Mill Pond excels

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — Test scores for elementary students at Hodgdon’s Mill Pond School are on the rise.
    According to school Principal Loreen Wiley, students in grades 3-8 did exceptionally well on their most recent New England Common Assessment Program scores and have shown to score above their neighboring peers around the state on a consistent basis.
    “Although our students do very well, I want people to understand that the NECAP is only one piece of data and should be viewed along with other pieces of data,” Wiley said. “The score a student receives is a snap-shot of that student’s ability on one given day.”
    Mill Pond School placed 99th out of 551 Maine schools and was in the top 18 percent of Maine schools. Only three schools in Aroostook County — the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Mapleton Elementary and Wellington School in Monticello — scored higher than Mill Pond.
    “Mill Pond School students once again met AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress),” Wiley said.
    Mill Pond School has 350 students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. About 15 percent of those students receive some type of support from special services.
    For the 2010-11 school year, Mill Pond Elementary School averaged 73.45 percent showing proficiency in reading and mathematics. The school’s three-year average is 74.43 percent showing proficiency, which would place the school, 81st out of 551 Maine Schools.
    “One of the most critical pieces is we have a very high free and reduced lunch population, compared to those around the state,” Wiley said. “We are at 66.39 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. It’s a telling stat, because of the communities we service.”
    Wiley said with so many students falling into the lower economic category, she was amazed with how well they fared on the test.
    “It can take one and a half to two years to bring these students up to where the average, middle class student is,” she said.
    Some of the reasons economically challenged students are at somewhat of a disadvantage, she said, was lack of being read to at home; lack of strong language communication skills; and a lack of technology available to the students.
    Wiley added much of the school’s success stems from the Mill Pond staff setting high standards and supporting students.
    “Although we are very pleased with our scores, we will continue to do everything we can professionally and personally to assist all of our students in meeting and exceeding the standards set forth by the state,” Wiley said.