New Ohio Department of Education statistics show Mahoning Valley charter schools the making gap closing improvements and area technical schools continuing to place students in their chosen career paths.

School report cards, revealing the performance of students in all school buildings and districts statewide, were released in September to evaluate performance in six categories, one of which is gap closing.

The gap closing component shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for students in English language arts, math and graduation. It also measures how schools are doing in supporting English learners to increase language proficiency, reducing chronic absenteeism for all students and identifying gifted students and providing gifted services.

“The gaps we were closing prior were not as large as the gaps we’re closing now,” said Heather Knapp of Youngstown Academy of Excellence. “Instead of one year of gaps, we’re facing a more difficult two to three years of gap closing — that has to do a little bit with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Trumbull Career and Technical Center, overall rated 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars, and Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, rated a 5 overall and in nearly every component, also receive an annual report card. Tech school ratings are based more on skill attainment.

•   1 to 1 1/2 stars means a district needs significant support to meet state standards;

•   2 to 2 1/2 stars means it needs support to meet state standards;

•   3 to 3 1/2 stars means the district meets state standards;

•   4 to 4 1/2 stars means it exceeds state standards;

•   5 to 5 1/2 stars means the district significantly exceeds state standards.

MAHONING COUNTY

Mara Banfield, Valley STEM+ME2 director, said the school is proud of its ratings. Valley STEM received 3 stars in gap closing and 3 stars overall.

Banfield said she knows the school worked hard to implement cross-content and standards-based lessons.

“Additionally, we utilize a mastery approach to learning, measuring student progress against the content standard,” she said. “When students understand the relevance of the content and see it used in practical application, they have a tendency to retain information due to making connections.”

Part of Valley STEM’s unchanged gap closing score from last year, Banfield said, is because some of the measures have fluctuated, but the overall is still the same with slight indications of upward trajectory.

“We will continue to analyze data at the student level, teacher level and school level to target areas for improvement and identify strengths for continued progress,” she added.

“Students come here with diverse background and educational experiences, and our staff is talented in their ability to bring it all together,” Banfield added. “It is a unique challenge to have students from all over the tricounty area, and we embrace that.”

•   MCCTC, which Banfield also oversees as director, received 5 stars in post-program outcomes, along with 4 in achievement, 5 in career readiness, and 5 in graduation rate.

Banfield said the overall rated 5-star school saw its best report card rating ever.

“This is not easy to achieve, and it has taken years of building on our offerings to include a vast amount of industry-recognized credentials and other career certifications,” she added.

“We work hard to maximize our opportunities for kids based on business and industry input. We have 22 programs, representing many career pathways. Our 5-star rating is a visual representation of the hard work of our students and staff in providing a highly skilled, qualified workforce.”

While the school celebrates its success, Banfield said it will continue to seek active engagement from its best stakeholders on how to best prepare its students.

“The report card is one visual representation of this success; however, it is not nearly as telling as our amazing students who leave here to successfully pursue the workforce, college or the military,” she said.

•   Horizon Science Academy of Youngstown received an overall 4-star rating, the highest among schools in Youngstown, while keeping a 5 in progress and gap closing.

“The school has demonstrated remarkable achievements, reaffirming its commitment to academic excellence and the growth of its students,” an academy news release states.

For overall improvement, Horizon made significant progress across all grade levels, showcasing consistent improvement in academic performance.

Principal Ferhat Kapki said: “These results are a testament to our commitment to providing an exceptional education to our students and ensuring their academic success … fostering a passion for learning, and preparing students for a bright and successful future.”

•   Youngstown Academy of Excellence earned 3 stars overall. Heather Knapp, head of the school, said the report is a good indication of where the kids are right now. The school’s gap closing increased 2 stars to 4.

“Small group instruction and our teachers doing well with it played a big part in our achievement increase,” Knapp added.

While Knapp explained that the pandemic effects are no longer having a harsh impact, she said “the summer slide is really showing.” Students at YAE are losing a lot of what they’ve learned during each school year over the course of each summer.

•   Stambaugh Charter Academy was rated 3.5 stars overall, with no change in achievement, remaining at 2 stars; progress up to a 4-star; gap closing up 4 stars to a 5; and early literacy staying at 1 star.

•   Southside Academy received a 2-star overall rating. The school went down in achievement, from 2 stars to 1, progress kept its 1-star rating from last year, gap closing increased from 2 to 3, and early literacy did not improve or fall from 1 star.

•   The state rated Youngstown Community School earned 2.5 stars overall. The school stayed the same in every category except for gap closing, which decreased to 2 stars.