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Tables turning for local schools

By Rachel Lake (RLake@wsbt.com)

WSBT-TV

6:33 PM EDT, October 31, 2012

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The tables have turned for Indiana schools.

Instead of students being graded, schools are the ones getting report cards. 
The Indiana Department of Education has released its A-to-F Accountability Report. 

Some schools passed with flying colors. Others, did not. 

Penn-Harris-Madison Schools scored straight A's in all 15 of its schools, but the news wasn't as good for Elkhart, Mishawaka and South Bend. 

A "D" is not what any parent or administrator wants to see. 

"I don't feel and I know we're not a D school," said John J. Young Middle School Principal Mickey Roelandts. 

But that's the grade John J. Young Middle School in Mishawaka got along with LaSalle Elementary after the Indiana Department of Education looked at I-STEP and other student scores. Administrators say they will turn that D around.

"In terms of curriculum, I would say we're focusing on writing; That is a big part of our day," said Roelandts. "Each and every classroom is focused on writing, and it's all across the curriculum."

In South Bend, 8 schools got an "F" including Harrison Primary Center and Perley Fine Arts Academy.

But there were a few shining stars like Tarkington Traditional Center, which got an "A."

"We're ecstatic. It's a testament to all the hard work we've done over the last two years," said Principal Melinda Ehmer. 

At Tarkington, officials closely monitored individual student performance. They gave students struggling extra attention. At the same time, they didn't ignore advanced students, pushing them to excel even further.

In the Elkhart Community School Corporation, North Side Middle School went from an "F" in 2011 to an "A" this year. 

"Very impressed with curriculum instruction to allow students to have high grades," said Elkhart Community Schools Superintendent Robert Haworth.  
But Elkhart's Pierre Moran Middle and Mary Beck Elementary Schools each scored an "F."

"If we have a school that received an F, we need to make that into a D, C, B or the next time," Haworth said.