District plans to improve

SANDUSKY — Sandusky Schools officials attributed teamwork to improvements in this year's annual state assessment, adding, though, that additional work is needed. District leadership discussed results of its Ohio School Report card results, released earlier this fall, an assessment from the state's education department ranking school performance on a scale of one to five stars. The district scored two stars in achievement, four in progress, five in gap closing, three in graduation and one in early literacy. Compare that to the previous year's scores: two in achievement, two in progress, two in gap closing, four in education and one in early literacy. The district's graduation rate was the only category to decrease compared to last year's report. Sandusky High School has a program that works with students to ensure they all make it to graduation. During the past few years, 2016 to 2021, the school had improved its rate from 76% to 94%. This past year, graduation dropped to 92.8%. "While we did not achieve our graduation goal, we will implement strategies to continue to improve our district graduation rate," superintendent Daniel Rambler said. The district annually utilizes a specific document to measure progress toward academic goals. It highlights the steps the district plans to take to improve. Rambler shared the document the district reviewed to better themselves in the 2023-24 school year. Three areas of improvement would be overall achievement in early literacy, math and English language arts. To improve these areas, Sandusky Schools plans to implement a new reading curriculum, extend learning opportunities for students and have staff professional development on the science of reading and standards for mathematical practices. Everyone in the Sandusky school district works together to contribute to its success. The district focuses on growth and achievement and personalizes each student's education to reach individualized success. Knowing each student has different definitions of success, Sandusky has a career technology program, which had scored an overall rating of 4.5 stars. Rambler expressed pride for all within his district who have contributed to the success of the career program and all school buildings. "We congratulate our students, staff members, and families for the academic growth we have had this school year," Rambler said. "We are united together to continue to make yearly progress to achieve academic growth and prepare our students for their futures beyond graduation." Rankings at a glance Here is how Sandusky Schools fared in the Ohio Department of Education's school report cards: • Achievement: 2 out of 5 stars — This category represents whether students' performance on state tests met established thresholds and how students performed overall on tests. • Progress: 4 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: 3 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: 1 out of 5 stars — This is a measure of reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.