Youngstown School District gets a chance to prove itself

Eight high schools in Ohio will receive grants through the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative, and of those eight, three are in Youngstown. Talk about a major accomplishment.
The $2 million will enable the Youngstown Board of Education to create smaller, autonomous high schools within the three larger facilities, thereby providing students with the type of individualized attention that is so important, especially for inner city youths.
But while celebrating Youngstown's success, we regret that Warren's application for a transformation grant did not make the cut. We're encouraged that Warren will reapply next year, and we urge Youngstown to offer its assistance. The educational needs of Warren's young adults are just as important as those in Youngstown's high schools. And as we have argued on many occasions, what happens in one part of the Mahoning Valley affects all parts.
The boundaries that separate communities and school districts must not be barriers to cooperation and unity.
That said, we applaud Ben McGee, superintendent of Youngstown Schools; John Tullio, an administrative specialist for the district; and Kathleen O'Connell Sauline, supervisor of libraries and media, along with the other members of the team that developed the program.
"Think of the best possible school environment you could imagine -- where all the adults in the building don't feel successful unless all the kids are successful, the kind of school where you would want your own kids to be," Sauline said.
That isn't a new thought, but in the past the impediments to making it a reality were just too insurmountable. Not anymore.
Smaller communities
The goal is to have three smaller communities of no more than 400 students in each high school. Each would have its own dean, but no principals.
The grant will be used to train administrators and teachers and to buy curriculum design and instructional materials, to establish lines of communication with the community and for student-centered activities.
The reduction of the number of high schools from three to two when the districtwide $100 million-plus facilities upgrade is completed will not affect the program. The goal of providing a learning environment that addresses the needs of each pupil will continue to guide the school district.
Indeed, the smaller-is-better philosophy is at the center of Cincinnati-based KnowledgeWorks Foundation, which is funding the transformation initiative. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation financially supports KnowledgeWorks, as do other philanthropic organizations and the state of Ohio.
What is encouraging about the Youngstown initiative is that the old definitions of public education, teaching and student participation are being replaced with ideas that not so long ago were given only lip service.
When Sauline talks about a "change in the concept of education" to include after-school or weekend programs, it is clear there is no going back for the Youngstown schools system.