2012 senior class photos
2012 West Carrollton graduation
Home of the Week
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > December > 02 > Entry
Kettering, Lebanon schools get Senate help with report card problem
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday, Dec. 2, gave the Kettering and Lebanon city school districts some help with their annual report cards.
“This is a first step in giving a more true picture of a school district’s performance,” Jim Schoenlein, Kettering interim superintendent, said by phone after the Senate’s 32-1 passage of Senate Bill 167.
The current system “does not communicate how a school district performs in an accurate manner,” Mark North, Lebanon superintendent, said in a separate telephone interview.
Although both districts generally were high-performing, their grades slipped to “Continuous Improvement” — equal to a “C” rating — because of a single measure called Adequate Yearly Progress.
It examines academic achievement in sub groups classified along racial, ethnic, economic and other lines.
Kettering’s AYP performance for special education students and students whose native language is not English brought its ranking down.
Lebanon’s slipped because of the AYP performance for Hispanics and other students whose native language is not English.
Otherwise, both districts were headed for the top rating: excellence with distinction. The bill would change guidelines to prevent a district from dropping more than one classification based solely on AYP performance.
Sen. Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, cast the only “no” vote. He said the whole report card system needs to be revamped.
Amanda Wurst, Strickland’s spokeswoman, said the governor believes AYP is important in holding schools “accountable for every child.” Strickland has not been supportive of the bill “for some time,” Wurst said.
Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, sponsor of the bill, said that by providing an inaccurate grade of a district’s performance, the current system could make it hard to attract residents who are looking for the best schools for their children.
The bill now goes to the House. It won’t land on Strickland’s desk unless the House and Senate agreed on a final version.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment |
Comments
By seo lace
May 3, 2010 11:19 AM | Link to this
I am habing a ahrd time rediang www.daytondailyneews.com in IE 3.6, I just thouyht I ight let you know?
By Vengoand
February 21, 2010 1:31 PM | Link to this
и всё эе: спасибо. а82ч
By eugene_bond
December 25, 2009 11:39 AM | Link to this
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can? And you et an account on Twitter?
By rostlviv
December 18, 2009 11:11 PM | Link to this
Dear Author www.daytondailynews.com ! I consider, that you have deceived.
By Agolipox
December 12, 2009 10:09 AM | Link to this
well.. it’s like I said!
By Help for Everyone
December 7, 2009 1:42 PM | Link to this
Good news, this could help so many other districts as well.
By government school elitists
December 3, 2009 12:55 PM | Link to this
isn’t it funny to hear a government school advocate call someone else an elitist? how many fairmont parents would like to send their kids to alter but can’t?
By government school elitism
December 3, 2009 12:52 PM | Link to this
isn’t it funny to hear a government school advocate call someone else an elitist? how many fairmont parents would like to send their kids to alter but can’t?
By somepeopleareidiots
December 3, 2009 11:03 AM | Link to this
Compare Alter and Fairmont and you will see a clear discrepancy in quality of education. In fact, Kettering Schools provide a much higher level education with much more highly qualified teachers. You don’t have to be certified to teach at Catholic Schools. All you need is a non-tax cert and they can make that happen for individuals that perhaps have little educational background. Fairmont provides many more options inside and outside the classroom than Alter. Perhaps the student body is a bit different, but that is because it doesn’t cost parents 7,000 per year to go to Fairmont. Obviously, you will get a lower overall average household income for students at Fairmont and that does indeed lead to a whole different set of issues. Nonetheless, the education at Fairmont is not even close to inferior to Alter. That point of view is elitist and typical of many people whom live in catholic/private school bubble.
By mac
December 3, 2009 11:01 AM | Link to this
Kettering Resident, there is a huge focus on student achievement as it relates to the state report card in the Kettering City Schools. From where do you infer “inaction” and “incompetence”? Administrators and faculty continually plan and deliver against objectives designed to prepare students to meet and exceed the state benchmarks and intervene with extra attention when students lag. If you were involved in the public schools, you would see evidence of this ongoing effort. AYP is a moving target: the better you perform, the higher the bar is set the next year. And AYP is just one measurement in a host of others that all should be taken into account when considering a district’s performance. Too much weight is placed on this number that too few people even understand.
By dawn
December 3, 2009 10:57 AM | Link to this
Illegal immigration costs society on many levels. While the districts are bound to educate LEP or ELL students, the costs are immense. What to do?? CA and AZ are struggling massively with thr issues, and OH needs to look at what a wreck the state government is in out there to realize that something needs to be done. School, public insurance, food stamps, the list goes on for programs that can barely maintain the needs of Americans let alone the needs of Mexico and its citizens.
By Bob
December 3, 2009 10:57 AM | Link to this
DO not have it a little easier. I am a product of private school and even I can make a mistake. lol
By Bob
December 3, 2009 10:54 AM | Link to this
If you took all the Alter Students and put them in a public school and put all of the public school students in Alter then the public school would be the better performing school. Private schools do not play by the same rules. I am for school choice, but I am not going to pretend that private schools do have it a little easier.
