State Senator Bill Beagle...
District Schools Earn High Marks 

COLUMBUS – The Ohio Department of Education recently released their report cards for school districts throughout the state. District report cards come out annually and are used to assess levels of achievement and effectiveness at our local schools. The hard work and dedication of students and faculty across the 5th Senate District was on display as 12 of our school districts were named ‘Excellent’ by ODE.  Two of these districts – Troy City and Miami East Local – received the state agency’s highest recognition of ‘Excellent with Distinction’ and are considered to be among Ohio’s most effective places of learning. 

Ohio has seen its number of ‘Excellent’ districts increase from 296 in 2010 to 352 this year. A total of 89 school districts achieved ‘Excellent with Distinction’ honors and almost 90-percent of all districts improved on their Performance Index scores from the previous year. More than half of the school districts in the 5th Senate District managed to improve between this year and last, and that is truly worthy of commendation. 

The effort to improve our children’s education is among the most noble that can be taken. Educators, parents, and policymakers must work together to bring forth innovative new ideas that will place Ohio’s classrooms among the nation’s best. As a state, we are taking new steps to put our children – rather than bureaucracy – first in terms of educational policy. We are also putting in place guidelines for incentivizing our highest-performing schools and fairly evaluating the performance of our teachers. It is also encouraged that parents do their best to play an active role in their children’s schooling. Recent studies have found that students whose parents are engaged in their learning are more likely to achieve higher educational outcomes later in life. 

In many ways, it is this concerted effort to secure a bright future for our youth that truly defines a community. As friends, family, and neighbors, we pursue such goals together in hopes of bettering the lives of future generations and expanding civic pride. 

I wish to thank everyone who played a role in the success of our local school districts and congratulate all those involved in the continuous improvement and excellence of our classrooms.