Better grades will come, Mohip tells council's education committee

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown City Schools CEO Krish Mohip said he is expecting better state report card grades in the coming years.

Mohip, during a Tuesday afternoon Youngstown City Council Education Committee meeting, defended the district’s Ohio Department of Education State Report Card failing grades after committee chairwoman, Councilwoman Basia Adamczak, D-7th, asked him if the decrease in grades is normally followed by a spike or sharp increase.

He said it is.

“In my experience in other districts, once you have some continuous years of growth – especially growth that’s aligned to national norms – you’ll see spikes in achievement,” he said.

Mohip is in the beginning of his third year of a three-year contract to expire July 31, 2019. Also attending Wednesday’s committee meeting were city council members Julius Oliver, D-1st, Anita Davis, D-6th, and Nate Pinkard, D-3rd.

“I’m confident the work we are doing is the right work. We have a measurement, though not assessed by the state, that measures the growth of a child three times a year – the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association). ... I felt like year one was really last year despite it being year two, because last year was the first year we were really digging deep into instruction.”

The district is making gains and just needs a few more years of this kind of growth, Mohip added.

“I come here after receiving an F on the state report card saying that I am excited about the direction the district is going,” Mohip said. “We are seeing progress. You have to make sure you have strong growth before you get to achievement levels. We are making strong growth.”

Read more about the matter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.