A report from the State Department of Education on their April visit to Le Mars Community Schools pointed out a number of strengths for the district, according to Dr. Carl Turner, assistant superintendent.

Turner shared the report at the school board meeting Monday.

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"The site visit team pointed out multiple positives that are happening in the district," he said. "They also gave us plenty of things to work on to improve as a district."

"They really commend you as a school board for having a balanced delivery of programs. They realize that's a tough thing to do considering the budget constraints the board's been facing," he added.

The district received the final report in late July.

During the visit April 22-24, a 10-member team interviewed teachers, community members, students, administrators, and board members. They also reviewed numerous written documents about the district.

The report noted that LCS maintained reduced class size averages, with average K-5 class size at 19.6 students, and hired the most qualified staff to fill program needs, noting that 47 percent of the teachers have master's degrees or above.

The report also cited the district provides classroom space and improved facilities for extracurricular activities to meet the needs of students. Facilities noted include the new band, chorus, FACS rooms and gym at the middle school and the new science lab and classrooms at the high school.

The report also praised the involvement and support of parents along with business and community cooperation in areas such as the Annual Optimist Drug Free School Assembly; active booster clubs and volunteerism at all levels along with a program allows students to explore careers.

The report also commended the computer access, expanded at all levels.

Offering students learning experiences like the National History Day projects, as well as annual trips to NASA and Washington, D.C., were also cited.

In the leadership area, the District Leadership Instructional Impact Team (DLIIT) was found to be "the caretaker of the school improvement process," according to the report.

"They found this (DLIIT) to be a very positive team, and were really excited when they interviewed them and how much they knew about the school improvement process," Turner said of review remarks. That team is comprised if teachers, parents, community members and students.

Providing student leadership opportunities such as leadership teams, class officers, DLIIT, Student Council and student organizations was also cited as a positive.

Teachers, parents, and students felt administrators were approachable, visible, responsive to needs and supportive, according to the report.

The school district also received a favorable review on collaborative relationships.

"Le Mars Community Schools seeks to coordinate services and programs with community organizations" according to the report which listed sharing programs with Gehlen Catholic, job shadows, the city recreation program, and allow facilities to be open for walking in winter.

Parents interviewed reported board members and administrators were active members of community organizations and visible at community events. Parents also reported they were able to make contributions to school in a variety of ways and that there was an open dialogue between school and parents.

Teachers, students, administrators, parents, and support staff reported high levels of collaboration between general education and special education teachers resulting in success for students, along with the pre- and co-teaching and cross curricular units in the middle school cited as strengths.

The district is considered "a safe environment," according to the report, which noted the comment from parents, "My kids come home happy."

Also listed as strengths were: High expectations for students; teachers convey a commitment to all students' performance and a high percentage of students participate in extra curricular activities.

The wide range of support systems for students was also recognized, including T.A.P.S. at the high school level; Title I Reading; I.L.C. and Study Backs.

The review team also liked the multiple ways students can be involved in the district, giving as examples athletics, music, speech, NASA and History Day.

The review identified the district's graduation rate of 97.8 percent, above the state average of 90.78 percent.

Le Mars students score above the state average in reading, math, and science on Iowa Tests and on the ACT, Le Mars students score consistent with students throughout the state of Iowa.

The welcoming and open attitude of the staff, students and community members; board policies on nondiscrimination, harassment, hazing, bullying, and homeless students, and other areas were cited as strengths.

The district is below the state average in the number of students served in special education, according to the report.

Turner noted there were areas of non-compliance that will need to be addressed by the district.

One of the areas of non-compliance involved accessibility issues identified for persons with disabilities, Turner said. All buildings in the district were cited.

Several of the non-compliance issues are in board policies, which need to be updated, Turner said.

They include updating board policy on non-discrimination; adopting a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination and harassment; and communicating the definition of and policy for homelessness in staff, parent, and student documents.

The board must also update board policy and written guidelines on the selection of instructional materials to include equity concerns related to race, national origin, gender and disability.

"They mentioned that our minority population in Le Mars is growing, it's about 9.5 percent now," Turner said.

The district must annually analyze student participation in extra-curricular activities by gender, racial/ethnic background, and disability.

The district must also analyze the enrollment patterns in high school courses to increase gender participation in non-traditional courses and to make sure minority students or students with disabilities are not over- or under-represented in courses.

The district must review implementation of English language learner plan to ensure that all students eligible for English language assistance are getting the assistance they need. Turner noted that currently the English as a Second Language program is offered only at Clark Elementary.

"The team also recommends the district increase diverse role models on the district's staff and update Equal Opportunity/Affirmative action plan," said Turner. "They also recommend we secure minority representation on DLIIT and the career and tech advisory committee.

Turner told the board he and Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt would be working on the non-compliance issues and bring a plan to the board at their Sept. 22 meeting.

"Once the plans are approved by the state department, we will begin implementation," Turner concluded.

The state equity team will visit again during the 2008-2009 school to see how the district is implementing the developed plans.