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Ohio's Department of Education has released this year's School Report Cards, and results are underwhelming. Still, the ODE points out "Report Cards are designed to give parents, communities, educators and policymakers information about the performance of districts and schools -- to celebrate achievement and success and identify areas for improvement."
In other words, they are a tool that should help us do better for our children.
In our region, some districts are doing very well, while there's room for improvement in others.
For example, Steubenville City Schools received an overall 5 stars out of 5, which the state says means it significantly exceeds state standards.
Indian Creek received an overall rating of 3.5 stars out of 5, which means it meets state standards. Earning 3 stars out of 5, which means they meet state standards, were the Edison Local, Buckeye Local and Toronto City school districts.
The Harrison Hills City School District earned 2.5 stars out of 5, which the state says indicates the district needs support to meet state standards.
And, the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School District earned 4 stars out of 5, which indicates it exceeds state standards.
Parents and guardians can and should find specifics about their childrens' school districts here: reportcard.education.ohio.gov/
But, "report cards are only one part of the story about what is happening in schools and districts," as the education department points out.
As teachers take a look at these scores and figure out how to do better for our students, no doubt there will be concerns such as "How do we get lawmakers out of our way while we try to educate these kids?" "How are we supposed to focus on teaching when our schools are also caring for the physical and mental health of students, feeding them (sometimes clothing them), keeping them safe, and offering a haven they might not have at home?" "How are we going to get the resources we need to teach when our communities' economies are still in shambles?"
And, "How do we convince students to prioritize their educations when families and communities too often place no value on -- in fact, in some cases have a negative attitude toward -- getting an education?"
There is blame to spread far and wide on this problem.
Teachers and school systems will use the data to get to work toward greater improvement. As they do so, we must ask ourselves if we are ready to do our share.