The Wisconsin Department of Instruction recently issued 2021-22 Report Cards on school districts around the state.
Of local interest, the report shows that seven of nine schools in the MPSD “met or exceeded” expectations last school year.
The local district posted an overall score of 59.1, down seven-tenths of a point from the previous year.
All Manitowoc public schools met or exceeded expectations, with the exception of Washington Middle and Lincoln High Schools, which met “few expectations.”
Two district schools, Franklin and Jefferson Elementaries moved up a rating and Washington moved down.
Despite gains in some MPSD schools and declines in others, the percentage of students in the district who were proficient on state language arts tests continued to be below the state average.
Statewide, only about 37% of students were reading at grade level.
The report showed reading struggles were not only an issue in public schools.
Districtwide, the K-thru-12 average reading proficiency in Roncalli Catholic Schools was 31.8%, compared to 29.3 for the same grade levels in the MPSD.
Superintendent James Feil said school and district leadership teams are continuing to “dig into the results” and develop strategies to improve, which includes changing the district’s literacy curriculum for the 2023-’24 school year.
Feil added. “We are determined to turn this situation around and are committed to having all district schools exceeding or significantly exceeding expectations in two years. However, we will only be satisfied once our students perform at or above grade level.”
