Published: Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Many schools in Valley improve in state rankings
The area doubled the number of districts rated as 'excellent' this year.
By HAROLD GWIN
YOUNGSTOWN — Seventeen of the 45 public school districts in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties improved their academic standing on the state's local report card this year.
Six of those improving their ratings earned an "excellent" ranking from the Ohio Department of Education, based on achievement test scores taken by their pupils this spring.
Six other districts that achieved excellent ratings last year retained those rankings. They are: Canfield, Lowellville, Poland, South Range, Western Reserve and Champion.
The newcomers atop the academic list are Columbiana, Springfield, West Branch, Girard, Lakeview and Maplewood.
The five ratings are: excellent, effective, continuous improvement, academic watch and academic emergency.
Youngstown was the only district in academic emergency last year, but improved one step to academic watch this year.
No local districts are in academic emergency this year.
Warren, which was in academic watch last year, advanced to continuous improvement.
Other districts improving their ratings by one step are: Leetonia, Austintown, Sebring, Bristol, Brookfield, Liberty, Newton Falls, Niles and Southington.
Salem subgroups
Only one district, Salem, dropped in the ratings, moving from effective to continuous improvement. The district is being penalized by the state for failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress with two pupil subgroups, said Steve Larcomb, Salem superintendent.
The subgroups, consisting of pupils grouped by race, ethnicity, income and other factors, are required to pass their tests with a 75 percent minimum score.
The state says that any district that fails to meet that mark in two or more subgroups for three consecutive years cannot be rated higher than continuous improvement.
Larcomb said Salem is in that position, noting that its economically disadvantaged pupils scored 70.7 percent in reading while its special education pupils scored 70.6 in that same subject this year.
Salem met 19 of the 25 performance standards and achieved a performance index of 95.2, which should have left the district with an effective rating, he said.
Columbiana, which moved up to excellent this year, had achieved that ranking in the past, said Superintendent Ron Iarussi. The district had been rated effective for the last three years.
The staff worked hard to use data on pupil performances to determine what areas of concentration were needed and then focused on those areas with positive results, Iarussi said. The district changed some programs to benefit the pupils and the parents have been supportive of those efforts, he said.
In the end, it was the children who performed well on the tests, he said, adding, "We have kids that are education-minded."
Girard Superintendent Joseph Jeswald said a lot of hard work on the part of students and teachers made the difference for his district this year. That effort came with support from parents at home and a strong school intervention program designed to assist children at all grade levels, he said.
Youngstown schools
Although Youngstown moved to academic watch, it still has eight individual schools rated in academic emergency. It had nine in that category last year, but two — Jackson Elementary and Hillman Middle School — have since been closed.
Those listed in academic emergency this year are: Southside Upper Elementary, Hayes and East middle schools, Alpha School of Excellence for Boys, Athena School of Excellence for Girls, Odyssey School of Possibilities, Wilson High School and the Choffin Career & Technical Center.
North, Taft, Cleveland and Harding were also rated in academic emergency last year. North jumped three categories to effective, while Taft and Harding moved up two spots to continuous improvement. Cleveland moved up one place to continuous improvement.
Hayes, East and Odyssey were also in academic emergency last year.
Youngstown launched a number of educational initiatives a year ago to address the district's academic rating, including taking a hard look at testing data to determine where pupils needed additional work, said Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent.
Youngstown's Performance Index at 75.1 was close to the 80-point mark to reach continuous improvement, she said.
The task now is to maintain gains made and build on them for the future, Webb said. "The real work begins now. It's not about status quo, it's about realistic goals."
Warren's improvement "is a major accomplishment on the part of our students, staff, parents and community as we move out of academic watch," said Dr. Kathryn Hellweg, superintendent. "Although this new rating proves that our students are improving, we still have serious work ahead."
The district will implement specific teaching and learning plans and work to increase overall attendance. This year, new K-8 curriculum plans for language arts, math, science and social studies will be implemented in every classroom, she said.
To help complement this initiative, the district will become part of America's Choice, a successful national effort to improve teaching and learning, focusing on rapid improvement in math achievement for middle school students, Hellweg said.
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