Dustin Jorgensen (left) and Sen. Jon Ford show a new banner to Forest Park students (Frank Phillips photo)

By Frank Phillips / DLC Media News

BRAZIL – Much of Thursday’s school board meeting was a celebration of how well Clay Community Schools students did on statewide testing last school year.

One of those schools was Forest Park Elementary. Dustin Jorgensen, school principal presented testing statistics and said, “The students showed a lot of growth” over the course of the school year.

Many students at Forest Park have learning disabilities.

“They came in with barriers to learning and we found ways around those barriers,” Jorgensen told the school board.

After the meeting, Jorgensen said the teachers were dedicated, enthusiastic and took their jobs seriously and they care about their kids.

Then we asked him,

School Board President Tom Reberger recalled that when Kenny Crabb was principal of Forest Park Elementary, many schools sent their special education students away but Crabb said, “We’re not going to do that,” and insisted the school find a way to teach special education students at Forest Park.

In another presentation, Assistant Superintendent Brady Scott presented statistics on the school corporation as a whole.

He concluded all grade levels did well on state testing in Math and in English/Language Arts. However, there is still work to be done.