Richland County public schools have strong showing on state report card
Richland County's public school districts fared well on the 2023 Ohio State Report Cards.
Five of the nine public school districts earned four stars for their overall rating. They were Lexington, Ontario, Plymouth-Shiloh, Lucas and Shelby.
"Ontario Local Schools were extremely pleased with our state report card data. We put a large focus on the performance index score as we believe that measure shows a more accurate picture of how all of your students are performing. This year we scored a 94.4 on that measure, which was the highest score in Richland County," Assistant Superintendent Mike Ream said. "We are grateful to our students, parents and teachers for all of their efforts in bringing the best out of our students."
Ream offered reasons for the strong showing.
"One of the unique things in Ontario is that starting in fifth grade, we have accelerated students that are high-performing in various subject areas," he said. "We have roughly 25-30 students in each grade level that are now taking a state test that is a grade level up from their normal grade level. This has really allowed our high-end students to flourish."
The community is getting its money's worth, Ream said.
Ontario gets most out of lowest expenditures
"One underappreciated aspect of the school report card is the financial component. Ontario schools spend the lowest amount per pupil in the county, by a wide margin," he said. "From a business perspective, getting high-end results for the lowest expenditures is a point of pride for our district."
Lexington's three elementary schools had outstanding showings, combining for six 5-star ratings.
"Central, Western and Eastern Elementary schools each achieved a five-star rating," Superintendent Jeremy Secrist said. "It is encouraging to see that our youngest learners are rebounding from COVID thanks to the amazing work from our teachers.
"As we continue to recover from the past three years, we will continue to focus on utilizing data to improve instruction and student performance. We are pleased with our recovery but not yet satisfied. Our students can continue to grow and improve, and we will be supporting those efforts."
New Shelby Superintendent Michael Browning approved of his district's results and credited teachers.
"Shelby is happy with the four-star rating. Some components, like gap closing where we had five stars, certainly helped the district rating. We will look for ways to improve, but the report card does not rate things like how our teaching staff reaches each student and goes above and beyond to make sure students have the best experiences," he said. "I'm prouder of what I am seeing in classrooms and the positive relationships they are having at all levels.
"I've seen kindergarten teachers eat lunch with a student who was missing his mom. I've seen high school teachers take extra time to check in on a student they were worried about. Those examples are five stars in my book and show why parents should be proud of the teachers at Shelby. "
Plymouth-Shiloh Superintendent Brad Turson weighed in on his school district.
"I am pleased with the efforts of our staff and students, along with the support of our community in helping our district receive a four-star rating for the 2022-23 school year," Turson said. "We will use the data made available to address areas that show the need for improvement."
Lucas Local Schools posted consistent results
Lucas was solid across the board, not getting fewer than three stars in any of the categories.
"As a district, we received a four-star rating. We are pleased with the results, which are a testament to the hard work of our dedicated staff," Superintendent Brad Herman said. "Also, our families and our community have a huge part in the success of our students, and we thank them for their collaborative support."
Madison and Clear Fork each received 3½ stars for their overall ratings, while Crestview and Mansfield got three stars.
"Our local report card reflects the energy and effort our students, their families, our teaching and non-teaching staff, and our administration have put in, working together as a team towards student growth and achievement," Madison Superintendent Rob Peterson said. "While we are proud that our district has met the state standard for overall rating during the 2022-23 school year, we are not satisfied with where we are currently, and we will continue to push forward in an attempt to strengthen learning and success here at Madison."
Districts and schools received an overall rating of one to five stars in half-star increments. The overall rating is comprised of five rated components. The five components that make up the school report card are: achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation and early literacy.
Achievement represents whether student performance on state tests met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall.
Progress looks closely at the growth all students are making based on their past performances.
Gap closing is a measure of the reduction in educational gaps for student subgroups.
Graduation is a measure of the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and the five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. Madison earned five stars in that category.
"We are very excited about our five-star rating in the graduation rate component, where we significantly exceeded the state standard," Peterson said. "We believe the graduation rate component is a reflection of all students' education at Madison. Our staff and administration do a great job with all students, supporting them academically as well as socially and emotionally."
Early literacy deals with reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.
There were a number of highlights from area schools.
Lexington, Ontario each earn highest rating in two areas
Lexington and Ontario each earned a pair of five-star ratings. Each received top ratings for gap closing and graduation.
Ontario High School earned a pair of five-star ratings.
Plymouth-Shiloh and Shelby each picked up a five-star rating on their solid report cards. Shelby was tops in gap closing, while Plymouth-Shiloh earned five stars in graduation.
The Spanish Immersion School in the Mansfield district earned a trio of five-star ratings, as well as four stars in early literacy.
Superintendent Stan Jefferson credited the entire staff, including teachers, administrators and support staff.
"Innovative ideals from our staff and the work of our students makes me proud," he said. "We are working toward our vision. We are working to be a learning destination for Richland County.
"We've hung in there, and we have done well. We are meeting state standards."
While calling the state report card "one part of the story," Jefferson pointed to the school district going from three to four stars in gap closing and maintaining three stars in the progress category.
For more information, visit reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/overview/008278.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: 4 star report cards: Ontario, Lexington, Shelby, Plymouth-Shiloh, Lucas
