FAIRMONT — The Fairmont School Board on Tuesday heard a presentation on the Student Achievement Results report from Kim Niss, the district’s principal of curriculum.

The data is from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments taken during the 2018-2019 school year. The MCA tests students knowledge in math, science and reading.

“The MCA measures both proficiency and growth,” Niss said. “It allows districts to make comparison with other districts in the state, but you have to recognize that there’s a lot of factors that play into differences among districts.”

Students at Fairmont Area Schools have scored higher than the state’s average on math and reading tests.

It is also worth noting that Fairmont Area Schools has a higher percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, at 45.7 percent, compared to most of the state’s schools. Yet those students scored much higher than the state’s average.

Math scores have typically been above the state average. Niss shared data from the past three years.

“Fairmont has remained constant around that 59 to 60 percent mark,” she said. “We’re not seeing an improvement like we would like. However, in the same time frame, the state has actually decreased from 59.2 percent to 55.5 percent. So we’ve remained constant while the state is showing a decrease.”

Reading scores at Fairmont have increased by 3 percent over the last three years, while state scores have decreased slightly.

Science scores for Fairmont have seen a significant increase over the past four years. In 2015, just 45 percent of Fairmont’s students met the standard, as compared to 53 percent in the state. However, scores have improved a little each year, with 50.6 percent of Fairmont students meeting standards in 2019, and 50.7 percent of students in the state meeting the standard.

Anyone who wants to see results from Fairmont or any other district in the state can find them on the Minnesota Department of Education website at education.mn.gov/MDE

Following Niss’s report on MCA results, Jenni Diegnau provided the Educational Improvement Plan for the district’s staff development curriculum council.

Diegnau said the district goal is by May 2020 to have student achievement of the free and reduced lunch subgroup increase by 3 percent on the MCA in reading and math.

As the district continues to work on improvement, there are three main initiatives teachers are focusing on. They are: align curriculum; embed high value instructional strategies in aligned curriculum; and provide academic, social and emotional support to meet the needs of diverse learners.

“We’re doing good. More than half of our kids are meeting or exceeding standards but that doesn’t mean our job is done,” said board president Rufus Rodriguez.

He noted that ACT scores, for college admission, have fallen across the country. He envisions students facing even more challenges in the future.

“We need to do the best job that we can to prepare them, and be innovative and creative and think outside the box, and work together to create an environment that far exceeds state average,” he said.

In other news, the board approved the hiring of Natanael Moreno to serve as the district’s community outreach coordinator. Originally from Chile, he is a 2006 graduate of Fairmont High School. He currently works as an office manager and family liaison at Hiawatha Academy in Minneapolis. He will begin his employment with Fairmont Area Schools in January.

The board also approved the hire of Leah Moreno as an English Language Learner teacher to work with the elementary school’s 98 ELL students. She is a 2009 graduate of Fairmont High School and currently works as a multilingual learning specialist at the University of Minnesota. She will begin her role in mid-December.

Moving to other matters, Superintendent Joe Brown reminded the board that an open house for the Martin County Automotive Academy will be 5-7 p.m. Nov. 25 in the vocational wing at Fairmont High School. The purpose of the open house is to showcase the various vocational academies the school offers, including agriculture, welding and culinary arts. The public is welcome to attend the open house. Hot dogs will be served.

The board accepted the following donations:

o $25,000 from Kahler Automation for the Construction Trades Academy.

o $6,000 from Fairmont 3M to be used for equipment for Fairmont Elementary School’s Makerspace.

o A black accent chair, valued at $343, from Fairmont Slumberland Furniture, for the ECFE parent room.

o $100 from J. Hokanson Print, Inc. for elementary and high school activity funds.