far. Curriculum and TAP Director Chris Evans excitedly shared the most recent data, showing that Pierceton Elementary students now score 30 points higher in reading than they did this time last year, with 40.8% of students reading at or above their level. South Whitley has 39.7% of students reading at or above their level, which is around the same jump in point value. Based on this data and the correlations between these scores and the pass rates of the ILEARN and iREAD, educators are overwhelmingly positive in their feedback on the program’s success (95% found the curriculum “very valuable” in a Whitko survey conducted this week, and 0% felt it was not worthwhile).

Evans, Pivarnik, and School Board Member Scott Werstler shared that the old curriculum had been severely lacking, was outdated, and had become a hodgepodge of components added to bridge gaps and supplement. A committee had put together a list detailing what a new curriculum would need to include, and ARC was the only one that had hit every mark, though it had cost more than the $350,000 that had been set aside for the purchase. ARC’s program remains prohibitively expensive to many schools, who may also be hesitant to choose a new curriculum, but there are hopes that Whitko’s success will inspire other schools to follow suite. As the “poster child” of ARC in Indiana, Whitko is the first and only school in the state to implement the reading program. Where only 10% of Whitko students across the district were reading at their level prior to ARC (four months ago), now 40% are, with expectations that the seventh and eighth graders will see improvement soon. The materials for those grades arrived later, but schedules are currently being reconfigured to target and redistribute struggling readers.

According to the NWEA, COVID’s shutdown has significantly stalled achievement progress across the board, undoing two decades of gains. The percentage of Indiana students reading at or above level was 33% in 2022, and the Indiana Department of Education estimates “as many as 1 in 5 students have not mastered foundational reading skills by the end of third grade.”

Numerous studies have shown that the more children read, the better their increases in vocabulary, writing, and intelligence. Evans stated that a Pierceton woman had told him that for the first time ever, her grandchildren had asked for books for Christmas instead of video games, and everyone agreed that was a big win.

Copy of Meeting Agenda and Graph of Student Reading Levels, provided by Chris EvansPhoto byMelany Love (Arr.)

Board Member Lynn Studebaker shared two new issues--a childcare problem that Pivarnik said had been a licensing issue caused by the state delaying things that was now resolved, and the existence of a letter “from a parent or their lawyer” and reportedly addressed to the school board that she had not yet seen. Pivarnik replied that there was a meeting scheduled for Thursday concerning that. Studebaker asked to read the letter, as it was addressed to the entire school board, but School Board President Annette Arnold said that she could not currently, saying, “That would be determined after tomorrow’s meeting because [...] it’s really not valid until they’ve met with the superintendent, and if they do not have a satisfactory outcome, then they can request a meeting. That is per policy.” Studebaker asked for more clarification, and Arnold said the letter was about wanting a meeting with the superintendent. An outside source reports that the mentioned letter comes as a result of other attempted meetings being canceled by Pivarnik.

This is not the first time parents have claimed difficulties in obtaining a meeting with the superintendent. A few months ago, another parent spoke up at a work session and claimed that Pivarnik had refused to get involved and had said in emails that her complaints “needed to be handled at the school level,” something the parent had claimed was not working and was the reason for the need for escalation involving the school board. Pivarnik’s 3-year contract as superintendent began in 2021; he also reportedly serves as the Civil Rights Coordinator.

Studebaker argued that mail sent to the school and addressed to the school board should be read by all of the school board. Arnold said she hadn’t received the letter until last Monday, and Pivarnik added that it had come over Christmas break and “it came to [Whitko’s] attorney, he forwarded it to us,” and that the lawyer had recommended no action until after Christmas break. Pavarnik stressed that “nothing was intentionally held back,” and the meeting ended.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 15, at 6:30pm in the WCA lecture room.