Thursday, January 22, 2015
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown schools chief Connie Hathorn thought hard about what he had to do as a leader to move the school district forward.
He put all those thoughts into a box, he told the large crowd gathered to hear him at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Banquet Center Thursday evening for the State of the District address.
“Then I threw everything in it away,” he said. “And I think outside of it.”
The address lasted about an hour and outlined accomplishments, innovations and challenges for the district, from stimulating learning in the lower grades to a literacy collaboration with Youngstown State University to what he calls progress on state report cards.
A big accomplishment, he said to start, was Discovery 1 — a program at Kirkmere Elementary that includes Spanish, choir, communications, engineering, dance and instrumental music.
Because it was successful, it expanded to Volney Rogers Middle School with Discovery 2, which includes afterschool enrichment with academics, broadcasting, dance, disc jockey and fitness.
Discovery 3 at East High for seventh and eighth grades includes architecture, business, service-related and information technology, graphics, manufacturing, health sciences and transportation.
After moving college preparatory classes to East High School last year and technical career classes to Choffin Career and Technical Center, the district did not have any seniors go to East, he said.
“It’s OK not to go to college,” he said, adding that plumbers make $75,000 a year.
This year, he said, there are about 78 seniors at East.
A big challenge is attendance for students and teachers, but parents’ and community involvement in the schools is strong, he said.
Read more about the current condition of the district in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.