ZPS Annual Reports

Access an alternative full text: Annual Report Letter

January 27, 2023:

Dear Parents and Community Members:

We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2021-22 educational progress for Zeeland Public School District and our schools. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and some requirements of state laws. Our staff is available to help you understand this information. Please contact Matt Stolz (mstolz@zps.org) for help if you need assistance.

The DISTRICT AER is available for you to review electronically by visiting the following website https://bit.ly/3tJ4mPf, or you may review a copy in the main office at your child’s school. Each school will also be communicating its own AER to parents directly.

These reports contain the following information:

Student Assessment Data 

• Includes the following three assessments: M-STEP (Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress), MI-Access (Alternate Assessment), and College Board SAT 
• Presents assessment information for English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8 and 11, and MI-Access science for grades 4, 7, and 11, compared to state averages for all students as well as subgroups of students 

Educator Qualification Data

• Identifies the number and percentage of inexperienced teachers, principals, and other school leaders
• Reports teachers who are teaching with emergency or provisional credentials
• Includes teachers who are not teaching in the subject or field for which they are certified

NAEP Data (National Assessment of Educational Progress)

• Provides state results of the national assessment in mathematics and reading every other year in grades 4 and 8

Civil Rights Data

• Provides information on school quality, climate, and safety

Review the table below listing our schools. For the 2021-22 school year, schools were identified based on previous years’ performance using definitions and labels as required in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school is one that had at least one underperforming student subgroup in 2018-19. An Additional Targeted Support (ATS) school is one that had a student subgroup performing at the same level as the lowest 5% of all schools in the state in 2017-18. A Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) school is one whose performance was in the lowest 5% of all schools in the state or had a graduation rate at or below 67% in 2016-17. Some schools are not identified with any of these labels. In these cases, no status label is given.

Zeeland Public Schools is proud of our commitment to our students and strives to provide an environment for learning that incorporates our motto of Safe, Valued, Loved, and Learning. Throughout the 2021-22 academic year to present, ZPS staff continue to provide exceptional instruction to address the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we leveraged additional federal funds to provide tutoring and credit recovery supports for the neediest students across our district. We are fortunate to have maintained in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year while running online programming for students and families who still desired this instruction mode. We are proud of our students and staff for the work and academic achievements made during this worldwide experience. 

As we have learned to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, we are optimistic that we can bring back more volunteer opportunities to reflect our vision. We are striving every day to educator the hearts and minds of all students to reach their fullest potential. Currently, we are engaging in a strategic planning process that includes staff, parent, and student feedback that will help the district re-focuses on the unique and ever-changing needs of the district

ZPS continues to strengthen our academic performance and provide social and emotional support to all students. As a district, we are focused on addressing achievement gaps focusing on our English Language Learners and Special Education subgroups. We are proud of all our students and will continue working to find new and improved ways to ensure that they learn for life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brandi-Lyn Mendham
Superintendent
Zeeland Public Schools