101011 State board of education presents Excellent With Distinction banner to Wooster City Schools
By Sharon Haught
October 3, 2011
382
Summary: A new banner now hangs proudly at the Wooster City School District Board of Education Building.
For state Board of Education member Robin Hovis, education holds the key to the future.
Before presenting the Wooster City School District with a banner commemorating the districts Excellent With Distinction rating on the state report card during the districts Board of Education meeting on Sept. 27, Hovis reflected on the important role public education plays in shaping the future.
Abraham Lincoln said that if I am to be given six hours to chop down a tree I will spend four hours sharpening the ax, said Hovis. We send children to school to sharpen the ax for life.
Hovis evoked the legacy of Albert Einstein to further illuminate his point.
He was once asked what is the greatest problem in the world? He reflected for a moment and said its that people dont think, recounted Hovis.
When I heard that I thought to myself Dr. