GM Schools Sees Progress Beyond Most Peer Districts for 2nd Year
The Ohio Department of Education has released the 2016-2017 State Report Card for all of Ohio's public and charter school districts, and I am pleased to report that for the second year in row, Groveport Madison's students achieved growth that outpaced the majority of our peer districts in Franklin County. In fact, of the 16 area school districts, only five districts (Bexley, Gahanna-Jefferson, New Albany-Plain Local, Whitehall, and Worthington) had a Value Added score higher than Groveport Madison's.
We are working hard to ensure you're getting value for the investment you're making in our schools. In fact, when you consider that Groveport Madison has the next to lowest tax millage rate in Franklin County, we are currently ranked in the top 10 area districts, when considering student achievement scores from this year's State Report Card.
Over the past three years, Groveport Madison has increased the intervention and support we provide to students and to families. We have added new curricula and we are providing ongoing training to our staff to enable them to go beyond the traditional instructional approaches to connect with all of our students. We have increased the rigor of our instruction to challenge students to reach beyond what they think they can do, accelerating the learning for students who are ready to take on the challenges of college-level work while still enrolled in high school. We have increased our focus on career and job readiness, ensuring our students are prepared for well-paying jobs - jobs that will raise household incomes and reduce the impact that poverty has on our community. Finally, we have created more partnerships with organizations and other agencies that can help address the greater needs of our community, and we have begun to build stronger parent partnerships across our community.
Groveport Madison is a diverse and highly-mobile community, with students facing a number of challenges in their everyday lives. Even when taking these challenges into consideration, we are seeing improvement in student achievement.
One of the most important (and controllable) aspects of the state report card is what is referred to as the "Value Added" score. This rating represents the amount of learning that a student accomplishes during a single academic year. Groveport Madison Schools earned a "B" on the Value Added Score this year, meaning that students achieved more than a year's-worth of academic growth over the course of the year. In addition, the District received an "A" rating for the academic growth of our students who have struggled the most (the lowest 20% of achievers), and a "B" Value Added rating for students who are receiving gifted services.
The District also saw significant growth in various grade levels and subject areas. Reading scores increased by 15.5 points at the third-grade level, 12.4 points at the fourth-grade level, and 18.1 points at the fifth-grade level. Math scores increased by 16 points at the third-grade level, 18.1 points at the fourth grade level, and 2.3 points at the sixth-grade level.
While we are very pleased with our improvements, there is no question that we still have much work to do. We will continue to seek out new ways to encourage our students' academic, social, and personal growth, while remaining focused on our mission of building a community of learners, leaders and responsible citizens.
We truly appreciate your support and encouragement. If we can answer any questions or assist you in any way, please let us know.
Respectfully,
Bruce Hoover
Superintendent
Posted: Thursday, September 21, 2017