Grants assist Margaretta's success

CASTALIA — The leader of Maragretta Schools said that devoted educators and district improvements funded by grants were top contributors to improvements in this year's state evaluation. Margaretta Schools received a four-star rating overall in this year's state report cards, an annual grading of public school districts by Ohio's education department. The district received a four-star rating in achievement, three stars in progress, three stars in early literacy, five stars in gap closing and five stars in graduation. This is an improvement from last year's scores: three stars in achievement, two in progress and five in gap-closing. Their graduation rate and early literacy rankings remained the same. Margaretta credits its report card scores to their commitment to the classroom, a literacy initiative, strategic plan and the work educators do throughout the school year. Within a Margaretta classroom, educators focus on five factors: teaching at or beyond their set standards, differentiating instruction, formative assessment, analyzing data and adjusting how they instruct. "Most important is we have dedicated and devoted educators and staff that care for their students and go above and beyond for their students on a daily basis," Margaretta Schools superintendent Ed Kurt said. Kurt also pointed to the success of its literacy education initiative, which it achieved by the help of a $200,000 grant from the state, which was used to create a network of educators to provide training and support to educators to improve instruction quality. Academic achievement, climate and career development are the three objectives that the district's strategic plan addresses that have led to their success, according to Kurt. Those within the district, such as Kurt, understand the report card is just a snapshot of what the school works on throughout the school year. Kurt also pointed to the district's community partners as a contributor to its success. Several organizations support the school's goal of giving its students the best education possible: • Family Health Services, which provides counseling • Erie County Health Department, which provides medical and dental services • Erie County Sheriff's Office, which provides safety and security through school resource officers • OHgo, which provides food for children affected by food insecurity In addition to the $200,000 state grant, the district was also awarded grants by other groups, including, The Wightman Wieber Foundation, Erie County's board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services and the Ohio Attorney General's Office. These additional grants have gone towards literacy, safety and security, mental health and technology, according to Kurt. Rankings at a glance Here is how Margaretta Schools fared in the Ohio Department of Education's school report cards: • Achievement: 4 out of 5 stars — This category represents whether students' performance on state tests met established thresholds and how students performed overall on tests • Progress: 3 out of 5 stars — This category represents the growth all students are making based on their past test performances. • Gap closing: 5 out of 5 stars — This category shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for students in English language arts, math and graduation. It also measures how schools are doing in supporting English learners to increase language proficiency, reducing chronic absenteeism for all students and identifying gifted students and providing gifted services. • Graduation: 5 out of 5 stars — This is a measure of the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and the five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. • Early Literacy: 3 out of 5 stars — This is a measure of reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade