LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Lima City Schools Superintendent Andre Rudolph delivered his first "State of the Schools" address on Tuesday night.

Rudolph highlighted the district's current strengths and challenges. Among the strengths he cited were growth in middle school English language arts and math performance, progress among gifted students, and the district's Career and Technical Education program earning 4.5 stars on the state report card.

On the other hand, Rudolph pointed to funding issues, deficit spending, student retention, and a shortage of educators as ongoing challenges for the district.

Lima City Schools superintendent outlines goals, challenges in first ‘State of the Schools’ address

A significant portion of his address focused on the state report card, with Lima City Schools receiving a two-star rating. Rudolph emphasized that the rating is just one measure of academic success and noted that economic hardships often contribute to lower ratings. He said 99% of Lima City Schools students were identified as economically disadvantaged in 2024.

"The report card is only one metric. What I can tell you is, historically, the report card: the correlation to impoverished environments typically correlates to low performance on the state report card. What I want to communicate and convey to my constituents is simple. At the end of the day, we will rise. We'll rise above, and there are so many different ways to measure academic success for our students," says Andre Rudolph, Superintendent, Lima City Schools.

With a goal of instructional excellence, Rudolph said the district is beginning to implement major changes to its curriculum.

"We just made a huge investment into a new curriculum at the K-8 level in English Language Arts called "CKLA," and programs like "CKLA..." we're given a theme, and there are several standards embedded in that theme. And so, teachers have to teach differently; they have to prepare differently," Rudolph adds.

Superintendent Rudolph aims to bring Lima City Schools to a three-star rating within the next two to three years.

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