Mount Vernon Community School District Families, Staff, and Community Members:

Each year, the Iowa Department of Education publishes the Iowa Student Performance Profile which is essentially a yearly report card for Iowa school districts.  The same reporting mechanism has been in use since 2018, and districts study the data carefully to determine strengths and areas of growth for the future.  I have provided a link below for you to access the data for Mount Vernon, but let me hit the highlights for you should you not have the time to navigate through the full report:

  1. Districts can be determined to be in one of the following categories based on overall performance:  Exceptional, High Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement, Priority/Comprehensive.  Mount Vernon Middle School was identified as an Exceptional school on this year’s report card, while Washington Elementary and Mount Vernon High School were deemed to be High Performing.  These are all great accomplishments, and all three schools showed growth from the year prior.  These are also the highest scores for each school since the Department of Education started using these metrics in 2018.
  2. The District’s performance surpasses state averages in 13 of the 15 areas that are measured.  This again shows great performance of our students and teachers in a variety of areas.  The only two areas where the District is below the state average are in the number of students who take Career and Technical Education courses, and the number of students who are taking classes for college credit.  However, these numbers have grown over the past year, and school improvement goals are targeting further growth in these areas.
  3. Our students have excelled in overall proficiency on standardized testing, but also more importantly in growth from year to year.  I am especially proud of the growth numbers, taking into account the impact COVID-19 and accompanying disruptions that have impacted student learning.   
  4. The link below will take you to the Department of Education website that will allow you to dig deeper into the data for Mount Vernon if you so choose.  You can look at the data from a district perspective, and also from an individual school perspective.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions about what you read.  Here is the link:

https://www.iaschoolperformance.gov/ECP/StateDistrictSchool/DistrictSummary?k=8087&y=2021

I am extremely proud of our students and staff who are responsible for the great things that are going on with teaching and learning in Mount Vernon.  Again, performing at this level while navigating a two-year pandemic is simply incredible.  As parents and community members, you should also be proud of your role in supporting our students and staff in their work.  We will continue to do everything we can to learn from the data, and to stay focused on continuous improvement.

Thanks everyone for making Mount Vernon an exemplary school district!

Dr. B.