Changes to Public Education in the State of Ohio

The one thing we know for certain is that “change’ is constant in education. Change always bring challenges but these changes bring new and exciting opportunities for our students. The new Ohio Learning Standards, PARCC assessments, Third grade reading guarantee and a new state report card system are just a few of the changes coming to public education throughout the state of Ohio. All of these initiatives bring with higher levels of achievement and increased rigor for our staff and students. The staff at Jonathan Alder has been working hard through a variety of professional development opportunities, waiver days and workshops to ensure that our students are prepared to meet these challenges.

As you know ODE recently released the official school and building report cards measuring the 2011-12 school year. Jonathan Alder has received high marks with ratings of “Excellent” or “Excellent with Distinction”. This is attributed to a caring, professional group of teachers, outstanding students, and a strong home-school partnership with our parents.

With the recent passage of HB 555 and beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, public school districts and buildings will be graded on a traditional A-F letter grade system. Below you will find two documents released from the Ohio Department of Education which help explain the “dashboard” approach and timelines associated with the new State Report Cards.