ASHLAND — The State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria recognized Ashland School District and two Ashland County middle schools among 63 total districts and 436 schools in their annual Ohio School Performance Awards, according to a press release issued Monday afternoon by the State BOE.
Ashland School District received the state BOE’s Momentum Award, and Ashland’s Taft Intermediate School and Hillsdale Middle School received the Momentum and the Overall ‘A’ Awards.
“It is always nice to be recognized for hard work,” said Hillsdale School District’s Superintendent Steve Dickerson. “What’s working in the Middle School is the same that is working in all our buildings. We are looking at data to drive instruction. We are doing a good job of identifying students that need additional assistance and providing it.”
The Momentum Award recognizes schools that exceed expectations in student growth for the year. Forty-eight districts and 173 schools received this award.
The Overall ‘A’ Award was given to 27 districts and 209 schools that earned an overall grade of ‘A’ on their most recent Ohio Department of Education school report card.
This is Hillsdale Middle School’s first year receiving the Momentum Award, Ashland City School District’s second year, and Ashland’s Taft Intermediate’s third year.
“Whether we make it on a list or not, we focus on each and every child and work hard to provide them with what they need to be successful,” Dickerson said. “The recognition is nice, but we would be missing the boat if we solely focused on state tests to drive instruction.
“Those are one or two tests on a given day in the students’ year. We need to meet the students needs every day through out the year.”
Ashland City School District’s Superintendent Dr. Doug Marrah was not immediately available for comment.
Additionally, the State BOE awarded four districts and 50 schools with the All ‘A’ Award, which can be earned by recording straight A’s on recent ODE report cards.
Two new awards debuted this year. These were for Career-Technical Planning Districts and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Community Schools. Twelve career-technical districts received the CTPD Overall ‘A’ Award. A total of nine dropout prevention schools earned the “Exceeds Standards” award.
“The students, teachers, administrators and staff honored today are shining examples to peers and colleagues around Ohio,” said State Board of Education President Laura Kohler in a press release. “We are so proud of these award recipients and the effort they put in to learning, leading and growing every day. We are both encouraged and challenged by the example of excellence they are setting.”
