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Williamsburg students make attendance count

District schools above state average

WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg school students have a better attendance record than their counterparts across Penn­syl­vania, according to a new state measuring tool.

Based on results from the Future Ready Index introduced by the state Department of Education last fall, students in the Williamsburg Community Elementary School had an attendance rate of 92.8 percent, above the state average of 85.4 percent.

Students at the Williams­burg Community Jun­ior/Sen­­­ior High Schools came in slightly below their younger peers, with their attendance rate at 87 percent for the 2017-18 school year. That’s still better than the statewide average of

85.4 percent for the same age group and time period.

Attendance is an important marker as schools struggle to keep students in class.

Both the Williams­burg elementary and high school principals reported at Tues­day’s Williamsburg Com­mu­ni­ty School District School Board meeting that they attended a recent gathering of local educators to hear more about the “Be There” program.

Elementary Principal Jennifer Metzler said the program’s training is part of an ongoing effort on behalf of all school districts to combat the chronic problem of student absenteeism.

Along with statistics on attendance, the Future Ready Index showed the Williamsburg Community High School exceeded expectations with its 100 percent graduation rate, above the statewide average of 86.6 percent. As far as subject material, however, the results varied. The index compares previous year’s test scores to the latest scores available to see if the students have im­proved. It also determines if students have met certain interim goals set by the state, based on long-term criteria.

At Williamsburg, both at the elementary and at the junior/high schools, students had mixed results. They met some goals but not all of the others in the three categories of English language arts/literature, math/algebra and science/

biology.

In nearly all of the areas that the schools fell short, the index showed that the scores were better than the scores from the previous year, so the overall picture is an upward trend.

The purpose of the Future Ready Index is to present a “more holistic picture of school performance,” according to state Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera. Data used in the index includes a variety of test scores, advanced placement courses plus demographics and college and career readiness, in­cluding college enrollment, military enlistment and workplace participation. The goal is to have a vari­-ety of information about schools in one place so that parents, educators and the general public can easily access the information.

Williamsburg Commu­nity School District Super­intendent Lisa Murgas said she welcomes the new tool because it will provide a more accurate view of how the students are doing, rather than looking only at test scores.

But because it’s a new system, the districts continue to submit data, so it doesn’t show the total picture.

“I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “But there are still some areas where part of the information is missing or incomplete.”

Also discussed at the board meeting, high school Principal Michael Jones showed a short video of students enjoying an ice cream treat they’d earned because they were nominated by their teachers as part of a student appreciation program.

The program, suggested last year by Angela Detwiler, who teaches family and consumer sciences, recognizes students whose grades have improved during a marking period. Each teacher in the junior/high school gets to nominate one student. The students then get a delicious prize. One time it was breakfast and last marking period it was ice cream, Jones said.

“It gives the kids something to be proud of,” Jones said. “You hear them talking about it in the halls. They really look forward to it.”

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