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Middletown schools' progress in classroom gains recognition

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By Denise Wilson, Staff Writer 6:32 PM Friday, November 4, 2011

MIDDLETOWN — Middletown City Schools’ academic growth is being recognized nationally.

The district recently learned that it had the 12th highest gains across the state in yearly student academic growth for the 2010-11 school year, according to data released by Battelle for Kids. The data released was the “Value Added” component of the Ohio Department of Education state report card, which measures student annual growth on state standardized tests in all 609 districts.

Battelle for Kids is a national not-for-profit organization created in 2001 through a partnership with the Ohio Business Roundtable. It was established to champion improved student achievement in Ohio.

Jim Mahoney, executive director of Battelle for Kids said, “we know from experience that greater rates of progress (growth) ultimately lead to greater achievement. And, greater achievement turns into more student opportunities. This is a great story.”

Superintendent Greg Rasmussen credits students and staff for the accolade.

“To achieve this high level of growth takes focus, determination and a great deal of hard work from both students and staff,” he said. “They should be extremely proud of their efforts. I know they will continue to work hard as we promote excellence in Middletown.”

The district retained its rating of “continuous improvement” it achieved a year ago on the state report card released in August, but doubled the amount of indicators it received, achieving 10 of 26 compared to just five last year.

Seven of the district’s 10 buildings also improved their designations, including Miller Ridge Elementary, which is now rated excellent with a 94.9 performance index score.

The district also made gains across the board in math while showing improvement in reading.

The district did not meet adequate yearly progress, but rated above the value added measure, which represents the progress a district has made with its students since last year. Seven of the district’s 10 buildings were above what the state said its students should learn in one year, he said.

Rasmussen said the district was able to demonstrate academic gains because teachers and support staff have a good understanding of what the state expects its students to learn, which in turn is designed to meet each student’s learning needs.

“Sounds simple, but it isn’t,” he said. “Our teachers are doing an outstanding job of working with a diverse group of students who have very different learning needs. As for the district, we are all focused on getting better each day via formal professional development and informally learning from each other. We are getting better at using data to determine exactly what students need and then adjusting our teaching styles to meet those needs,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.

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