Groveport Madison Local Schools have improved on the state report card and the district’s Superintendent Scott McKenzie sought to place the success in a broader context at the Sept. 10 school board meeting.
"We have a long way to go towards perfection," said McKenzie. "But we have made positive movement every year since the inception of this measurement."
He said over the last four years the district has risen from 4 to 8 to 11 to 14 in the number of state indicators met out of 30. The district is now rated "continuous improvement," but McKenzie noted five of the district’s 10 schools – Middle School North, Middle School South, Junior High, and Madison, Sedalia elementaries – all achieved "effective" status this year.
"We have no schools in ‘academic emergency,’ no schools in ‘academic watch,’ five in ‘continuous improvement,’ and five ‘effective,’" said McKenzie.
He then contrasted Groveport Madison’s results with the results of the three charter/community schools which draw a total of about 1,000 students from the Groveport Madison district: Groveport Community School with 538 Groveport Madison area students; Columbus Arts and Technology Academy with 103; and Millennium Community with 73.
According to the Ohio Department of Education: Groveport Community School (grades K-8) met 1 state indicator out of 10 and is rated "academic emergency’; Columbus Arts and Technology Academy (grades K-12) met 1 state indicator out of 19 and is rated "academic emergency"; and Millennium Community (grades K-6) met zero out of 12 indicators and is on "academic watch."
Said McKenzie, "This information is not meant to shock anyone, or put anyone else in a negative light, or beat our chests because we think we are better than them, but rather to point out that these students who go to the charter/community schools are the same kids that we educate in our school district and we do a tremendous job of educating our kids and we do an admirable job of preparing our students for the state tests."
Other Groveport Madison news
•McKenzie said an unofficial count of students shows that enrollment in the district is around 5,800 students. He said the number is "almost the same as last year at this time." He added an official enrollment count will be made in October.
•The board is considering signing the district on to a program through the Educational Service Center of Franklin County where students who have been truant for 10 consecutive school days, or for at least 15 total school days, would have their driver’s licenses revoked through the county juvenile court.
•Lt. Col. Rick Kincaid of the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker presented the district with a donation of $1,400. Additionally AEP donated $1,000 and school supplies. Others donating school supplies to the district were Hopewell United Methodist Church, AmeriSource Bergen, Vision Services Plan, ProTeam Staffing, Airnet, Jacobson Companies, First Service Federal Credit Union, Shaklee, McGraw Hill, Eugene Wilson, Donna Daniels.
•Director of School Improvement Susan Briggs said the district will have literacy consultants at all 10 of the schools this year. The consultants, funded by the Ohio Department of Education, provide training and support for teachers as well as strengthen coordination and alignment of literacy efforts among the district’s buildings. They also work with individual students.
•Briggs reported that 94 students and 12 teachers participated in the district’s Ohio Graduation Test Summer School. As a result of the program, she said six seniors graduated; three seniors, three juniors, and 16 sophomores made passing scores but still need to review other areas; and 16 sophomores and seven juniors made passing scores in every area and will be eligible to graduate when they become seniors.
