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State officials say 'pick up the pace' to improve Youngstown schools
TweetYOUNGSTOWN — While the city schools climbed out of academic emergency, the gains were minimal, Ohio Department of Education officials said.
“There’s this perception that there’s this big celebration to be had,” said Michael Sawyers, state deputy superintendent. “That’s not true.”
Stan W. Heffner, state superintendent of public instruction, Sawyers and other ODE staff members attended a Youngstown Academic Distress Commission meeting today.
“Academic watch is nothing to celebrate,” Heffner said.
The district moved from academic emergency to academic watch on the last report card, but Sawyers pointed out that gain was because of improved attendance. The district remains in academic distress, he said.
“It hurts me to look at the data,” Heffner said. “It hurts me to think about those kids.”
While there have been improvements, Heffner wants things to progress faster.
“Every day you delay is a day you put children at risk for not getting an education,” he said.
Heffner said he wants the five-member academic commission to be more aggressive.
“They have a great deal of authority, and we expect them to exercise it judiciously,” he said.
For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com
Comments
Youngstown schools... joke.
Academic Distress Commission...bitter, deceptive joke.
These students are not empty ventriloquists' puppets. They are individuals with free will.
They have a big part in their own progress or lack of progress.
As long as the ODE pretends that students don't have responsibility, complex motivations, and varying talents, no forward progress will be made in urban districts.
Of course, the ODE knows this. They are two-faced, and determined to destroy schools in urban centers for their own purposes.
Great point Education_Voter.
Youngstown school parents don't give a darn about their kids' education and the "academic watch" rating shows it! I see no improvement anytime in the future.
Still, figure this.
Last year when attendance put YCS into Academic Emergency, it was important.
This year when they get the attendance measure, "it's only attendance."
If the state doesn't value the attendance measure, they should take it off the school report card.
It must be there for a reason.
And that reason is that they DO value it.
But they want to slap YCS.
They seem to misunderstand the meaning of "celebrate" in the YCS community. The superintendent uses "celebrate" to mean having a ceremonial opening, a ritural. So they use the terms: "This meeting will celebrate the beginning of the school year, who we are, our progress so far, and our intent to continue progress."
For instance, Catholics "celebrate" Mass. It doesn't mean they are breaking champagne bottles and pouring it over each other's heads while singing, "We Are the Champions."
ODE bureaucrats.......
I wonder if it "hurts" him to look at the data that shows that EIGHT charter schools in Youngstown are in academic emergency and two more are in academic watch.
Where is the academic distress commission for the charter schools?
Hypocrites.