ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Report cards came early in the State of Ohio at the start of the new school year, but this time focusing on school districts and what they are doing in six different categories.
The State of Ohio Department of Education has listed report card ratings for every school district in the state during the 2022-2023 school year. Each category is rated out of five stars and averages out to a total grade.
Lima City Schools received an overall star grade of two stars, which is given to schools that need support to meet state standards.
"We take the grade card seriously, we dive into the data and we look at it, but we know it is not a true picture of what is happening here day in and day out," said Jill Ackerman, Lima City Schools Superintendent.
Category grades include one star in progress, early literacy, and graduation, with two stars in achievement, and three stars in gap closing. Lima City Schools says that their career tech program has been spotlighted as positive in the state.
"A lot of these kids are placed in jobs before they are even exiting high school," said Ackerman. "We have some amazing manufacturing partners out there or business partners that are in our schools, working with our kids, looking at our curriculum making sure the welding program is adapted to what they are doing at the tank plant."
The attendance rate at Lima City Schools sits at 87.9%, showing that getting kids in seats is not an issue, but the school district says that improvements to classroom learning is already underway.
"We do want it to be engaging. we are in year three of the blend learning initiative, which is very differentiating in instruction in an engaging way," said Ackerman. "Using the technology that we have that has made it a lot more fun, than the old traditional way of teaching."
Other statistics for Lima schools include enrollment numbers of 3,352 students enrolled across nine schools, with an attendance rate by teachers at 94.9%.
Over at Shawnee Local Schools, they are sitting at a rating of 4.5 stars, which is given to schools that exceed state standards. Category ratings include five stars in achievement, gap closing, and early literacy, and four stars in progress and graduation. Shawnee Superintendent Jude Meyers says that by walking into a classroom, you can see their efforts in plain sight.
"I walked into a class, a history class, and every single student had their notebook out taking notes," said Meyer. "I walked into a math classroom and the entire class was up at the board working problems with the teacher interacting."
Other statistics from Shawnee Local Schools include an attendance rate of 94.1%, with 2,226 students enrolled in four schools. Shawnee says that they will be looking for more ways to improve even after the high rating.
"Looking how we can use that to drive instruction is probably what we want to do next, understand it, share it with staff, getting their feedback and understanding as well," said Meyers.
