m -- A
OFFICIAL
NEWSPAPER FOR
NORWALK COMMUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
. aK. ,
Norwalk Warriors
Vol. 44 No. 12 Norwalk, Iowa 50211 USPS No. 395-120 Phone 981-0406 emaih news@norwalknewspaper.com Thursday, August 9, 2012
ALL SCHOOL REUNION
The annual All School Reunion will be held Sunda
Aug. 12, from 1 - 4 p.m. at the Eastview Cafeteria, on
the east side of Norwalk High School. Class photos will
be at 2 p.m. Registration fee is $2. For more information
contact Becky Barkley at 244-8046.
Norwalk Community School District
Achievement Update
By Jan Jensen, NCSD Assessment Coordinator
Each year Norwalk students in grades 2-11 partici-
pate in the Iowa Assessments (formerly known as the
Iowa Tests of Basic Skills/Iowa Tests of Educational
Development) testing program. This district-wide as-
sessment is the required state assessment and is required
by both Chapter 12 of Iowa code and Federal No Child
Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. The test was renamed
this year, all test items were new and the tests have been
renormed.
The Iowa Assessments are the sole assessment uti-
lized by the Federal Department of Education (FDE) in
determining whether districts and schools in Iowa are
making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading and
mathematics. Each district and school in Iowa is ex-
pected to meet annual trajectory targets. These targets
are points on the way to meeting the NCLB requirement
that 100% of students in the United States perform at
the proficient/advanced levels on their state assessment
by 2013-2014. The targets apply to all student groups/
subgroups including: All Students, Special Education
Students, Non-Special Education Students, Low Socio-
economic Students, Non-Low Socioeconomic students
and Ethnicity subgroups. Adequate Yearly Progress is
determined based on student performance in grades 3-
8 and 11. To protect student confidentiality, NCLB regu-
lations mandate that there must be at least 30 students
in the group/subgroup subgroup to be given and AYP
status.
The Iowa Department of Education anticipates an
increase in the number of Iowa schools that will be des-
ignated as School In Need of Assistance (SINA) schools
for the 2012-2013 school year. In 2011-2012, 416 Iowa
schools had this designation. In addition, 30 Iowa school
districts were labeled Districts In Need of Assistance
(DINA). An increase in the number of school districts
identified as DINA is also expected.
At the district level, the Norwalk Community School
District met all AYP targets. The "All Students" group
met AYP targets at all buildings in the district. Norwalk
High School (grades 9-11) and Oviatt Elementary met
AYP in all areas.
2011-12 results show that an average of 90% of all
Norwalk students in grades 3-11 are currently achiev-
ing at the proficient/advanced levels in math. When re-
viewing cohort data across the past 10 years this data is
consistent with a trend of steady achievement growth.
In reading, an average of 83% of all grade 3-11 students
performed at the proficient/advanced levels.
Students in subgroups have also demonstrated
growth across the past .10 years, although the rate of
growth'in all subgroups has not been rapid enough to
meet annual trajectory targets. In two buildings the per-
formance of the Special Education and Low Socioeco-
nomic subgroups was below the required target score.
Because these targets were missed, Norwalk Middle
School and Lakewood Elementary School will each be
designated as a School in Need of Assistance (SINA)
this year.
See below for detailed information on Norwalk CSD
student achievement.
Continued p. 9
Huff Chiropractic Plans I 1
Grand Opening Aug. 16 NORWALK POLICE CHIEF
Dr. LeAnn Huff will hold a Grand Opening and Open Ed Kuhl
House from 11:30 a.m. to approximately 1:30 p.m. Thurs-
day, Aug. 16, at her chiropractic clinic, 1409 Sunset Dr
Ste. 5.
The Norwalk Area Chamber of Commerce will wel-
come Huff into the business community with a ribbon
cutting at noon. Refreshments of a light lunch will be
served.
Area residents will have the opportunity to visit with
Dr. Huff and tour her office. They may also make ap-
pointments to discuss health issues and to have a free
consultation.
If unable to attend the open house, appointments may
be made by calling 515-850-1016.
NHS Activities Director
By A1 Lammers
FALL FEST TO BE HELD AT WARRIOR STADIUM
Fall Fest, the annual kickoff to the athletic and activ-
ity season, will be held Thursda Aug. 16, beginning at
6 p.m. at Warrior Stadium. The evening will be high-
lighted with the purple/gold football scrimmage as well
as the volleyball scrimmage. Both scrimmages are ten-
tatively scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Admission into
the stadium will be a free will offering of non-perish-
able food items sponsored by the Athletic Ambassador
Club. All non-perishable food items will be donated to
the Norwalk Food Pantry.
