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You may be aware that my family and I are expecting (twins!) in late winter/early spring; I will consequently be on medical leave when they arrive. Through the duration of my leave, which will be through the end of the school year, I am pleased to share that we will be welcoming Natasha Hanson to fill the building principal role. Ms. Hanson is a certified administrator who currently holds leadership roles in the district as the Summer School Principal and K-12 Director of Learning for Art; for those families with older children, you might also remember Ms. Hanson as a former Cushing art teacher. In preparation for her time here, Ms. Hanson has been and will continue to spend time here at Cushing getting to know students and staff. If you happen to see her around, please feel free to say “hi”.
State Report Cards Released
We have had a fantastic start to the 2022-2023 school year, and we look forward to the many opportunities for your student(s) to learn and grow here at Cushing. Our school report card has recently been released from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and we feel that sharing this information helps parents, educators, and the public hold schools accountable for successfully educating and preparing all students.
The overall goal of Wisconsin’s accountability system is to help identify areas of strength to build upon, as well as areas needing improvement so that all students graduate from high school ready for their next steps.
At the foundation of the report cards, there are four priority areas. Schools and districts receive a score for each priority area:
- Achievement - proficiency in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics on the annual state assessments
- Growth - year-to-year progress in ELA and math achievement
- Target Group Outcomes - outcomes for students with the lowest test scores: the Target Group.
- On-Track to Graduation - reliable predictors of how successfully students progress toward completing their K-12 education.
The current school report card is primarily based on last year’s performance during the 2021-22 school year and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DPI encourages caution when interpreting scores / ratings on the 2021-22 report cards.
Here’s some information we’d like to share from Cushing’s school report card priority areas:
Achievement: 83.3
Growth: 71.7
Target Group Outcomes: 77.9
On Track to Graduation: 91.7
We are pleased to share that Cushing Exceeds Expectations with an overall score of 82.8. It is essential to note that the 0 to 100 accountability score is not a “percent correct” measurement. Based on its score, a school or district receives one of five rating categories, from Fails to Meet Expectations to Significantly Exceeds Expectations, as well as corresponding one to five stars.
I want to share these results with you because they help illuminate some of our successes and help pinpoint areas of focus in our school. But as DPI stresses, these report cards are just one source of information about our school. The report cards don't capture how happy the students and staff are, how much support is given to students and staff, or the strides any particular student has made; we are proud of all of our successes and are happy to share them with you throughout the year.
School and district report cards can be accessed online at http://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards, along with resources that explain the report cards.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions as they arise. I look forward to working with you to make 2022-23 a successful school year for your student(s)!
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