UPDATE | NAACP set to blast Hathorn schools report

YOUNGSTOWN

George Freeman, Jr., president of the NAACP's Youngstown chapter, will address Youngstown schools Superintendent Hathorn's "State of the Schools" presentation given last week to the public.

That report "fosters illusions of progress," Freeman said in a news release announcing an 11 a.m. response today.

He notes that the school district is rated "D" by the Ohio Department of Education after four years and a cost of several million dollars.

The news conference is set for 1350 Fifth Ave, Suite 202 , Youngstown. It's in the same building as the Academy of Urban Scholars. An attendance audit released last week by the state Auditor Dave Yost's Office showed that auditors visiting the school found no students one day and only 37 students on a subsequent visit. The school, a drop recovery facility, reported 95 students to the Ohio Department of Education. Yost forwarded his findings to ODE, recommending further investigation.

Hathorn last week 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 after-school 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.

The district also is using Quaglia, a student initiative to instill a sense of accomplishment and responsibility, he said.

This is a developing story.