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HCCSC reaching goals for itself and students

The Huntington County Community Schools are closing in on - and in one case surpassing - the goals it has set for itself and its students.

Charles Grable, the corporation's assistant superintendent for instruction, presented that good news to the HCCSC board of trustees during their meeting on Monday, Aug. 25.

Grable's quarterly report card focused on four goals the corporation wants to reach by 2016.

The schools have already surpassed one of those goals - having an attendance rate of 96 percent or higher by 2016. Last year's attendance rate, Grable said, ended up at 96.2 percent.

Also by 2016, Grable told the board, the corporation wants to have a graduation rate of 92 percent or higher; have 95 percent of the students read at or above grade level by third grade, and remain reading at or above grade level for the rest of their academic careers; and have 90 percent of students show mastery of math skills.

The graduation rate last year was about 88.9 percent, Grable noted.

Also last year, about 94 percent of students were reading at grade level, and scores in both reading and math testing are steadily rising, he said.

The report also showed a student population that is 93.5 percent white, with 46.6 percent of all students qualifying for free or reduced price lunches - a figure that is expected to increase to about 48 percent this year. And, Grable said, the corporation's enrollment continues to drop by about 100 students a year.

Also Monday, the board heard an update on the proposed Huntington County Community Learning Center from Ed Vessels, representing the center's development team.
The HCCSC's vocational building on North Jefferson Street will be renovated and expanded to house the learning center, Vessels said, which would then offer vocational and technical education in areas that are tailored to the current needs of area employers.

The development team has raised $822,300 of the $1.3 million it needs to renovate and expand the building, Vessels said. A final fund-raising push is expected to be announced on Sept. 18, he added, and the development team hopes to meet its goal by January 2015.

The board aproved the resignations of Sasha Bowling, a recess assistant at Lancaster Elementary School; Jen Gerber, interpreter at Crestview Middle School; and Deanna Hyden, alternative education paraprofessional at the Horace Mann Education Center.

New classified employees hired by the board are Laura Broom, general education paraprofessional at Salamonie Elementary; Tamona Hoch, special education paraprofessional at Salamonie; Amy Landrum, general education paraprofessional at Lancaster; Stefanie Scharland and Ben Whitman, special education paraprofessionals at Huntington North High School; and Taylor Wilburn, technology lab assistant at Lincoln Elementary.

Brock Ireland was approved as summer color guard instructor for the HNHS band and Joe Shepherd was approved to work with the high school's summer marching band. Two assistant football coaches were approved for Riverview Middle School - Stanley "Trey" Sands for the eighth grade team and Gary Shenefield for the seventh grade team.