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The Citizen, 2013-02-07, Page 21THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013. PAGE 21. Students in the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board are on track to meet or exceed academic goals set by the board. The Board of Trustees received a progress report on the student achievement goals for 2013 from Superintendents of Education JoAnn McGregor and Dan Parr. “This data is very preliminary as it is based on the November report cards and beginning of the year data,” said Parr. McGregor said the first goal is centred around students with an Individual Education Plan, specifically those with a learning disability. She said the goal is to have 75 per cent of those students in elementary achieving a level three or four in reading and number sense and 70 per cent of students in secondary achieving level three or four in math and English.McGregor said current data showsthat on average across the board 91 per cent are achieving the goal, up from 70 per cent in June 2012. She attributed the success in this area to the work of the Special Education Resource Teachers. “They have been using a program called Leaps and Bounds, a math intervention program, and it has allowed us to focus on specific needs of students,” she said. “We have a similar program we use to identify needs in students in the writing and reading component,” she said, adding, “Across the system we have deeper implementation of talking word processors in our classrooms. These are for all students but in particular our students with a learning disability who need speech to text to text to speech to support them in demonstrating their learning.” Similar progress was seen in junior boy achievement in writing.The board has set a target of 84 percent of all boys achieving a level three or four on their final report cards. In June that number was below the target at 76 per cent, but the data for the 2012-13 school year shows 95 per cent of junior boys are on target to achieve the goal. Secondary students have also been making great strides on the EQAO math assessments. In June 2012 62 per cent of students were achieving a level three or four but as of January2013 that number has risen 10 percent to 72 per cent of students reaching the target set by the board. “Our strategy is again to utilize our SERTs in the classroom to give focused support,” said Parr. McGregor said a 14 per cent increase has been seen in primary reading across the system. In June about 54 per cent of students were meeting the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) benchmark, but as of January 2013 an average of 75per cent of students in Grades 1 and2 were meeting the benchmark. While this is short of the 85 per cent goal set by the board, McGregor said she is encouraged by the progress made in such a short time. “What is making the difference here is the DRA results are shared with our school principals so they can develop next steps like guided reading and more SERT support in our primary classrooms,” she said. The Avon Maitland District School Board in partnership with the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus is pleased to announce the official launch of a “School Within a University” (SWAU). The School Within a University (SWAU) program will be hosted at the new University of Waterloo Stratford Campus. This new program further celebrates the tremendous achievements of Stratford Central Secondary School’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Specialist High Skills Major program and University of Waterloo. The ICT Program is extremely popular at Stratford Central and has gained province-wide recognition along with the proven success of its graduates. An Avon Maitland and Stratford Central partnership with the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus was a natural progression. The University of Waterloo Stratford Campus and the Avon Maitland District School Board have created a variety of educational partnerships Board launches Stratford SWAU Catholic Board students exceeding goals Business Directory Affordable CAR AND TRUCK RENTALS Large & Small Trucks fridge carts - piano dollys- moving blankets Complete Selection of Cars Our rates qualify for insurance replacement Passenger Vans full size or mini GODERICH TOYOTA 344 Huron Rd. 519-524-9381 GODERICH 1-800-338-1134 NEW CONSTRUCTION AGRICULTURAL RENOVATIONS RESIDENTIAL Call 519-527-1538 Tarion Home Warranty Builders THE ZAHND TEAM P.O. 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Ontario CraneRentals Box 134, Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0 519-392-6469 Cell: 519-357-7869 1-866-392-6469 Fax: 519-357-3798 Email: marlene.baker@sympatico.ca Merv 24 HOU R SERVIC E FULL Y INSU R E D BROWN’S PHARMASAVE All Natural Gas Services Furnaces, Fireplaces, & Water Heaters Sales & Services BLYTH 226-222-0821 Susan Alexander, CFP CLU CHS EPC Certified Financial Planner 472 Turnberry St. PO Box 69 Brussels, Ontario N0G 1H0 519-887-2662 • 1-866-887-2662 Fax: 519-887-2671 Email: susan@sholdicefinancial.com Website: www.sholdicefinancial.com SUNSHINE COUNTRY CONSULTING ACCOUNTING & INCOME TAX SERVICES Ralph Watson 810 Turnberry St., Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 Bus.: (519) 887-6011 sunctry@ezlink.ca By Hilary LongSpecial to The Citizen Continued on page 23