The Newton School District had mixed results in the Iowa Department of Education’s annual ranking of schools. An overall rating of “Commendable” was earned by Emerson Hough, Thomas Jefferson, and Woodrow Wilson Elementary Schools. Aurora Heights Elementary’s overall ranking was “Acceptable”, but the state report identified Newton High School, Berg Middle School, and the alternative high school West Academy as needing additional support from the federal government under the Every Student Succeeds Act. West Academy was designated as needing comprehensive support from the federal government for either having a graduation rate less than 66%, or being in the lowest performing 5% of all federally funded Title 1 public schools. Berg Middle School and Newton High School have targeted areas that need to improve according to the Department of Education’s report. Iowa Department of Education Information Bureau Chief Jay Pennington says this is the first time the School Performance Profiles used an updated state plan for school accountability and support. He added that it includes information such as proficiency rates in the key areas of mathematics, science and language art, while also accounting for information about the growth of students year to year. Find the Iowa Department of Education’s full report at: iaschoolperformance.gov.