- Manitowoc Schools received a grade of 57 on the state report card. The score gives the district a two of five-star rating.
- Mary Progar is the grandmother of two students. She said her biggest concern is the low number of teachers.
- Superintendent Jim Feil said that the report has been conducted for the last three years and the current school administration is committed to turning it around.
The state report card for Manitowoc Public Schools is out and the scores are low. I’m hearing from Superintendent Jim Feil a concerned grandparent about what they think.
Mary Progar is the grandmother of two Manitowoc district students. She is responding to the school being graded a 57 and given two out of five stars, putting the district in the "meets few expectations" category.
"I’m disappointed,” Progar said. “My granddaughter seems like she is progressing in her grades. So, I am surprised."
Although surprised, Mary had one concern at the middle school.
"When I came for open house, I found out that there was only one third-grade teacher,” she said. “I was very surprised. She's got a lot of students."
Her concern is shared by many in our community as the district has seen a high number of teachers leave. Mary thinks this is one reason for the poor performance.
Superintendent Jim Feil says that this issue is being dealt with and teachers will be more supported.
"We are now going to actually have follow-up sessions with every school site,” Feil said. “Because, we've been asking 'How are we doing?', 'Are we supporting you?', 'What is missing?'.”
Out of the ten Manitowoc Schools in the report, eight were given three stars or less. With McKinley Academy only given one star, in a "category of fails to meet expectations"
Superintendent Feil reminds us that this is a report of the last three years. He says the current administration developed a new improvement plan for this year and Manitowoc should expect those numbers to climb.
"We anticipate that our improvement efforts will provide fairly significant results,” said Feil. “I think we'll become a top tier performing school district with that effort."
Superintendent Feil says he is emphasizing literacy needs and, as mentioned, faculty support.
Mary told me that she is concerned but still trusts the district.
"I still hold full confidence in them because I see how my granddaughter is progressing."
Manitowoc is not the only school in the area with low scores. On Friday we will take a look at the scores in Two Rivers and find out what is being done there.
