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Show C M C M Y K Y K A7 Sanpete Messenger-Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Wednesday, January 28, 2009 In the Interest of Children Darrell White Fountain Green Elementary Principal Making bricks without straw Each month a principal in north or south Sanpete is asked to write a message for the Messenger. At this time, school funding is on my mind. All across our nation schools are cutting back on their budgets. The economic crisis is consuming all of us. No one is exempt. Utah schools are facing another fiscal shortfall. Ouch! In my 28 years in education, I’ve never seen anything this bad. When a funded program is cut, it is usually gone for good. Yet children are our greatest investment. They are our future and they need the knowledge to handle the future. For every dollar that is spent on education, the return is sevenfold. Where do the doctors come from? And the lawyers, the engineers, biologists, social workers, artists, computer techs, legislators and those in the science professions? Their roots are often forgotten. We’ve weathered challenges before and we can do it again, yet I’m waiting to see what the legislature will do. When Moses tried to reason with Pharaoh to free his people from bondage, Pharaoh hardened his heart, took away the straw they needed to make bricks and commanded them to continue to make the same amount of bricks without the straw. In a similar manner the legislators have hardened their hearts toward educators. However, legislators will listen to parents. Parents are the voters to whom lawmakers will listen. Representative Brad Winn of Ephraim sent out a questionnaire to many registered republicans. I hope that it was filled out and mailed back to him. He is our voice in the House of Representatives. The blows to the education budget could be softened if the legislature follows the governor’s plan. Governor Huntsman realizes that education is a high priority. He is looking at other ways to soften the blow. Some of the legislative leadership is calling for deeper cuts. Of every funding priority in the state, only education comes with a state constitutional mandate. To go back on that constitutional commitment is to go back on a promise made to all our schoolchildren. And in recent years we’ve made steady gains on state tests. This last week, our state was among the highest in the nation on writing skills. The percent proficient in our state has made a 2.0 increase from 2004 to 2008 in language arts. The state has made a 1.3 percent increase in math. In science the state increase is 4.8 percent. You can find this information on the state web page at www.usoe.k12.ut.us. The percent of increase may seem small, but according to statistics it is very significant. What will happen if the programs and improvement plans these gains depend on must be scrapped because of lack of funding? If we don’t fight for what we need, nobody else will. Cuts will have to be made. I’m concerned that the more we cut, the closer we will get to the classroom, and we will erode some of the gains we’ve made. Schools and their teachers are still required to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Utah’s UPASS. Yet with funding cuts, they will have larger class sizes and will have less help from paraprofessionals. Special services will be cut; materials and supplies will be limited. Will teachers be out at night looking for straw to meet their tally of bricks? I believe many teachers will be using more and more of their own money to meet the needs of students. If you can read this article and comprehend it, then thank a teacher. Inside our Schools Compiled by Alec Barton Ephraim Elementary Friday, Jan. 30, is Readasaurus’ birthday. It will be another reading extravaganza at the school. If students reach their reading goal for the day, the school principal will, once again, have to do something outlandish. Fairview Elementary Tonight, Jan. 28, is parent evening with reading expert Nancy Livingston. Fairview Elementary invites parents to attend the event at 5 p.m., where they will learn how to best encourage children to read and make the most of their children’s time reading with them. A daycare service will be available so that parents with young children may attend. Gunnison Valley Schools Gunnison Valley schools will be holding their parentteacher conferences on Friday, Feb 6. There will be no school for any students on Friday, Feb. 6. The elementary will schedule appointments for parents who want a personal visit with teachers on Friday, or will send out written progress reports to parents who would prefer that option. Parent-teacher conferences at the middle school will be on Friday, Feb. 6, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Parent-teacher conferences at the high school are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, from 4 until 6 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 6, from 9 a.m. until noon. (Percentiles compared to nation)* SCHOOL Grade Fairview Elementary Fountain Green Elementary Moroni Elementary Mt. Pleasant Elementary Spring City Elementary AVERAGE Fairview Elementary Fountain Green Elementary Moroni Elementary Mt. Pleasant Elementary Spring City Elementary AVERAGE North Sanpete Middle 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 Language 2007 2008 42 48 68 49 27 41 42 47 52 58 43 47 48 53 30 41 38 41 57 42 52 43 48 46 47 50 Reading 2007 2008 56 49 62 56 34 46 61 53 67 67 53 52 57 55 54 44 45 46 64 54 61 54 57 51 52 58 Math 2007 2008 46 49 52 49 28 40 39 46 51 54 40 47 52 54 39 38 46 40 59 51 59 43 52 46 50 53 Science 2007 2008 67 58 65 55 47 50 71 57 76 67 64 67 63 67 49 49 60 53 69 56 72 56 64 54 64 58 Social Studies 2007 2008 59 58 70 57 53 52 68 57 74 67 64 57 58 53 51 52 42 47 65 56 68 47 58 52 42 52 Composite 2007 2008 57 53 66 54 38 47 59 53 71 65 55 63 57 55 43 45 47 46 64 54 64 49 57 60 51 54 *Numbers represent National Curve Equivalent (NCE) measuring how students’ cumulative scores compared to students in the same grades throughout the country. North Sanpete test scores show improvement In the five subjects that students were measured (language, reading, math, science and social studies), Grades 3 and 5 struggle in math, but Grade 8 at North Sanpete Middle School has maintained a competence comparable to a high-schoolfreshman level late in the school year. The Iowa tests provide several scores, including stan- By Emily Sanderson Staff writer MT. PLEASANT—Scores for the Iowa test taken last September by grades 3, 5 and 8 show that North Sanpete schools have improved from last year but are still about average in the nation, according to results provided by the North Sanpete School District. dard score (SS), grade equivalent (GE), national percentile rank (NPR), and national curve equivalent (NCE). The standard score takes scores and other factors and enters them into a formula. Grade equivalent represents the level of skill and knowledge based on grade level. For example, 3.5 represents student comprehension at about halfway through grade three. National percentile rank measures how the students’ scores compare cumulatively to students throughout the country. For example, a score of 64 means that the students scored better than 64 percent of all the students nationwide. National curve equivalent is similar to the national percentile rank except that it grades on the curve. 4-Hers will learn to ‘keep it green’ Sanpete County 4-H will hold a “green” workshop on Saturday, Feb. 14. Participants will explore the workshop’s theme, “Keeping it Green with Junior Master Gardeners,” as they rotate through four classes involving making orange pomanders, creating vegetable prints, exploring the water cycle and creating candy soil, and making handmade paper and seed magnets. The workshop will be at Snow College’s West Campus from 9-11 a.m. Registration be- Have a business in Sanpete? gins at 8:45 a.m. The workshop is free to 4-H members with cards, $1 for members without cards, and $2 for nonmembers. For more information or to preregister, contact Sanpete County 4-H at 283-7583. People use our service directory to find the businesses and services they need, when they need them! From $25-$95/month Call Lloyd 835-4241 AFFILIATED HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS FAMILY PRACTICE Richfield Dr. Jeffrey Brown Dr. David Crimin Dr. Mark Robert Greenwood Dr. Mark W. 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