By Kettering Resident
December 3, 2009 10:34 AM | Link to this
I also live in Kettering and have, and will continue to, support Kettering Schools. However, the AYP dilemma has been ongoing for Kettering Schools. Apparently, as their report card wasn’t impacted, Kettering School officials didn’t seem to care-an inaction that justifies a labeling of incompetent. When is Kettering going to spend the money to improve their performance in this area? Meanwhile, I will continue to follow in the footsteps of my fellow blogger, Dave, and send my child and my money to Alter.
By mac
December 3, 2009 10:26 AM | Link to this
dave—“incompetent” schools cannot possibly achieve scores that merit an Excellent with Distinction rating; Kettering’s students on the whole performed better than EVER this year. It’s too bad we have no basis for comparison between the public and private schools. As for the bill, it was not created to “fix” Kettering’s and Lebanon’s scores but rather to update the scoring system to accurately reflect the performance of all schools across the state. The subgroups for which Kettering and Lebanon were penalized are too small in other local schools to even count toward their overall scores—the other schools very well could be underperforming with these students as well, but their scores are not measured because they do not meet the cutoff. Schools that serve diverse populations are being scrutinized much more closely that those which serve more homogenous ones. And it is much more diffcult to educate those diverse populations. How is that fair? How do scores from a system like that help people compare schools when choosing a community in which to purchase a home? They don’t, because it’s not comparing apples to apples.
By annonymous
December 3, 2009 10:13 AM | Link to this
“Incompetent schools???” You have no clue! I am a product of a private school. They do not have programs for special education students or students who don’t speak English. Public schools have to take in these students. Send your kids to Alter..but don’t call Kettering schools incompetent.
By dave
December 3, 2009 9:53 AM | Link to this
I live in Kettering and pay substantial property taxes to support the schools. I choose to pay to send my two kids to Alter because I will not trust their education to incompetent public schools.
By Phyllis Dawkins
December 3, 2009 9:47 AM | Link to this
I find it interesting that AYP has suddenly become an issue that will be “looked at” finally because Kettering took a hit on their state ranking. Other systems in the past have earned “continuous improvement” because of AYP scores but it apparently wasn’t an issue because they weren’t Kettering. Well, Kettering, welcome to the club!
By No School Left Standing
December 3, 2009 9:41 AM | Link to this
This is just a bandaid- and what’s sad, the bigger district have already felt this pinch, but since folks expect them to fail anyway, no one cared. It’s only when smaller districts get hurt by it that people decided to change the rules. But the bandaid part is that the way the law is written, EVERY subgroup (special ed, LEP, + all ethnic groups) has to have 100% proficiency, 93% attendance, and made a years growth in just a few years. No school will achieve this illogical goal. If special ed students could be proficient in all areas, they wouldn’t be in special education? What about the medically fragile child who can’t make the 93% attendance goal because they have 2 surgeries a year? It goes on and on. No Child Left Behind should really be called ‘No School Left Standing’ because that’s what’s really going on.
By Choice
December 3, 2009 8:43 AM | Link to this
For the Ohio Senate to be wasting time on this issue while our state economy is on life support disgusts me. It’s purely political and totally meaningless. BTW - these Ohio students in your government schools will be moving to Texas for jobs after college.
By dale1
December 3, 2009 8:27 AM | Link to this
I think this is absolutely fair and this bill would apply to ALL school districts in Ohio Basil. Kettering has good schools and for the most part so does Dayton. If you work hard and study in any school you will learn. Why should a school system be pentalized for a group of people that don’t speak or understand English? For the most part both of these school systems are very good and you can’t drop their grades for those who would never learn no matter what schools they went to.
By sigh @ scoobydo
December 3, 2009 8:23 AM | Link to this
While fully admitting the immigrant history of America, an inscription on the base of a statue does not dictate our laws or policies, nor what is necessarily best for the country as a whole. Additionally, until the 1960s, the vast majority of American immigration was from Europe.
By CitizenJane
December 3, 2009 7:23 AM | Link to this
Did you all know that Kettering is also considered a “low income” school the the Dept of Edu? Is this being brought on by ILLEGAL immigration? Is this cause of the recent slip? As for being accountable for every child….why does THEIR parents crime (and being in this country without proper documentation, IS a crime….don’t believe me…TRY it in any other country) have to affect MY kid? I have nothing against folks coming to the US but they need to do so LEGALLY. Illegal immigration costs ALL of us.
By Nick
December 3, 2009 6:36 AM | Link to this
Just imagine what this type of manipulation of the data would do for Dayton Public Schools where over 20% of the student population is identified as special ed not to mention a large, and ever growing, hispanic population. This might be what it takes to shine the light on Dayton’s high achievers.
By Choice
December 2, 2009 6:15 PM | Link to this
Let the school districts grade themselves - who really cares? When they can’t rig their own system they run to their friends in Columbus.
By Basil
December 2, 2009 5:17 PM | Link to this
Why would Kettering and Lebanon be given this favorable treatment? The same system that penalizes all school districts should be revamped. This is nothing more than a band aid on a HUGE statewide problem. UNFAIR! Let’s cater even more to these pampered suburban school districts!
By Sally
December 2, 2009 4:13 PM | Link to this
I am so glad the Ohio senate took this action. The ridiculous, politically correct “AYP” needs to be completely eliminated as far as I am concerned. As a Kettering homeowner, I was furious when our schools were given such a low rating. Property values, which have already taken a nosedive, are affected so adversely by this kind of nonsense-not to mention student and teacher morale.