YOUNGSTOWN CITY SCHOOLS Major changes greet children in effort to improve academics

Poor performances on tests prompted changes in the academic approach.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gender specific schools, a new alternative school, creating "small schools" within current high schools -- all are efforts by the Youngstown City Schools to improve pupils' academic performance this year.
The district's 9,000 pupils returned to classes last week to find some significant changes in the educational infrastructure.
"Our job is to teach children and to make sure they learn," said Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent.
The changes reflect that mission, she said, noting that Youngstown's educational ratings over the years were a key factor in the decision to revamp academic operations.
The school district recently slipped back into the academic emergency rating in Ohio's school report card system.
Webb said research into the best practices needed for school reform helped the district formulate changes for this year.
Curriculum audit
A curriculum audit was completed last year as well, and the district found where it needs to make improvements, she said, explaining the goal is to make the district proactive rather than reactive.
One of the most significant changes is the creation of two gender schools, one for seventh- and eighth-grade boys and another for seventh- and eighth-grade girls.
There is a lot of research that says boys and girls learn differently, and sometimes lesson plans need to be geared around the way they learn, Webb said.
"It's a pilot program. I just simply believe we needed to do some really intense intervention," she said. The idea is to get the children back on track.
Gender schools
The Alpha School of Excellence for boys is located in the Princeton building on the city's South Side, while the Athena School of Excellence for girls is in the John White building on the East Side.
Enrollment at both schools is capped at 200 and both were at more than 190 last week, Webb said. Some pupils were assigned there, but parents could request their children be sent to the new schools.
Reading is a key focus of the curriculum, but so is mathematics with the introduction of pre-algebra and algebra at these grade levels.
The gender schools start each morning with an assembly to look at the upcoming day's events.
The effort is reaching beyond just academics, with an intensified physical fitness program and a move to build social skills by having children assigned to "family clusters" at lunch time. Some food will actually be passed around the table by the children.
Alternative schools
The Odyssey School of Possibilities, located in the Harrison building on the East Side, is an alternative school offering different ways of learning for pupils in the third through ninth grades.
It offers a more strict environment for children who have disciplinary or learning problems.
"Kicking a student out doesn't change behavior," Webb said. "We needed to revamp our educational theory on how to teach kids who learn differently. Things won't change if you do the exact same thing."
Most children at Odyssey were assigned there, but some parents requested their children attend Odyssey because think they can be more successful in that environment, Webb said. Enrollment is capped at 200, and about 170 attended last week.
The educational structure at Odyssey is based on a system in which children have to earn points, through behavior and academic improvements, to participate in activities such as field trips.
"It gives the kids a goal and shows we have expectations for them," Webb said. Odyssey also offers extra counseling, behavior management and the academic standards.
Small schools
Youngstown's three high schools -- Chaney, Rayen and Woodrow Wilson -- have each been divided into three "small schools," all still located within the same buildings but each separated by being placed in its own wing or on its own floor.
It's one campus but three schools within it. The building will have a principal, but each small school will have its own dean.
Students at Chaney, Rayen and Wilson got to pick which of the small schools in their building they want to be part of, though the district made sure enrollment showed a diversified population in each to avoid creating an elite school, Webb said.
Everyone will now get a higher, more rigorous curriculum with everyone required to take some college-bound courses, particularly in science and math.
One small school may have more of an emphasis on technology; another may have a stronger hands-on project base. The third may be based on inquiry and self-discovery with independent study.
The main theory of the "small schools" approach is to remove anonymity for the pupils, Webb said, explaining that kids left alone can slip through the cracks of the educational system.
Every teacher, as part of a new emphasis on leadership in the classroom, has been assigned specific students that they must talk with every day to make sure they are on track, Webb said.
Youngstown did try one small school in each of the high schools last year and a noted significant change was an improvement in attendance. Another is that the staff requested more leadership training for this year, Webb said.
"I'm certainly not pleased we haven't seen more academic growth," Webb said, referring to the district's academic rating.
Building rapport
Communications have improved, however, and the district has a better understanding of where it needs to be. The district spent a lot of time building rapport with parents last year and intends to expand on that.
Youngstown now has staff to actually visit a student's home to deliver homework if the child is ill and to do interventions if the child is having problems in school, Webb said.
The district partnered with the United Methodist Community Center on Pearl Street last year to help with counseling. The East Side center also provided referral services for parents needing help with personal issues, such as the loss of electric service to their home, and even ran a dental clinic for pupils.
The district will continue to build those kinds of community partnerships, Webb said. That support frees the district to be more about education than serving as an "end all" for other issues and problems, she said.
gwin@vindy.com