Parental Notices
Clarke Community Schools
P.O. BOX 535 • OSCEOLA, IOWA 50213-0535
PHONE: 641-342-4969 • FAX: 641-342-6101
No Child Left Behind Requirement
Parents’/Guardians’ Rights Notification:
Parents/Guardians in the Clarke Community School District have the right to learn about the following qualifications of their child’s teacher: state licensure requirements for the grade level and content areas taught, the current licensing status of your child’s teacher, and baccalaureate/graduate certification degree. You may also request the qualifications of an instructional paraprofessional who serves your student in a Title I program or if your school operates a Title I program.
Parents/Guardians may request this information from the Office of the Superintendent by calling 641-342-4969 or sending a letter of request to the Office of the Superintendent, 802 N Jackson, PO Box 535, Osceola, IA 50213-0535.
Notice: Corporal Punishment, Restraint, and Physical Confinement and Detention
State law forbids school employees from using corporal punishment against any student. Certain actions by school employees are not considered corporal punishment. Additionally, school employees may use “reasonable and necessary force, not designed or intended to cause pain” to do certain things, such as prevent harm to persons or property.
State law also places limits school employees’ abilities to restrain, confine or detain any student. The law limits why, how, where, and for how long a school employee may restrain, confine or detain a child. If a child is restrained, confined or detained, the school must maintain documentation and must provide certain types of notice to the child’s parent.
If you have any questions about this state law, please contact your school. The complete text of the law and additional information is available on the Iowa Department of Education’s web site: www.iowa.gov/educate.
Corrective Action Plan
We are all aware of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires schools to assess students annually and to meet student achievement goals. If a school does not meet those assessment and achievement goals (termed ‘Adequate Yearly Progress,’ or AYP) for two consecutive years, and if the school receives federal Title I funds, then it is placed on a federal assistance list and is subject to sanctions. As a reminder, schools or districts are cited if they a) don’t meet 95% participation rates for assessments, b) don’t meet student achievement goals, or c) don’t meet attendance rates for elementary and middle schools or graduation rates for high schools.
There are many different areas of data that every school reports to the federal government. These areas include math and reading test scores relating to socio-economic status, special program participation, and race/ethnicity. Clarke Elementary was notified in the summer of 2010 that it had not met AYP for two consecutive years, and therefore was placed on notice for failing to meet the guidelines of the No Child Left Behind Act, and furthermore designated as a ‘School In Need of Assistance – Year 1’ or SINA-1. By 2012, the elementary school had made some gains but not enough to avoid ‘SINA – 3’ status, which required the district to implement a corrective action plan.
It is important to know that Clarke Elementary is fully accredited, not failing, and in compliance with State of Iowa regulations, and has been in the process of continual improvement and change. The 2013 testing season brought great news as the building did meet AYP in both reading and math across all subgroups; thus, the label has changed to ‘SINA-3/Delay’. This means that we are to continue the process of making corrective actions, but if we can continue to make improvement on the reading and math test scores in the spring of 2014, the building will be completely removed from the SINA watch list by having two consecutive years of meeting AYP. This could not happen without the hard work and persistence of students, staff, parents, and community members and we are so appreciative of all those efforts!
Clarke Elementary’s corrective action plan has included the following:
- Institute and fully implement a new curriculum, including professional development
- Restructure the internal organization of the school
Clarke Elementary has made changes this year in an effort to continuously improve and remove ourselves from the federal sanctions of No Child Left Behind. A promising new literacy series has been purchased, adopted, and implemented. Professional development around that literacy series has taken place and will be ongoing. Teachers and administrators are visiting with other districts who have implemented this same literacy series to ensure it is being implemented with fidelity and achieve a quicker understanding of how to best utilize it. Teachers have been attending professional training in several different areas as well, such as Specially Designed Instruction, Sheltered Instruction, and Response to Intervention – all of which help to meet the needs of all learners (and ensuring we truly leave no child behind). The building has begun collaborative weekly meetings in both literacy and math to ensure that we have a common and viable curriculum linked closely to the Iowa Core Curriculum and a shared understanding of how to teach in closer alignment to the Core. Teachers are using data to determine the needs of each student and building interventions and differentiation inside their classroom so that all children’s needs are being met. This movement toward a Professional Learning Community (PLC) format has been research-based to make great gains in student achievement and success. Implementing all of these changes as part of our corrective action, we believe the path to success is close at hand and that Clarke Elementary will be not only meet but exceed the objectives of No Child Left Behind.
Homeless Child Policy
Chapter 33 of Iowa Administrative Code defines "Homeless child or youth" as a child or youth from the age of 3 years through 21 years who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes the following:
- A child or youth who is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; is living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; is abandoned in a hospital; or is awaiting foster care placement;
- A child or youth who has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
- A child or youth who is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
- A migratory child or youth who qualifies as homeless because the child or youth is living in circumstances described in paragraphs "1" through "3" above.