Neighbors | Zack Shively.Austintown superintendent Vincent Colaluca and assistant superintendent Jeremy Batchleor sat at Perkins for the Coffee & Conversation with Austintown Superintendent. Colaluca does these events once every two months. It gives a chance for the school and community to have an open dialogue. Each talk has a different topic, such as academics. Each talk will be streaming on Facebook Live and broadcast on ACTV.
By ZACK SHIVELY
Austintown superintendent Vincent Colaluca sat at Perkins to talk about academics on Nov. 8 as a part of Austintown’s Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent event.
Colaluca, joined with assistant superintendent Jeremy Batchelor, discussed some academic benchmarks. They specifically addressed the Ohio School Report Card, an initiative the state does to grade how well schools perform throughout the school year.
Colaluca brought up a number of strategies the schools have begun to implement in the classrooms, such as the use of Google Chromebooks and the instruction of the Bridges math program. He then gave the floor to Batchelor to discuss the Ohio School Report Card.
Batchelor began by explaining what the state looks for and how they assess the schools. He explained that the state uses six criteria, “achievement,” “gap closing,” “K-3 literacy,” “progress,” “graduation rate” and “prepared for success.” The Report Card uses a grading scale from A-F, with a C being the benchmark that schools should look to hit.
Both Colaluca and Batchelor admitted that the school has areas where it needs to improve, but they also pointed out areas where the school is already improving. Of the criteria, the school has improved in three areas and stayed the same in the rest.
Both superintendents spoke about their pride in moving the grade in area of “progress.“ Progress marks the value of academic growth. Previously, the school had a D in progress, but the district received an A this year.
“I think this one is the true indicator of how great our teachers are,“ said Colaluca of achieving great strides in the area of “progress.“
Colaluca plans to have a Coffee and Conversation event once every two months. Colaluca invites and wants parents and the community to come to the events to have an open dialogue about the schools.
These events are streamed on Facebook Live and DRUND Live. The Facebook Live video remains on the “Austintown Local Schools” Facebook page after the event. ACTV also replays the conversation.
Each event covers a new topic. In September, Colaluca discussed open enrollment with parents at Eat’n Park. Next month, he plans to talk about the schools’ staffing and how they employ about 900 people throughout the district, including 325 teachers and 260 support staff.