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Washington County schools have a lot to be proud of, with the release of Ohio School Report Card ratings last week. In fact, the Washington County Joint Vocational School District, which includes the Washington County Career Center, received a five-star rating -- meaning it significantly exceeds state standards.
That's two years in a row now for such an outstanding performance.
Warren Local and Fort Frye Local school districts both received four stars -- meaning they exceeded state standards.
"Our students and staff are what makes this happen first and foremost ... it's also because we focus on what is important and what we need to focus on to grow," said Warren Superintendent Kyle Newton.
Administrators and teachers in these two districts should be congratulated for facing head-on the challenges experienced there and then coming up with solutions that produce student and school success.
Belpre City, Frontier and Wolf Creek school districts received three stars each -- meaning they are meeting state standards. That, too, is good news, and provides a solid foundation from which to improve.
For Marietta City Schools, however, the rating was 2.5 stars. There, the data shows the district needs support to meet state standards. According to Marietta City Schools Communication Coordinator Christian Hudspeth, the lower rating may be because of recent implementation of a new curriculum there.
"Some of the metrics used in the report card lag behind a year ... which means that our results should continue to improve over many areas next year," Hudspeth said. "We were incredibly close to increasing several of these metrics to 3 stars or higher this year, so we feel that the path we are on with our students and educators is the correct one. School improvement is a multi-year process but the results with our new mindset and curriculum are encouraging."
Good. If there is a plan in place, surely the data will reflect the effort to meet or exceed state standards next year.
Families have good reason to be confident students in Washington County have excellent educational options, and that teachers and administrators are always working to do better for our kids. Well done, folks.