GILMAN — The Iowa Department of Education (DOE) School Performance Profile report shows how strong East Marshall Community School District staff are working for the education of the students, according to Superintendent Tony Ryan.

“All three of our buildings were rated “Commendable,” he said. “I want to give a huge pat on the back to the staff who work hard and focus on the students.”

The DOE’s profile assigned each school building’s performance as Exceptional, High-Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement or Priority. The rating is based on an overall score and performance category for the school using many performance measures. East Marshall Middle School’s rating actually raised from “Needs Improvement” in 2023.

One category the middle school students displayed a lot of improvement in is growth in mathematics, rising from 39 to 55, surpassing the state average of 50. However, there was also a slight decrease in the proficiency of English language arts (ELA), falling from 82 to 80.

Ryan said the district will continue on the path of taking a detailed approach to planning and will break down the data to try to improve that proficiency.

“We work closely with the AEA, and the middle school staff are in the process we implemented,” he said. “We are seeing improvements. We see the previous years, and the improvements made and we will continue to identify what is working.”

That partnership with the AEA is something Ryan said was very important to raising and maintaining overall building ratings.

“They are walking through the valley with our staff,” he said. “East Marshall and AEA staff work collaboratively to obtain that growth we did see.”

According to Ryan, the district has increased the contracted amount of time with the AEA by 60 percent.

“That is a great resource in our district, and I believe the teachers are tapping into that resource,” he said.

The elementary school had significant increases in growth in math, from 49 to 61 and ELA, from 70 to 74. The proficiencies in math increased from 63 to 68 and in ELA, from 72 to 73.

Ryan said the increase is a representation of the elementary staff taking data from previous years into account and making necessary adjustments.

“The school district as a whole is focused on updating the curriculum,” he said. “We’re not just doing it in math and ELA, but also social sciences. We have made a large investment to upgrade our curriculum. Our hope is to see the adjustments and improvements.”

In addition to the academic performances of students, the School Performance Profiles also address enrollment. East Marshall had a loss of 48 students from 2023, falling from 690 to 642. Ryan said the loss of students is a familiar trend for many districts in the state.

“We graduate a higher number of seniors than students coming in,” he said. “It is a pattern in rural Iowa.”

Also highlighted is the rate of chronic absenteeism. With the state legislature placing more focus on chronic absenteeism, school districts have to abide by the law which requires them to report students with high absences to the county attorney.

The East Marshall High School rate of chronic absenteeism increased from 27 students in 2023 to 28 in 2024. Ryan said the district is embracing the new legislation and will send out notices, arrange meetings with families and notify the county attorney when it appears attendance is an issue. He wants to partner with families to get kids to school.

“The law mandates the best place for kids is at school,” Ryan said. “What is very important is the relationships with the families in ensuring students come to and attend school. We want parents involved in the process and we will build attendance plans when necessary.”

Moving forward, he said the district will pay attention to and capitalize on everything they did right, and will spend more time on the areas which need more focus.

“We will reflect and identify on the time and energy in those areas,” Ryan said. “We will continue to look at the big picture and reflect on how the new curriculum is working. We will embrace it together and continue to move forward for academic excellence.”

He stressed the performance profile is just a glimpse and the East Marshall district will focus on the journey of the students.

“The School Performance Profile is a snapshot in time,” Ryan said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.