State report cards shows successes, room for improvement for Miami Valley districts

MIAMI VALLEY — Most schools have had kids back in class for about a month now — Thursday the Ohio Department of Education told districts how they did last school year.

Some districts were pleased with the results while others think the report cards do not show the whole picture.

Fairborn City Schools Superintendent Gene Lolli said while he has not seen the report card results yet, it’s something he keeps an eye on.

“The state of Ohio, sometimes raises the bar and we try to meet those, we try to meet the criteria on those report cards,” Lolli said.

The DOE rated districts in five categories — achievement which is based on state testing, progress that compares student performance over time, gap closing which measures the education gap for students, the graduation rate and early literacy which measures reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.

The DOE said Fairborn hit benchmarks in four of the five categories.

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At Trotwood-Madison City schools its report card said it failed in all of the categories.

“I understand that there is room for improvement but as a parent I am happy here in the district,” Leaora McDonald said.

McDonald has two kids in Trotwood-Madison schools. She said she thinks the district is doing the best it can to provide help for students whether it be in SAT prep or tutoring.

“I feel like the resources are there. We just need our students and our parents to reach out and take advantage of those opportunities to help increase those scores,” she said.

In an email the district’s Superintendent Reva Cosby told WHIO in part:

“We do not feel that the ratings reflect the entirety of how we serve our students and families. We are constantly working to improve our district. We have increased administrative, teacher and student supports in the areas of school safety, curriculum, class offerings, new enrichment programs and pathways to graduation.”

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Springfield City Schools also did not meet state standards in all five categories.

In a statement Superintendent Robert Hill said the report card is not a comprehensive representation of the work down in his district.

He said it also does not show the effects of the pandemic.

Meanwhile the superintendent of Miamisburg City Schools, Laura Blessing, said she believes the report card accurately reflects her district’s performance.

The district met the mark in every category except early literacy. Blessing said she would like to learn from other districts who have succeed in the literacy category.

“I think on what the state measured I feel like this does show what we do but there’s just so much more that we can highlight and feature as part of our student success here in Miamisburg,” Blessing said.

News Center 7 has reached out to ODE to ask if the report cards impact funding to districts, the state department said it does not.

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