Enriching education leads to enrichment for schools

Eight Mahoning Valley schools have earned Ohio School Improvement Incentive Awards in recognition of their improvement on the state's proficiency tests. While the awards -- $25,000 for elementary schools and $50,000 for high schools -- are a tangible reward for the schools efforts, the far greater reward must be the knowledge that the children who attend those schools are learning more and getting a better chance at a fulfillling future.
Congratulations to Mary Haddow School in Youngstown, Lacroft Elementary in East Liverpool, Maple Ridge Elementary in West Branch, Alden Elementary in Warren and Maplewood North Elementary in North Bloomfield.
The Niles schools must really be working hard because two elementary schools there, Garfield and Bonham, each earned a state grant.
Southern Junior and Senior High School in Columbiana County is one of only 31 high schools statewide to receieve the award this year.
Attitude adjustment: Turning around years of underachievement isn't easy. It requires a change in attitude from everyone involved in the process.
Further, finding ways to help children do better academically requires rethinking a school's culture. If the kids have done poorly for years, more of the same accomplishes nothing.
Mary Haddow, Principal Kate Good said that the school conducts five to six programs every month that enrich the learning experience -- a performance of the Cleveland Opera, a visit from Sea World representatives, a flight festival in the spring. Such activities enhance learning, but perhaps more important is their enrichment of children's lives.
When eyes are opened to more of the world, minds are opened as well.