Improving the reading and writing scores for Northport students was a main topic for the Northport Board of Education Monday night.

The board reviewed a report from superintendent Tyrus Wessell and school staff on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test proficiency scores for Northport students in grades 3-8. Like Leland, Suttons Bay and Glen Lake public schools, Northport students performed well in some subjects. In science, for example, 88 percent of Northport students who took the test were scored “proficient,” the same as the regional average.

When compared with Leland, which had 89 percent score proficiency, and Glen Lake junior and senior high students, who had 92 percent proficiency, Northport was slightly behind.

Wessell said Tuesday having all students reach proficiency in each subject is important. The district must have proficiency levels high enough in order to make “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Northport made AYP for the 2007-08 school year, but Wessell and staff have continued to adjust the school’s curriculum to address problem areas and potential troubling trends. Areas where Wessell would like to see improvement include:

• Writing. Northport had 62 percent of its students who took the MEAP score in the proficiency level, below the regional average of 67 percent.

• Reading. Northport had 82 percent proficiency, below the regional average of 86 percent.

• English/Language Arts. Northport had 80 percent proficiency, below the 83 percent regional average.

The key for bettering student performance, according to Wessell and the improvement plan he presented to the board, is improving instruction.

“We are always looking at ways to become better teachers and educators,” he said. Other aspects of the plan include maintaining secondary school program interventions; continuing to align all core curriculum areas and raise expectations; expanding
elementary intervention lab; summer curriculum work; a MEAP preparation plan; and improving special education programming and parent involvement.

Wessell said the teaching and professional development strategies are already mostly in place. Middle and high school teachers have had a student intervention program in place for two years, for example. If a student is having difficulty in a subject, teachers talk with the student and set up a plan that involves either extra homework or mandatory attendance to an after-school tutor program.

Wessell and staff will continue to monitor student test scores and address problems as they come.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the following list of seniors who will be graduating from Northport High School on Friday, June 6: Ryan Blessing, Octavia Buss, Edward Gonzalez, Erik Johnson, Kayla Kilcherman, Benny Lopez, Amanda Luna, Sophia Mosher, Rose Petoskey, Jason Roman, Elizabeth Shiner and Basil Stowe.

• Approved the purchase of new science text books for grades K-12 as recommended by the School Improvement Team/Science subcommittee.

• Approved seventh and eighth grade students’ trip to the Upper Peninsula for May 20-21. The students will visit Tahquamenon Falls and Mackinac Island as part of the trip.

• Approved the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District’s general fund budget for the 2008-09 school year.

• Set a special board meeting for Monday, May 19, to review the first draft of its 2008-09 school budget. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and will be held in the school library.

3% pay hike proposed for Wessell

The Northport Board of Education will consider action at its June 9 meeting following a recommendation from its finance and negotiation committee to extend Superintendent Tyrus Wessell’s contract by one year and increase his salary by three percent.

At its regular meeting Monday, the board reviewed the recommendation to extend Wessell’s contract to June 30, 2010, and increase his annual salary from 103,023 to $106,113. In past years, the board has given Wessell a 1.5 percent salary increase and a 1.5 percent increase to an annual payment the board gives him into an annuity of his choice. Board president Denise Branch said the committee decided to the put the entire increase in Wessell’s salary this year.

The salary increase is based on a favorable rating Wessell received from the board after it conducted an evaluation of his job performance earlier this year. Overall, the Northport board was pleased with the progress he is making on improving student test scores and the school’s curriculum, according to Branch.