The Duneland School Board received some good news about how the district is rising in state rankings for student performance.
Brooke Busse, who was recently hired as director of teaching and learning, highlighted a number of achievements during Monday’s meeting.
Chesterton High School students were second in the state in earning dual college credit with 16,165 hours compiled in the 2025-26 school year.
Students from the Penn High School in St. Joseph County earned more total hours.
But Superintendent Robert McDermott noted that Penn High School has twice as many students, so Chesterton students actually led the state in dual college credit hours earned per capita.
Busse said that Chesterton High School’s success is getting noticed around the state as many want to know how it was accomplished.
Duneland students in grade 3-8 finished fifth in the state on the state’s ILEARN-ELA tests, which measure English composition skills.
On the ILEARN-Math tests, Duneland’s third through eighth graders were 13th in the state.
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There were 94.8% of the third graders who passed the mandatory IREAD examination last school year, which is above the state’s 88.7% pass rate. The state requires that a student pass the IREAD test before they can advance.
McDermott thanked the board, teachers and staff for their commitment to better student performance.
“We are making progress each year in our state rankings. That tells me that our students are performing well and continuing to grow. We still have work to do but we firmly believe we are seeking to become the top performing school corporation in the state and sustain that level of performance year after year,” McDermott said.
McDermott also recognized departing Assistant Superintendent Lynn Kwilasz, who is retiring after serving as the school corporation’s chief financial officer for 13 years.
“Her thoughtful financial stewardship has played a role in our success and we’re grateful for all she has done for our school corporation. She will be missed, but we wish her nothing but the best in her well deserved retirement,” McDermott said.
Kwilasz gave a detailed presentation of the school’s proposed budget for 2027. The board will have a special meeting on Oct. 26 to approve the budget.
Duneland’s enrollment figures have stayed relatively constant over the years as there are 5,774 students counted at the start of this school year, down from 5,829 students last school year.
Kwilasz said that one concerning future trend is the kindergarten enrollment was down to 349 students this year. By comparison, there are 505 seniors at Chesterton High School.
What is happening at Duneland with enrollment is mirroring a trend around the state, Kwilasz said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.