Youngstown schools official optimistic about results of upcoming state report

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

City school district officials expect the latest state review of district operations to be released this spring.

In late January, a team of six reviewers contracted through the Ohio Department of Education spent a week in the district.

“It looked at holistic systems for best practices based on the standards and indicators specified,” Toby Lichtle, an ODE spokesman, wrote in an email.

When it’s released, it will be the fourth such report for the troubled school district.

The reviews began in 2014.

They cover six areas: leadership, governance and communications; curriculum and assessment; assessment and effective use of data; human resources and professional development; student supports; and fiscal management.

The reviewers met and spoke with school board members, administrators and community members to gather input.

Stephen Stohla, interim superintendent, said the reviewers with whom he met listed many district strengths.

“They were telling us how well Youngstown was improving,” he said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com