Keystone Central ad hoc committee discusses Sugar Valley Rural Charter School amendment requests; no votes taken

At an April meeting of the Keystone Central School District ad hoc committee, representatives of Sugar Valley Rural Charter School described how they use MAP testing and other tools for diagnostics and progress monitoring, and the committee discussed four amendment requests in the charter renewal application. No formal votes were taken; committee members agreed to follow up with a technical meeting and to adopt a document-review process for the school’s annual report.

The discussion began with public comment. Ashley Shadel, mayor of Loganton and a longtime Sugar Valley parent, told the committee she moved to Loganton for the school and praised staff and outcomes: “what they're doing at the charter school is phenomenal…Considering the fact that a roughly a third of their student population is special education and they're still blowing you guys out of the water test score wise should really say something,” Shadel said.

The committee then addressed four requests Sugar Valley submitted as part of its five-year renewal application. The first request asks the district to eliminate a second, mandatory diagnostic assessment listed in section 6(a) of the current agreement for students performing below grade level. Brock Phillips, supervisor of curriculum and instruction K to 12 at Sugar Valley Rural Charter School, described the charter’s assessment system in detail and defended reliance on MAP testing from NWEA as the school’s primary diagnostic tool. “We now aim to focus on helping students perform on…