All schools in the Bremen, Penn-Harris-Madison, Wa-Nee, Warsaw, and Westview school districts received A grades this year. To see the scores of schools in your district, go to the Department of Education's website. We visited Wa-Nee schools to find out what their secret is. Superintendent Joe Sabo said there is no single secret. He credits the A's to hard work by everyone including teachers, students, and parents.
NorthWood High School within the Wa-nee school district has a motto of "tradition of excellence."
It's even spelled out on the wall as you walk into the building. That motto has spread to the entire district. Parent Judy Scheets said she's proud of everyone who has worked hard to ensure the entire district gets A's. "I know the teachers really put forth a lot of work to help the kids do the best they can." And she's happy her son, a sophomore at NorthWood High School, is attending a top rated school. "It's good to know he's going to a high quality school," said Scheets.
But how did every Wa-nee school reach the top? Superintendent Joe Sabo said there's no magic formula. "It's the dedication of our teachers, the hard work of them, and the principals that stay on focus to what's important," said Sabo. And what's important is having proficient students. Wa-Nee Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Jim Bennett, said all the schools work hard to achieve that goal. "Weekly we have professional learning community time where teachers analyze data, look at instruction, how kids are progressing," said Bennett.
Bennett and Sabo said getting straight A's has been a goal of the districts for years. This is the first time it's been achieved though. They credit the support of the community. Scheets credits changes she's noticed within the district. "I think with the emphasis more on what needs to be done for reading and everything it's helped them know what they need to do to make sure the kids are doing exactly what's needed."
