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Ohio Department of Education Updates

Ohio Department of Education NewsClips

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National Education News

More students gain eligibility for free school meals under expanded US program
Associated Press
Millions of additional students in schools serving low-income communities will be eligible to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost under a rule change announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At schools where 25% of families participate in income-based public benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the federal government now will cover the cost of free meals for all enrolled students. Previously, the qualifying threshold was 40%. Roughly 3,000 additional school districts serving more than 5 million students will now be eligible, officials said.

State and Local Education News

Most Champaign County schools receive overall rating of 4 or higher on state report card
Springfield News-Sun
Several Champaign County school districts received an overall rating of 4 or higher and most were above 3 in all categories on the Ohio School Report Cards list. Mechanicsburg and West Liberty-Salem rated overall the highest with a 4.5, and Urbana scored the lowest with a 3. New report card ratings released by the Ohio Department of Education this month show school districts received an overall rating based on a new 1- to 5-star rating, with 5 being the highest. An overall rating of at least 3 stars means a district or school meets state standards, according to the ODE.

Related: Lakewood City Schools superintendent discusses new Ohio School Report Card (Cleveland.com), North Olmsted City Schools superintendent ‘very proud’ of district’s new Ohio school report card (Cleveland.com), Mad River school leader cites report card improvement from pre-COVID to now (Dayton Daily News), Olentangy Local School District receives five-star rating (Delaware Gazette), Area schools share thoughts on report cards (Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune), Warren schools chart course to improve (Warren Tribune Chronicle), Youngstown school board notes achievement gains (Youngstown Vindicator)

Ohio Education Association congratulates 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year
Marietta Times
The Ohio Education Association (OEA) extends its warm congratulations to Gahanna-Jefferson Education Association member Mark Lowrie, who was named 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year last Thursday. “Mr. Lowrie demonstrates clearly why public education matters so much in Ohio,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro, who attended Thursday’s event at Gahanna Lincoln High School to surprise Lowrie with the news of his award. “Great public schools open a world of opportunities for students from all walks of life, and exceptional educators like Mr. Lowrie make that possible.”

Browns safety Grant Delpit visits Brooklyn Elementary to give out school supplies, do 'the griddy'
Cleveland ABC-5
Browns safety Grant Delpit was at Brooklyn Elementary School Tuesday for a back to school supply giveaway, and took the opportunity to run some football drills with the kids, and boast about his perfect attendance record when he was in school. “We came here for back-to-school drive to give the kids some school materials,” Delpit said. “We also had a little gym takeover, had them do a couple of drills.” The giveaway, for students in second through fourth grade, included backpacks, school supplies and Browns gear. Interacting with the kids brought back fond memories of school for Delpit.

Registration open for 2023-24 Columbus Blue Jackets Education Programs
Columbus Blue Jackets News
The Columbus Blue Jackets, committed to using its resources to enrich the lives of students through no cost education programs that bring hockey to the classroom announced today that registration for the club’s educational programs for 2023-24 is now open. These hockey-themed programs include reading, academic achievement, physical education and science, technology, engineering, math (STEM); Last year, more than 63,000 students participated in 600 schools throughout central Ohio. Teachers can learn how to enroll their classrooms in these programs by visiting BlueJackes.com/Education.

TEACH grants impacting local students
Morrow County Sentinel
“Just because someone is nonverbal does not mean they have nothing to say,” said Emily Leader, intervention specialist at River Valley’s Heritage Elementary School and mother of a nonverbal child. This simple concept was the impetus for Leader, teacher Cassy Lutz, and speech-language pathologist Alexis Phipps to team up and apply for a 2023 Teaching, Educating, And Classroom Help (TEACH) grant from Marion Community Foundation. Leader and Lutz have six nonverbal students in their classroom, and their grant application seeks to support those students’ ability to express themselves and communicate with their teachers and friends. With their TEACH grant, the Heritage team added six new TouchChat devices at the school.

Fairview Park City Schools relocating kindergarten to Gilles-Sweet Elementary School
Cleveland.com
Fairview Park City Schools Superintendent Keith Ahearn at last week’s Board of Education announced kindergarten classes from the Early Education Center are moving to Gilles-Sweet Elementary School starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The idea to relocate the kindergarten class came with the retirement last year of Early Education Center principal Trish Moran.

WLS starts process to buy new property to house STEAM center, athletic fields Toledo ABC-13
Washington Local Schools started the process to buy property that could eventually house athletic fields and a STEAM learning center, among other things. A news release from an official with Drewso, Ltd. says the WLS Board of Education authorized the negotiation of the purchase of the former Tamaron Golf Course property off of Alexis Road on Monday. The district said it hopes to use it as a place to replace the youth sports fields at Erme Fields, create a STEAM center (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) for K-12 students, and replace the Maintenance Hut that will be lost when the city moves Whitmer Drive.

Media Release

Sept. 12, 2023

Advisory: 2023 Ohio School Report Cards to be Released

The 2023 Ohio School Report Cards are expected to be released Thursday, Sept. 14. This year, schools and districts will receive overall ratings of 1-5 stars in half-star increments. The report cards will include five rated components and various report-only data. The five components will receive ratings from one to five stars. The Guide to the 2023 Ohio School Report Cards provides an overview and explanation of the key components of the report cards.

Report cards show the progress of districts and schools in raising achievement and preparing students for the future. The data can be used to guide school improvement and respond to student learning needs. However, Ohio School Report Cards are not the only measure of the success or accomplishments of a school or district. Talking with parents, neighbors, students and graduates; browsing school and district websites; or visiting schools and meeting educators can provide a more complete picture of students’ educational experiences.

The data for districts, schools, community schools, Career-Technical Planning Districts and schools that receive the Dropout Prevention and Recovery Report Cards will be available at reportcard.education.ohio.gov.

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Media Contacts:
Lacey Snoke
Press Secretary
(877) 644-6338

1% State Waiver Public Comment

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to ensure that the total number of students assessed in each subject using the Alternate Assessment for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities (AASCD) does not exceed 1.0 percent of the total number of all students in the state who took Ohio’s State Tests. States that anticipate exceeding 1.0 percent in alternate assessment participation must submit a waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education 90 days before the beginning of the alternate assessment testing window. Ohio’s alternate assessment participation rate is below 1.0% in reading and mathematics and approximately 1.03% in science. Ohio intends to submit a waiver extension request to the U.S. Department of Education on November 29, 2022. The draft waiver extension request is available for public comment November 15-28, 2022. To ask questions, share comments and concerns to address alternate assessment participation, please email AAParticipation@education.ohio.gov.

Link to draft document for public comment: https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Testing/Ohios-Alternate-Assessment-for-Students-with-Sign/SY-22-23-OH-Alt-Waiver.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

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