Iowa Dept. of Ed. report card

Howard county - Crestwood Elementary received a  ‘Commendable’ rating during the recent release of The Iowa Department of Education School Report Cards. 

Crestwood Elementary Principal Sara Grimm said, “I am very proud to say that Crestwood Elementary received a ‘Commendable’ rating. This rating is due in large part to the hard work of both our students and our staff. Our students have buckled down to learn and practice their skills both in the classroom and outside of it. Their efforts to do their best and truly show us what they know should be congratulated and applauded. We are proud of them all.”

She continued, “Our teachers are also at the heart of this tremendous achievement. They deserve recognition for their outstanding dedication to the students they serve and for their never-ending desire to improve their teaching. What many of you may not know is that their teaching day doesn’t happen only when the students are here. The parking lot begins to fill long before dawn and often is not empty until well past suppertime.

“Our teachers are among the most dedicated and hard-working people that I have ever had the privilege of working with. They continually research new methods and resources to integrate into their classrooms. They meet with their colleagues before school, during lunch, during preps, after school, in the evenings, and on the weekends. They look at data, analyze lessons, and provide feedback to each other for improvement in their efforts to meet the needs of all of their students. Congratulations teachers for a job well done!  Thank you for everything that you do for the students here at Crestwood Elementary.”

Grimm said Crestwood Elementary continues its score each year: 

“With this most recent release of the report cards, it became evident that Crestwood Elementary scores have improved again (this is the third year in a row). This is clearly an indication that our hard work toward continuous improvement in our school is paying off. This also demonstrates that what we have been doing at Crestwood is working. Our work to align our teaching resources and instruction to the Iowa Core Academic Standards is paying huge dividends. 

“The efforts to provide interventions and intensive instruction for students not meeting reading benchmarks has helped us to close the gap for FRL, IEP, and ELL students. Our shift toward more personalized professional development to meet the professional needs of the teachers and more directly address the achievement targets of our students is succeeding.”

Grimm credits the successful rating to the commitment of all those associated with the school:  

“These kinds of results don’t happen by accident. They are due to the hard work and commitment of our faculty, staff, and students,” she said. “Congratulations to all!  Let’s keep it going.”

Iowa School Report Card were first launched in 2015 as part of the education reform legislation known as House File 215 which was signed into law in 2013. The Iowa School Report card assigns Iowa public schools a rating based on one of six categories: Exceptional, High Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improve-ment and Priority. Several measures used in determining the rating are based on statewide assessment results.