WEB ATHLETIC/ACTIVITIES CALENDAR AND
SCHEDULES AS WELL AS FACILITIES
CALENDAR LINK
As a reminder, the Athletic/Activities Office web-
based athletic and activities scheduling system can be
found online. The main view will show all athletic sched-
tries 7-12 and by clicking on the advanced view link, all
activities scheduled in the Norwalk school facilities will
be available. All schedules for the 2012-13 school year
are currently online. The following web address is the
link to view the scheduling calendar: www.littlehaw
keyeconference.com. In addition, a facilities calendar
Concluded p. 2
Sara Routh To Perform
In Des Moines
Norwalk native Sara Routh, daughter of Katie and
Ron Routh, will be performing in Des Moines with her
L.A. Song Birds 2012 Summer Tour.
Performances will be at the following Des Moines
locations: Friday, Aug. 10 - Star Bar, 9:30 p.m two shows;
Saturda Aug. 11 - Kathy's, 10 p.m two shows; Mon-
daN Aug, 13, Iowa State Fair, AE Stage, 11 a.m. and 2
p.m. and Wednesday, Aug. 15 - The Underground, 8 -
9:30 p.m.
Tonic Sol-fa Benefit Concert
Popular a capella vocal group Tonic Sol-fa will hold
a concert Saturday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m in the Norwalk
Performing Arts Center.
All proceeds from the concert go to the Norwalk
Music Boosters to serve and support the K-12 vocal and
instrumental music programs in Norwalk Schools. Tick-
ets will be available for purchase starting Thursda~ Aug.
16 at Norwalk's Fall Fest and through the Music Boost-
ers' website at http://www.norwalkmusicboosters.com.
Tickets are $25 each.
Norwalk Schools will begin classes August 22 and
the page willhopefully turn from this hot dry summer.
We look forward to our strong partnership with
Norwalk School District staff and our joint efforts to keep
our schools a safe place. Your Police Department is
making 'back to school' plans and we would like to share
some of those with you.
School Bus Safety - Last school year we had 14
school bus stop sign violations and this year with
Kadyn's law, the penalty for such violations was in-
creased to $250 and a possible 30 days in jail for a first
offense. A second subsequent offense, if committed
within 5 years of the first, may result in a $1,875 fine
and one year in jail. Each day our school district oper-
ates 12 buses and moves 1,400 students. Our patrol of-
ricers will be watching traffic in those critical areas to
hopefully deter any such violations.
Oviatt Elementary School - There will be around
190 students beginning school for the first time. Our
Officers will be assisting the Oviatt School staff with a
safe walk to school class for those students. We would
suggest to parents that they rehearse with their
Kindergartener their route and their walk to school if
they have one. Consider making a "what if" plan, in-
cluding "bullies or strangers, etc." with your child and
coordinate an alternate place of safety that your child
might go to along their way. Fire lanes will also be
strictly enforced.
Lakewood Elementary - There will be a brief traffic
jam on Beardsley as children are dropped off and picked
up. We ask that during those times drivers avoid that
area if at all possible. Our Officers will be working with
the school staff to mitigate the impact to the safety of
students and the flow of traffic in the area of Beardsley
and Lexington. We encourage parents to consider drop-
ping their children off and picking them up at an alter-
nate location away from that immediate area.
Norwalk Middle School - There will be 194 new 6th
graders entering the challenging world of Middle School
for the first time. We also know that for the first two
weeks more parents will drop off their 6th graders at
the school. OUr officers will be there to assist the school
staff with the heavier traffic flow. We ask that parents
please follow the directions provided by the school staff.
Consider dropping off your child northbound along
Cherry Street and let him/her walk in from there on the
existing sidewalk.
Norwalk High School - There will be about 850 ve-
hicles parked each day in our High School parking lot.
Both the parking pass and the driver's license are privi-
leges and we remind parents and students that both can
be withdrawn. OUr officers will be working with the
High School staff to insure the safety of drivers in and
around the High School and special traffic enforcement
will be done in the residential areas that surround our
High School. Fire lanes will also be strictly enforced.
Drug Prevention - OUr K9 officer will be working
closely with our School Resource Officer along with the
School Staff to insure that drugs will not be present in
our schools. We will again coordinate walk-throughs
with the school staff, both in the buildings and in the
parking lots. Zena and other area K9s will be combined
to make our best efforts. Our primary goal is the safety
of our students and school staff. We will welcome your
assistance throughout the school year in our efforts.
