By Brian Smith
Register News Writer
BEREA — The frustration was evident in the voices of a number of Berea Community School parents who spent more than an hour Monday night addressing the Berea Independent Board of Education.
The parents spent most of the evening talking directly to middle school/high school principal John Masters about a lack of communication with school personnel and asking for answers about how the district intends to correct a number of deficiencies identified by the state in a December audit.
The discussion with parents came after guidance counselors Wayne Robertson and Eef Fontanez presented the district's results from the eighth-grade EXPLORE and 10th-grade PLAN exams.
Berea Community Middle School's eighth-grade students fell “significantly” below the state averages for each of the four content areas on the EXPLORE exam, Robertson told the board.
The English score for the district was 12.8, which trailed both the state average of 14 and the national benchmark score of 13. The math score was 13.5, lagging behind the state average of 14.9 and the benchmark of 17.
The reading score was 13.9, narrowly under the 14.2 state average. The national reading benchmark score was 15. Berea's science score was 15.4, trailing both the state average of 16.1 and the benchmark score of 20.
Berea's composite score was 14, while the state average was 14.9. Robertson said that Berea's scores exceeded state averages in 2008.
Berea's 10th-grade class performed above state averages in all four content areas, but trailed the national averages in all categories except for science, Fontanez said.
When compared to college readiness benchmarks, however, the district did not fare as well. While 62 percent of students were at or above the English benchmark, only 24 percent of students met or exceeded the benchmark for math. Even fewer students met or exceeded the science benchmark, with 19 percent of students reaching the goal.
On both exams, a majority of students indicated they needed additional help in study skills, a fact that parents referred to repeatedly when talking to Masters and board members.
Many parents indicated that attempts to contact teachers at the middle and high school went unanswered, and some parents told administrators that teachers gave confusing or incomplete responses, particularly about grades.
Parents also were upset to learn that administrators had conducted meetings with each grade level at the high school earlier in the day, meetings where district director of pupil personnel Donna Lovell said students indicated their concerns with the school's culture, food service, communication and academic standards.
Superintendent Gary Conkin committed during the meeting to conduct a public forum for parents and students after spring break to discuss the issues at length.
“We need to work together to make Berea as great as it once was,” Masters told the crowd.
The board took care of some administrative business during the meeting, elevating vice-chairman Van Gravitt to chairman following the resignation of Deena Jones effective Feb. 28.
Jackie Burnside was elected vice-chairwoman in a separate vote.
The board also adopted an amended calendar that will put students in class on Monday, March 29, and Tuesday, March 30, which originally were scheduled as the first two days of spring break for the district.
The amendment was necessary to make up days missed earlier in the year because of inclement weather and the swine flu, according to the board.
The change also closes school on Friday, March 19, a day that students were scheduled to be in class. The closure was the result of state education officials telling the district that state law requires school to be closed that day.
In the event of future inclement weather, Monday, May 31 would be the district's next make-up day, while a second missed day would result in a Saturday school session on May 15.
The board also approved spending $99,780 in federal funds to purchase a bus for transporting disabled students. The funds were granted to the district through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694. For breaking news, follow Brian on Twitter at twitter.com/RR_BSmith.
