SCHOOLS Districts work for high standards

Two charter schools are in 'academic emergency'; a third scored higher.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
LOWELLVILLE -- Schools Superintendent Richard J. Buchenic is humble when he hears that his pupils outperformed all others in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
"We're very pleased," he said. "It's a team effort. ... It's just everybody working together really."
That team effort has meant that the Lowellville school district earned an "excellent" rating on the 2002-03 school year report card released Tuesday.
The percentage of pupils passing state-mandated proficiency tests met 20 of 20 Ohio Department of Education standards. The district also met state standards for attendance and graduation rates.
Besides these 22 indicators, the district earned a 101.1 "performance index score" -- a number of up to 120 given to districts based on the individual performance of each pupil. The 101.1 score is the highest earned by a school in the two counties.
Further, the district met an "adequate yearly progress" standard (AYP) that means it hit math and reading targets for all pupils, as well as those broken into subgroups by race, disability and other factors. The state defines 10 subgroups, but Lowellville has only two of the groups in its district, white pupils and those who are economically disadvantaged.
Credits staff, curriculum
Buchenic credits a good staff, curriculum that takes into account the state standards and time spent recognizing difficulties and overcoming them. He also said support from the Mahoning County Educational Service Center and the community have made a difference.
"Lowellville has always been a community that has always done a tremendous job of making sure their children are well-educated," Buchenic said.
Residents in the small town pay high taxes, but still passed school levies and a bond issue for a new school building, even after the steel industry fell.
"They're taxed to the limit," he continued. "... But they always made sure to allow Lowellville kids to go to Lowellville schools."
Besides teamwork, the district received an Ohio Reads grant and implemented a new reading program, started a new writing program, and followed a successful math strategy developed by one Lowellville teacher, Buchenic said.
Classrooms remain small in this district of about 650 pupils, with no more than 23 pupils in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms and 25 in grades four to six.
Buchenic said the small size of the district means each pupil's performance means a lot. For example, the test scores of one pupil who moved into the district midyear would have meant that the number of indicators met could have fallen from 22 to 21. (Instead, the school from which the pupil moved was credited with the test scores.)
"I guess you can do anything with statistics," Buchenic said. "Some people say, 'It's easy for you to do well because you don't have many students.'"
Other 'excellent' ratings
Lowellville is one of seven districts in the Valley to earn an "excellent" mark. Poland pupils also met each of the 22 indicators and the AYP standard. Its performance index score was 99.1.
Other districts earning "excellent" marks, each meeting 21 of the 22 indicators, were Boardman, Canfield, South Range, Western Reserve and Howland.
While they remained low on the rating scale, much achievement was made by districts that struggled in the past. East Liverpool, Warren and Youngstown all moved from "academic emergency" ratings up two notches to "academic watch."
The charter schools
Community/charter schools continued to struggle.
Eagle Heights Academy and Summit Academy, both in Youngstown, earned "academic emergency" ratings.
But Youngstown Community School performed better, earning a "continuous improvement" rating, alongside such districts as Austintown, Campbell and Liberty.
Pupils in the community school hit targets for writing and attendance, and missed citizenship and reading targets by 1.1 percent each.
However, both math and science proficiency lagged far behind.
"We're certainly going to make an all-out, really big push," said Sr. Mary Dunn, the school's principal.
"... We have a super staff. They're extremely dedicated ... and, because they put so much into it, the expectations of our students are high, and when you expect a lot, you get a lot."
The staff had made another all-out effort in reading and writing in the past, Dunn said, but "you can't do everything in one year."
This year, educators at the school plan to maintain the reading and writing efforts while doing extensive drills in math and science, forming small groups, studying after school and adding activities and homework in these areas. Further, parents, from kindergarten on, are told what children need, "not only to pass the proficiency, but also to make it in life."
"The tests are necessary," she said. "But it isn't everything about the child."