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Youngstown schools celebrate academic progress
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Beverly Schumann, left, executive director of teaching and learning at Youngstown city schools, and Kimberly Rose, a teacher at Kirkmere Elementary School, let loose on the dance floor during the Celebrate Forward event Tuesday at the Covelli Centre.
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Superintendent Connie Hathorn acknowledges the city school system has much work to do to improve student achievement.
“We got beat up for celebrating that we’re in academic watch,” Hathorn told about 200 school district employees and supporters at the Covelli Centre on Tuesday. “I’m not happy about that, but we made progress.”
The district moved from academic emergency, the lowest designation, on the last two state report cards to academic watch on the one released last month.
Last week, the state superintendent of public instruction and the deputy state superintendent said the district needs to work faster to make progress. Academic watch is nothing to celebrate, state Superintendent Stan Heffner said last week.
Hathorn organized the event at the downtown arena and called it Celebrate Forward. Businesses and individuals contributed to buy food for the event, and Four-Lane Highway, a band composed of city school teachers, provided the music.
He said he wanted to thank all of those in the district for their work in the progress that was made.
“We can move forward,” Hathorn said.
The district needs to conduct assessments of students, monitor the results and re-teach to make progress, he said.
“The next step is continuous improvement,” the superintendent said.
Natalie Scott, a guidance counselor at Choffin Career and Technical Center, believes the school district is moving in the right direction.
“I think Dr. Hathorn is doing a great job,” she said. “I’m behind him 100 percent. We needed change in the city school district.”
Hathorn isn’t afraid to make changes, said Scott, who’s been with the district for 10 years.
Patrella Lightfoot has been a city school teacher for more than 21 years. This year, she’s teaching at the P. Ross Berry Eighth and Ninth Grade Academy.
She also believes the district is on the right path.
“Kids want you to love them and teach them,” Lightfoot said.