PORTAGE | Maintaining the school district's exemplary rating and increasing student achievement levels are priorities for the year, Portage Township Schools Superintendent Mike Berta said.

Speaking to local businesspeople gathered for the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce's monthly luncheon, Berta said the district's high rating came after years of work in aligning curriculum to meet state standards and teachers' expectations.

"This doesn't happen with a roll of the dice and us saying we hope the children will learn," Berta said. "We identified what every kid needs to know and what will make them successful in the next year. We want continuous improvement."

The district is changing in more ways than achievement, though. With 8,543 students, last year's enrollment was at its highest level since the 1990-91 school year, and, at about 27 percent, minority enrollment has now surpassed the state average. There also are 285 students currently in the district's English as a second language program, Debra Dudek, Portage's director of student programs said.

Berta said while the growing number of students with non-English speaking families might seem to be a trend, it's nothing the country hasn't experienced before.

"When I was a kid, I had a language different than English spoken in my house because my grandparents were immigrants," Berta said. "I'm proud of that."

Another issue is student migration. Within the course of a year, about 7.6 percent of students will either move to a different school district or move into the Portage Township Schools. Berta said that's one of the issues that's having an impact on achievement and one teachers see as an increasing problem.

"Once you start instruction for the year, under the best circumstances, you want those students with you to close out the year," he said.

Compounding the achievement issue is the way the state calculates special education student scores and the benchmarks it sets.

"All special ed kids are expected to achieve at those high levels, but, for some, that's an unrealistic expectation," Berta said. "We've petitioned the state, but nothing's happened."