FCS to offer summer school

Summer school will be part of the equation for Findlay City Schools as the district looks for ways to help grade-school students — who may have fallen behind during the pandemic — get caught up. Ohio schools have until April 1 to submit a remedial plan for students to the Ohio Department of Education. Stephanie Renn, director of elementary instruction for the city schools, said the district is actively working on its plan. Renn made the remarks at the regular meeting of the school board on Monday. The board is expected to review and approve the plan at its March 22 meeting. Renn said Findlay City Schools hopes to create a "summer camp" platform that will be fun for students, so they'll want to get involved. She said the focus will be on reading and math. The district is also contacting social service groups in the community for help adding "emotional learning" to the camps, as students continue to cope with the stress caused by the pandemic. "It's exciting," said Renn. "It's just going to take some planning." FCS Superintendent Troy Roth said summer opportunities may be offered for high school students, too. Earlier this month, Gov. Mike DeWine said he would urge Ohio lawmakers to use part of the state's federal aid to help fund the programs. The governor suggested that schools consider extending the school day, offer summer school classes or make tutoring more available. School districts could also consider an earlier start to the 2021-22 academic year. In Ohio, fall testing for third-grade reading — a benchmark exam for student progress — showed losses, especially in areas with high rates of job loss and COVID-19-related unemployment. A report on the results by Ohio State University faculty showed proficiency rates for the third-grade tests dropped 8 percentage points, and more than 87% of districts showed a drop in percent of students scoring "proficient" or higher. Achievement declines were more pronounced among districts that began this academic year using fully remote instruction compared to districts using either hybrid instruction or in-person learning. The losses in third-grade proficiency were larger in districts that used a fully remote education model, by about 3 percentage points. The report also notes that test score decline was greater for Black students than whites, with declines nearly 50% larger. Economically disadvantaged students also experienced larger losses. The full report can be read at http://glenn.osu.edu/educational-governance/reports/ Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee ensures students are successful in reading before moving on to fourth grade. Schools must provide supports for struggling readers in early grades. For the 2019-2020 school year, Ohio law temporarily waived the requirement that a student meet the promotion threshold to advance to fourth grade. Grant: 419-427-8412