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The Bemidji School District received a “needs improvement” status from the Minnesota Department of Education.

The 2008 adequate yearly progress results released Tuesday by the MDE show that the district did not make AYP under the federal No Child Left Behind law for a second consecutive year.

“So there’s consequences for us this year because of that and that affects our Title I,” said Kathy Palm, director of curriculum and administrative services for the district.

Districts identified as “needs improvement” by the MDE must notify parents of this status, set aside 10 percent of Title I funds at the district level for staff training, develop and implement a district improvement plan and not be a Supplemental Educational Services provider. Also, these districts are limited in the percent of funds they can transfer from one Title program to another.

At the district level, the Bemidji School District did not make AYP this year in three areas: math and reading proficiency among American Indian students and math proficiency among black students.

Although the district received “safe harbor” status in math and reading for American Indian students because it reduced non-proficiency by at least 10 percent compared to the previous year, it did not make AYP in these areas because American Indian students did not meet the targets for attendance and graduation, Palm said.

She said the target for attendance is 90 percent and the target for graduation is 80 percent. Based on data from the 2005-06 school year, attendance among American Indian students in the district was slightly more than 88 percent and graduation among students in this subgroup was slightly more than 57 percent.

Six schools in the district did not meet AYP at the school level due to the following:

-- Northern Elementary School did not meet the targets for reading proficiency among special education students and math proficiency among American Indian students.

-- Bemidji Middle School did not meet the targets for reading proficiency among special education students and math proficiency among American Indian students.

-- Bemidji Middle School’s Alternative Education Program did not meet the target for math proficiency among all students.

-- Bemidji High School did not meet the targets for reading and math proficiency among special education students and math proficiency among students receiving free and reduced-price lunch.

-- Lumberjack High School did not meet the targets for math proficiency and attendance among all students.

-- Bemidji Alternative Education Center did not meet the targets for math participation and math proficiency among all students.

All four of the district’s Title I schools – Central, J.W. Smith, Lincoln and Solway elementary schools – made AYP. The district’s Horace May Elementary School also made AYP.

Under NCLB, all students must be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

As 2014 draws nearer, districts and schools are measured at higher targets, Palm said.

“It’s hard for all schools,” she said.

Charter schools

Of the three local charter schools, Schoolcraft Learning Community and TrekNorth Junior and Senior High School made AYP. Voyageurs Expeditionary High School did not make AYP and received a “needs improvement” status.

Schoolcraft Director Scott Anderson said making AYP reinforces that the work the school does exceeds the state’s expectations. He said Schoolcraft has made AYP every year.

TrekNorth made AYP this year after not making it last year due to participation.

“We’re happy that we made AYP, but that was the expectation that we had throughout the school year,” Director Dan McKeon said.

He said the combination of good teaching and hard-working students is the largest factor in the school making AYP. He said he also believes the school making AYP is the natural result of setting high expectations among teachers, administrators and students.

Voyageurs, which did not make AYP this year, also did not make AYP in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Julie Johnson-Willborg, the new director of Voyageurs, said the school is concerned about not making AYP. She said staff members are working together to develop programming that will help students perform better.

Other area districts

Other area districts making AYP this year include Blackduck, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Laporte and Nevis.

Other area districts not making AYP this year include Bagley, Cass Lake-Bena, Kelliher, Red Lake and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley.

The Cass Lake-Bena and Kelliher districts each received a “needs improvement” status while the Red Lake and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley districts each received a “corrective action” status, which carries additional requirements, according to the MDE.

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