The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Hardy touts feats at 5 schools
CEO hosts monthly town hall meeting
Despite a failing rating by state regulators, Lorain City Schools have buildings where dedicated leaders and teachers are helping their students learn and grow, said school district CEO David Hardy Jr.
On Oct. 18, Hardy hosted his monthly town hall meeting at Southview Middle School.
He used the session to highlight achievements in five schools: Southview, along with Garfield,
Helen Steiner Rice, Larkmoor and Toni Morrison elementaries.
Lorain City Schools have a district grade of F in the most recent round of school district report cards issued by the Ohio Department of Education.
Having seen versions of school district ratings in states such as Florida, New York and Pennsylvania, Hardy called the Ohio standards “one of the most rigorous report cards that I’ve seen.”
“And so the progress that is being made by school or a district is true progress, something that should be celebrated, because of the challenge and the level of expectation that’s built into that document,” Hardy said.
Hardy congratulated the principals, deans and faculty of “five amazing schools that have made huge strides,” showing up as bright spots in the state ratings.
He asked the school leaders to give brief statements that captured what their teams did. Hardy shared parts of the statements with
the audience.
“I think, it was interesting to note, they just had so many wonderful things to say about the people that are in their building,” Hardy said. “I think it was so much about the team, it was so much about the teachers, it was so much about the kids, that they couldn’t just contain it to one sentence.”
Hardy called the school leaders and staff to the front of the auditorium to receive their accolades.
• Garfield Elementary School had a grade of B in gap closing and C in improving at-risk K-3 literacy.
It is truly a commendable feat that Garfield posted the grades in two categories, Hardy said.
The state’s gap closing criterion measures how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for our most vulnerable students in English language arts, math, graduation and English language proficiency, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
• Helen Steiner Rice Elementary School had a grade of B gap closing.
“When you think about the gravity of improvement that was made, getting a B
in gap closing is no small feat whatsoever,” Hardy said. The school also uses its own social media hashtag, #GBED, short for “get better every day.”
• Larkmoor Elementary School had grades of A in gap closing and C in improving at-risk K-3 literacy and overall.
“This is something that’s extremely commendable,” Hardy said. “The hard work that’s put into making it happen is real, and it’s continuous and constant.”
• Southview Middle School had grades of B in gap closing and C overall.
“It came through a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, from not only the school leadership team but all of the teachers who every day worked tirelessly to get to where they are,” Hardy said.
• Toni Morrison Elementary School had grades of B in gap closing and C in improving at-risk K-3 literacy.
The school shows something very different from the narrative that many people hear about Lorain City Schools, Hardy said.
“You hear this narrative that, again, I don’t think is true,” Hardy said. “But when you go into this school and
you see what is actually true, when you see and feel the love for the kids, when you see that the adults love each other, you see the space where kids are truly there to learn, you see it is the result of great leadership and great teaching.”
In other business, Hardy used analogies and quotes from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team, the Seattle Storm WNBA Team and a national teacher of the year to describe the efforts to sharpen details about the school district.
Many students want harder work, so instruction will improve and the administration will be graded using the same standards that teachers use for the students, Hardy said.
Hardy said Lorain City Schools is planning an Expect Excellence Award for a teacher of the year within the district.
A teacher executive advisory network has been created with 18 members to give teachers a voice in how Lorain schools change going forward, Hardy said.
The district’s latest fiveyear forecast shows Lorain schools will be financially solvent through May 2021, Hardy said.