Tri-county great for education

By Mike Ford, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Thursday, August 28, 2008 (2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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As a new academic year begins, local educators start  with an official pat on the back from the state.
Each year, all of the state’s districts is rated as Excellent, Effective or showing Continuous Improvement. Public schools in Delphos, Fort Jennings, Ottoville and other rural districts received an Excellent or Effective rating.
As was the case last year, Delphos City Schools were Effective. This means the district scored 90-99.9 on the per individual portion of the evaluation, called the Performance Index. The same category for an Excellent rating requires a score of 100-120. Superintendent Jeff Price explains how the state’s formula breaks down to evaluate the district as a whole, each of its students and separate buildings.
“We were Effective again this year and we really demonstrated improvement in different categories. We either showed improvement or were above proficient in 26 of 30 indicators and met 26 of the 30 as well,” he said.
Performance indicators are based on achievement tests, Ohio Graduation Tests and the schools graduation rate, as well as general attendance.
The Performance Index score rates each student as Proficient or higher.
“About 85 percent of our students scored Proficient or above, so right now, the district would probably be about a B or B+. We’re doing well and improving,” he said.
“Three of our four buildings received an Excellent rating — Franklin, Landeck and the high school. The middle school did improve; they just have a little further to go. They especially showed improvement in 7th grade math, going from 53 percent last year to 69 percent this year; and in 8th grade social studies, we went from 53 to 62 percent. So, we’ll continue to work at these areas.”
Price is very pleased with the district’s overall performance.
“We were at or above the state average in almost all the tests, so I’m encouraged. Our teachers work very hard to align the curriculum to the standards and to become familiar with the tests and the testing process,” he said.
The report card changes periodically, adding a Value Added criteria to this year’s evaluation. The category tracks year-to-year growth in academic achievement. It simply rates each district as showing no growth, a year’s worth or more. Delphos exceeded the state’s determination of a year’s growth based on reading and math tests.
“Our overall composite score was above expected growth. The Value Added, basically, says ‘OK, this student should go from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’’ and measures if they got there. Overall, our students showed more than a year’s growth,” Price said.
Parents in Fort Jennings and Ottoville school districts are getting used to their children being part of the state’s upper tier. The superintendents are pleased with the hard work of teachers and students alike.
“I am pleased and quite proud. We have received Excellent status for the past seven years. We have a history of providing a good education for our youngsters,” said Jennings Local Schools Superintendent Frank Sukup.
Jennings met all 30 indicators and scored 104.5 on the PI index, which tops out at 120. The district also displayed more than a year’s growth in the Value Added category.
The home of the Big Green received another Excellent rating and met 28 of the 30 performance indicators and meeting the yearly growth measurement. The district also scored 103.9 on the PI index.
“This is the fourth year in a row we’ve been Excellent and we’re working toward hitting all 30 indicators by departmentalizing. This means we’ve restructured some things so one teacher teaches all the social studies for seventh and eighth grades and one teacher teaches all the science, for example. This is new for this year. Our kids are going  above  and  beyond being proficient. I’d say they and  their  parents  and  the staff working very hard is what has brought us to this point,” said Superintendent Scott Mangus.
Elida Local Schools improved to an Excellent rating this year, though it met a few less indicators than it did last year.
“I’m ecstatic on the excellent rating. The new growth and valuable improvements were additions that were rewarded. Our goal is to achieve 30 indicators. We were down from last year, 26 down to 23,” said Superintendent Don Diglia.
Diglia indicated the fifth grade was a weak spot and measures have been taken to address the issue.
“We’ve looked at the areas and grade levels and I think fifth grade was just a bump in the road for us this year but we went in over the summer and restructured how we’re teaching fifth grade,” he said.
The district scored 96.3 on its PI index and showed more than a year’s growth in Value Added. Among the efficiency tests, there was one particular area Diglia’s proud of.
“Our eighth grade social studies has shown 13 percent growth. And we’ve been very aggressive over the summer in the elementary area. Those teachers are very dedicated and are working very hard,” he said.
Spencerville Local Schools was also designated as Excellent, met 28 indicators, exceeded the yearly growth measurement and scored 98.2 on the PI index. Superintendent Joel Hatfield says the district has to work hard to improve because the state frequently changes the rules.
“We need to strive for improvement in all areas so we continue to improve because the bar keeps being raised. Our teachers have done a tremendous job of changing how they teach and what they teach to meet standards that are a moving target. That’s one of the problems; the state can completely change its focus next year and we could be in trouble again. As long as the state remains constant in what it expects from us, we can deal with that but when it changes the rules of the game, then it gets difficult,” he said.
Lincolnview Local Schools closes in on completing its construction project on the heels of an Effective rating that is on the verge of qualifying for excellency. The district met 28 indicators, scored 99 on the PI index and met the yearly growth measurement.
“This is the eighth year in a row we’ve been either excellent or effective; we made excellent one year three years ago. This year, if we had one more indicator or one more Performance Index point, we would have reached Excellent, so we’re right there knocking at the door,” said Superintendent Doug Fries.

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