2014-2015 Annual Report

Seward Public Schools

#sewardjays

Seward Public Schools

410 South Street--Seward, NE 68434-- http://www.sewardpublicschools.org/

Mission:

TheSchoolDistrictofSeward,incooperationwithparentsandcommunity,af8irmsthatallstudentswillhavetheskillstobecomeproductiveandcontributingmembersofaglobalcommunity.The

districtiscommittedtothedevelopmentofeachstudentacademically,emotionally,socially,andphysically.

Every Student…Every Day…A Success

Message from Dr. Barnes...

Dear Community,

Thank you for taking the time to review our Annual Report for the

2014-15 academic year. We are very proud of the many

accomplishments our students have achieved along with the help of teachers, staff

members, parents, and patrons.

We have developed numerous goals through our strategic planning process, and

we have been busy making progress on those goals. Specific details about those

improvements can be read in the district strategic plan section. We want our

district to be a better district tomorrow than it is today. We want our district to be

a better district next year than it is this year. We know that if we aren’t improving

we will fall behind.

As you look through this report, you will see that progress has been made in terms

of state testing results, yet that isn’t the only stick we use to measure success. We

look at our graduation rate, enrollment in post secondary institutions, course

offerings, survey data, and so on. We also want students to experience the fine

arts, vocational programs, technology integration, sports, speech, drama, etc. We

want our students to be well-rounded, critical thinking, hardworking people.

We thank you all for your support!

If you are interested in seeing more information on our district and schools you

may review our state report card on the Nebraska Department of Education’s

website at http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/Default_State.aspx, once there click

on “District” at the top right corner of the webpage and type in Seward. This

report provides some of the same information we are providing in our report and

then some.

School Finances

Tax dollars are very important resource for school districts and their efforts to educate

children. Nebraska schools receive taxes and other receipts from local, county, state, and

federal sources. As you look at the information included in this report, you will notice

that the great majority of the dollars used to fund education in our district are generated

by local tax dollars. In the eyes of the state aid formula, we are considered a wealthy

school district so the formula doesn’t generate much support for us. We realize the

burden on local taxpayers, but we don’t really have many options if we want to offer a

quality education to our students.

The school fiscal year runs from September 1 to August 31 each year. School districts

are required to have their budgets filed with the Auditor of Public Accounts and the

Nebraska Department of Education prior to September 20. Preparing a budget is not

always easy, because one of the largest factors in the school budget formula is the

assessed valuation of property in the school district. School districts do not get certified

valuation numbers from the County Assessor’s Office until August 20 or shortly before.

One month might seem like a long time, but unwanted surprises at this late time in the

year can have a major impact on budgeting for the upcoming year.

If you click on the following link, http://www.sewardpublicschools.org/vimages/shared/

vnews/stories/5674590b10a99/Budget%20Report%2014-15%20%281%29.pdf you will

see a great deal of information relative to the 2014-2015 budget. If you have any

questions, please feel free to call me or make an appointment with me to discuss in more

detail.

Thank you for your support of the School District of Seward!

!

District Strategic Plan

The 2014-2015 school year was a busy year as Seward Public Schools systematically

worked on year one of the district strategic plan and building site plans. These plans

serve as our road map for continual growth and improvement. Highlights on the district

level include work on engaging our students, staff, family, and community through the

development of the Seward Public Schools Brand. This work continues as we examine

our current website, being constant with our brand, and developing ways to improve

communications with district stakeholders. We have also worked on developing and

implementing transition plans when students start elementary school, middle school and

high school. Changes have been made with open houses, improving communications

with parents, and adding transition meetings with students and parents. Seward was also

selected to present its transition plan at the state AQuESTT Conference last spring. The

entire strategic plan can be seen at http://www.sewardpublicschools.org/vnews/display.v/

SEC/Our%20District|District%20Strategic%20Plan. All staff have worked hard on their

building site plans and have accomplished a lot the first year. At the high school level,

the board approved, through a lot work from the high school rigor action committee, the

Laude system which replaced the class rank system along with weighting dual

enrollment and AP courses. The middle school has had a school wide focus on writing

and improving parent communication. The elementary school has implemented a school

wide behavior program, B.I.S.T., along with working on improving writing instruction.

