Western honored for ILEARN improvements

Spencer Durham, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·2 min read

Sep. 28—RUSSIAVILLE — There's nothing like free, unexpected money.

Western is set to receive a $500,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Education for student success on ILEARN.

The school district was honored earlier this month at the IDOE's first-ever Indiana Education Excellence Awards Gala.

Western was one of four schools recognized for Excellence in Academic Gains among the at-risk student groups, measured by ILEARN scores. Specifically, the school district was honored for the ILEARN math assessment results of its English language learner students.

The award, the grant, the gala and recognition all caught Western by surprise, according to Superintendent Mark DuBois.

The gala invite was originally sent to former superintendent Katie Reckard. DuBois said they didn't receive word of the event until about two days before the RSVP date.

Western wasn't given too much information about what the gala was for either. DuBois said he was instructed to bring ILEARN grade teachers with him to the dinner. The specifics of why Western was invited were not known.

The superintendent said the gala was meant to be a surprise, and it certainly was. Western staff sat through nearly the entire event before they were announced.

"It was a cool evening," DuBois said.

Western is working on pinpointing the data the IDOE used for its award. DuBois said, that in the least, it is clear teachers are doing something right.

"Whether you have 15 students or 250 students, obviously a practice that we're doing is working," he said. "Now that we have this identified, I think now we talk about how we move forward with the grant funding, how we utilize those dollars."

DuBois said last week he was still waiting on more specifics about what the $500,000 grant can be used for. Most likely, it can be spent on sustainability and growing the practices that led to the academic gains, professional development, among other things.

The event also recognized Indiana Teacher of the Year finalists, schools displaying excellence in STEM, early reading, work-based learning and postsecondary credential completion, as well as schools making progress in improving achievements among Black, Hispanic, special education and low-income students.

The IDOE awarded $4.21 million in grants during the event.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.