State report cards bring no real surprises

With no real significant surprises in the Ohio State Report Cards of how each school district performed last year, educators are doing their jobs in preparing students for the future.

That is true of Lorain County area school districts.

The state released the report Sept. 12 and Avon, Avon Lake, Bay Village, Rocky River and Westlake school districts received “A” grades.

Receiving “B” grades were Amherst, Columbia, Firelands and Keystone school districts.

The districts that received “C” grades were Midview, North Olmsted, North Ridgeville, Sheffield-Sheffield Lake, Vermilion and Wellington.

Lorain, Elyria and Clearview received “D’s.”

In a mild surprise, Lorain City Schools improved to a “D” grade from an “F.”

As one would expect, Lorain Schools CEO David Hardy Jr. celebrated the overall letter grade improvement.

Despite his faults during his tenure for questionable decision making, for picking fights and his unwillingness to work with the Lorain Schools Board of Education, Hardy, along with teachers and parents deserves credit for the overall improvement.

But it was a little over the top for the district to create a graphic with the letter “D” and social media hashtag #RiseoftheTitans.

In other areas, Avon Lake Superintendent Bob Scott is pleased with the district’s “A” and is appreciative of the dedication and hard work by the schools, families and the community that allows them to consistently perform at a high level.

Scott said the report card gives the district another view of its schools, students and staff.

But now, Scott said the district will look at the report card data and use the information in planning as appropriate.

Avon Local Schools repeated its performance in 2019 with another overall “A” grade.

Avon Local Schools Superintendent Michael Laub lauded the fact that his district is one of the highest performing school districts in the state while remaining in the bottom nine percent in cost per student.

That certainly is something to boast about.

Laub said the district’s performance is a testament to its commitment to providing a high quality education to its students while remaining fiscally responsible.

Amherst Exempted Village Schools Assistant Superintendent Mike Molnar said with an overall “B” grade and a progress component grade of an “A,” all grades have either stayed level or improved from last year.

Molnar said the district also is one of 40 in the state to have received four straight “A” grades in value-added grades.

And Molnar is on point saying the district still is working on progress and trying to improve.

Although Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City School District received an overall grade of “C,” district officials are expressing optimism.

While disappointed with the results of the report card, Superintendent Michael Cook believes the quality of education in general is moving in a positive direction.

Cook said the district has prepared students for success better than the State Report Card indicates, noting an overall improvement to 268th from the 327th position.

Joining Lorain Schools with a “D” grade are Elyria City Schools, Clearview Local Schools and Oberlin City Schools — all urban districts.

Elyria Schools Superintendent Ann Schloss and Director of Academic Services Natalie Matthews aren’t too concerned about the overall “D” grade.

Schloss and Matthews are optimistic saying the underlying numbers are showing serious improvement.

But, Schloss said she doesn’t put all the eggs in this basket, because it is one test on one day.

She said the annual measurable objectives gives the district the most information because it shows that there was sustainable growth over the last couple years and that the district is meeting the needs of all of its subgroups.

Matthews added there has been a lot of growth with the district’s special education students, economically disadvantaged students and various ethnic groups.

Unfortunately, Oberlin Schools’ overall grade took a dip this year to a “D” from last year’s “C” in the 2018-19 State Report Card.

David Hall, superintendent of the district, said the scores from the Ohio Department of Education are just that, scores.

Hall admits that the district has a lot work to do in a lot of areas.

But Hall is optimistic the district’s new facility will have a positive impact.

With the exception of a couple districts improving its grades and a couple with slightly lower marks, there were no real surprises in the State Report Cards.