Every Student… Every Day… A Success

Implementation of one to one iPad learning

initiative grades 9-12

Special Education services for 275 students

Business, Education, Medical/Health, and

Agriculture Academies

70% of the certified staff members have their masters degrees

Buzzer safety system in each school building

Nearly 85% of our students attend a post secondary school

Of the 85%, there were 28 different four /two year colleges attended

ACT composite above the state and national average

84% of the parents that completed the 2014 climate survey gave Seward

Public Schools a grade of an A or B

Skills USA top chapter award for eleven years in a row

Seward Public Schools Demographics

Seward Public Schools serves students in a 245 square mile radius, including the towns of: Bee,

Garland, Goehner, Ruby, Seward, Staplehurst, Tamora, and U lysses

District Data District % State %

Students receiving free/reduced lunch 24.24% 44.17%

Special Education 16.09% 14.71%

School Mobility Rate 10.89% 12.25%

Graduation Rate 4-year cohort 96.06% 88.89%

Attendance 95.53% 95.17%

Highly Mobile Students 5.39% 4.36%

High Ability Learners 6.06% 14.51%

American Indian/Alaskan Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic

Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more Races

0.29%

0.14%

0.92 %

4.42%

0.07%

94%

1.42%

1.47%

2.51%

6.94%

18.36%

0.13%

70.58%

3.50%

District Data District % State %

Distribution of Staff- 210 Employees

6%7%

1%8%

22%

5%

50%

Teachers Admin./Middle Mang. Sec/Para/Prof Tech FoodNurses Custodial Transportation

Enrollment Numbers

State and National Assessments:

Seward uses NWEA/ MAP tests at grades 2-11 Each year, students in the Seward Public Schools are administered an achievement test in at least two of the following subjects of math, reading, science, and language usage. Students take these computerized tests in the fall and spring. These tests help guide instruction, but also help to show academic growth, as the test is tailored to how well the student performs on the test. Many adults may remember, as students, taking some sort of test where they filled in little test bubbles on an answer sheet. That was likely a standardized achievement test.

What are standardized achievement tests? Standardized tests are designed to make certain every student is “on the same playing field” when assessing their achievement - meaning that all students take the tests during the same time period, with the same directions, questions, and procedures. Test conditions are the same for all. Standardized tests are developed so that schools can compare themselves and get a view of how their students are achieving compared with other students in the nation. Since it would not be possible to test and compare all the students in the nation at this time, a smaller sample of

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

1350 1370 1390 1410 1430

1423

1415

1416

1386

1357

Students

students is selected to base comparisons on. This group is called a “norm group”. Scores on norm-referenced tests are often reported as percentiles. This is not the percentage of correct responses on the test. Instead, all the scores are ranked from first to last. The percentile score tells how the student scores rank as compared to that smaller norm group, based upon a standardized test. It tells only how children compare, not what they know or what they can do. Criterion Referenced Tests-assess students on a specific set of standards and are reported out as proficient levels as: below, barely, proficient, and advanced. These tests include the State Reading, Writing, Math, and Science Tests. The test and the number of tests taken depend upon the grade level. The state tests are what you will see reported in the newspaper each fall.

Spring 2015 NWEA Assessment (National norm is 50 percent)

50

55

60

65

70

Math

69

62

66

63636363

5959

Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10

50

57.5

65

72.5

80

Reading

61

6870

6767

71

65

6062

Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10

60

65

70

75

80

General Science NWEA

71

65

73

7070

76

66

Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9Grade 10

Local State

State Assessments- NeSA

This is the sixth year for the state reading test, the fourth year for the state math

test, and the third year for the state science test in grades 5th, 8th, and 11th. Seward

Public Schools continues to score above the state average

in almost all subjects and grades.

Reading and Writing

ACT Composite

20

21.25

22.5

23.75

25

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2121

20.09

21.121.12121.521.721.5

22.122.122.122.4

23.123

24.2

23.223.1

Seward State National

NeSA- Reading Percent Proficient

0

25

50

75

100

3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 11th Grade

69798281838182 76

949384

928688

Local State

NeSA- Math Percent Proficient

0

25

50

75

100

3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 11th Grade

6168

7372767778 818393

888185

77

Local State

Local State

Check Us Out On The Web

For more information related to the school’s annual report, please visit the state’s

website at:

http://reportcard.nde.state.ne.us

From current news to archived stories and from lunch menus to the latest in

instructional programs, it is all on our school district website at:

www.sewardpublicschools.org

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/sewardpublicschools

Notice of Nondiscrimination

The Seward School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, martial status,

disability or age in admission or access to or treatment of employment, or in its programs and activities. The following person has

been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Superintendent of Schools, Greg Barnes.

2013 Annual Report is produced for Seward Public School district residents as required by the Nebraska Department of

Education: Rule 10, Regulations and Procedures for the Accreditation of Schools.