Portage High School’s status as one of the state’s elite schools was confirmed on Sept. 20 as the State of Indiana’s “A” grade for PHS was released. The ranking is based on English/Language Arts performance (30 percent), Math performance (30 percent), graduation rate (30 percent) and college and career readiness (ten percent). PHS scored a 3.70 out of a possible 4.0 to bump its letter grade from a “B” for the 2010-2011 school year to an “A” for 2011-2012.
“I think that it’s all of our teachers, and it’s our kids working hard too,” principal Caren Swickard said. “I think everybody in the school contributes when we do something miraculous like this. This is amazing.”
The math score is based on the percentage of tenth graders to have passed the Algebra End of Course Assessment as either an eighth, ninth or tenth grader. Portage’s passage rate of 87 percent coupled with a 0.5 point bonus earned for ECA improvement from tenth grade to graduation resulted in a perfect math score of 4.00 on the State Accountability Report Card. Portage’s ECA improvement from tenth grade to graduation was 70.5 percent because 110 of 156 students who did not pass the test by their sophomore year had passed by the time they graduated.
“I was outstandingly happy. I was amazed,” PHS Mathematics Department Chair Cheryl Clapp said. “I think that it is the wonderful job that our teachers are doing. It is paying off and they need to know that they make a difference. I would also like to credit the students of PHS. They are coming to school, learning the material and taking the ECA tests seriously.”
Clapp and Swickard agree that the math department’s next goal is to reach a 90 percent ECA passage rate.
“We’ll do it,” Clapp said. “We’re going to push a little harder and do a little more and aim for 90 percent next year.”
The English/Language Arts score is based on the English/Language ECA that is taken by every tenth grader in the state. Portage’s 83.4 percent passing rate on top of a 0.5 point bonus for ECA improvement from tenth grade to graduation was good enough to net the school 3.5 points out of four in the English/Language Arts category.
The Class of 2011 graduation rate of 88.4 percent converted to a 3.5 on the four point scale. PHS was awarded a perfect four in college and career readiness, which Swickard said is determined by Dual Credit, Advanced Placement courses and industry certificates in vocational classes.
When Swickard was notified of the school’s score, she wasted no time in notifying the faculty and students. She said she wanted an A badly, but thought that the preliminary reports may indicate another B.
“Oh my gosh, I was ecstatic,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out what kinds of things we can do for inside the building to celebrate so all the kids understand what a big deal this is, especially for them. How nice for all of you to be able to say our school is an A. We’re the best that we can be.”
Portage Township Schools Superintendent Ric Frataccia shared Swickard’s joy at the news.
“When I heard the news I could hardly stand it in my own skin,” he said. “[PHS] is the flagship and when the flagship gets an A, that says a lot for the District.”
According to Frataccia, six Portage Township Schools earned As, two were awarded Bs and three received Cs. The other five A schools in the District are Jones, Myers, Kyle, South Haven and Aylesworth Elementary Schools.
“There is no question that the teachers’ skills set and patterns of interacting with the kids have reached the point where they are substantially more powerful than they were,” Frataccia said. “On top of that, our kids’ skills set is equally more powerful than it used to be. That is a direct result of the elementary and middle schools providing the high schools with kids who are academically stronger.”
Frataccia believes the A grade required the perfect combination of hard work from teachers, students, parents, administrators and the community along with the variable of good fortune.
“I’m really proud of the kids and the teachers and the administrators and the community,” he said. “Nothing happens by itself. It’s a combination of good things that have come together.”
Although PHS has earned the right to celebrate, Frataccia said that it takes just as much work to maintain the A as it did to achieve it in the first place.
“What you always try to do is get to the summit,” Frataccia said. “What people really have difficulty understanding is that staying at the summit is as hard as getting there. We can take some joy in what we’ve accomplished, but we can’t take joy in it too long.”
This article was also published in Sept. 28 edition of the Portage High School student-run newspaper the "Pow Wow." For more information go to PHSNewsOnline.com or like Pow Wow Radio on Facebook!