The Greenfield Board of Education got an update this week regarding the newest version of the state’s report card.
Alisa Barrett, the district’s director of instruction, provided an overview of the recently released report card, something that hasn’t been released in full since 2019.
Whereas the old report cards assigned letter grades, the new report cards assign stars based on performance for each component, and there’s no overall letter grade as there was previously.
The scores reflect the previous school year. In prefacing her presentation, Barrett said that with the pandemic, students everywhere have experienced learning loss and the negative impact of the social-emotional trauma of the pandemic.
Barrett explained that within each component of the report card are factors that play a role in determining the number of stars assigned. There are also explanations beside each of the major components that explain what the number of stars mean. There are one to five stars given on each component.
There are six major components listed on the report card. Following is how the district scored: achievement, three stars; progress, two stars; gap closing, two stars; graduation, five stars; and early literacy, two stars. There is also the college, career and workforce readiness component, but there will be no stars there until the 2024-25 school year as school districts work to increase things like workforce credentialing programs.
You can see the district scores for yourself at reportcard.education.ohio.gov. Enter Greenfield Exempted Village School District into the search bar and you will be taken to the district report card.
Barrett also introduced two reading specialists, Leah Unger (grades 3-12) and Tammy Holler (grades pre-k through 2). Both have been educators within the district for years and have seen firsthand the negative impact of students falling behind on literacy.
Unger began by handing a sheet of paper to each board member. When one board member was tasked with reading what was on the paper, he quickly professed frustration, even hopelessness in trying to make something of what he was seeing.
Unger asked board members to think about the feeling just then, and imagine a student, day after day, feeling that way. It is something that Unger and Holler are intent to remedy. Not only do they hold weekly co-planning meetings with all teachers involved in teaching reading, but they visit classrooms to support students and teachers. Holler said they also assist teachers with the how and when of utilizing certain strategies to help kids make progress.
“That switch from learning to read to reading to learn,” Unger said, not all students are ready for that at the same time. That’s where she and Holler come in and help apply the needed support and interventions to increase the chance for all students to succeed.
In other business, senior athletes in fall sports were recognized at Monday’s meeting. Those seniors are: boys golf – David Edwards and Robert Wise; girls golf – Mackenzie Corbin, Bryanna Stuckey and Cariann Todd; boys soccer – Braylon Anderson, Haydon Hice, Deagon Scott and Emerson Yates; girls soccer – Mackenzie Anderson, Abby Mustard, Payton Pryor, Emery Smith and Kenedi Wise; cross country – Katherine Alvarez, Hailey Legge, Gavin McCune; football – Joshua Breakfield, Josiah Burchett, Aaron Dhume, Donovan Frost, Haydon Hice, Joseph Jeffers, Michael Stevenson, Caleb Trefz, Robert Wise and Emerson Yates; cheerleading – Brynli Bergstrom, Hannah Curtis, Jaden McCoy, Eleanor Wenker and Kenedi Wise; volleyball – Ava Beatty, Ryan Butterbaugh, Hannah Crago and Gracey Eakins.
Athletic director Tim Bolender talked about the new gym lobby expansion, saying that except for one more thing, the project is complete – lockers are in, offices are furnished, and pictures are being hung.
Most all of the team and individual photographs, except for those that are nearing 100 years old, are being replaced with new and much brighter reprints. The older photographs, in order to not harm them, will not be removed from their frames, he said.
Bolender also said that girls wrestling is being added at McClain. While he said that he is awaiting direction from the conference.
In her report, superintendent Quincey Gray provided information to the board regarding the school district’s American Rescue Plan Act ESSER funding. The report includes one phase with a 2023 spending deadline and the other with a 2024 spending deadline. Projects included within each phase include items like instruction and support services, professional learning, instructional technology, and facility construction projects, which includes things like touchless faucets and a sewer project at Rainsboro.
Gray also touched on her Coffee and Crumbs schedule. Each year she hosts a series of monthly sessions where the public is invited to meet with her at various eateries across the district. The upcoming dates and places are: Sept. 22 at 7:30 a.m. at McDonald’s, Oct. 19 at 7:30 a.m. at Rainsboro United Methodist Church, Nov. 18 at 11:30 a.m. at Catch 22, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. at Old Town Pizzeria II, Jan. 19 at 7:30 a.m. at Simply fresh Creations, Feb. 22 at 7:30 a.m. at Cream-n-Sugar Cafe, March 23 at 6 p.m. at El Canon, April 21 at 11:30 a.m. at Subway, and My 18 at 7:30 a.m. at McDonald’s.
Employment recommendations approved by the board were: Shania Massie, high school physical education/health and girls eighth grade basketball; Racheal Roman, cook; Teresa Rose, cashier; Ciera Swan, Buckskin aide; Jessica Mt. Castle, Buckskin aide; Brittany Massie, aide/monitor; Cathy McElwee, cafeteria; Tracy Duff, cafeteria; Daniel Raike, van driver; John Mitchell, van driver; Mikel Pritchard, basketball assistant; Kenny Branscom, head baseball; Devin Carter, boys basketball assistant; Matt Binegar, boys basketball assistant; Tyler Jackson, boys seventh grade basketball; and certified substitutes Beatrice Pettiford, Cathy Rivas, Deborah Betts and Timothy Cambell.
Angela Shepherd is a correspondent for the Greenfield Exempted Village School District.
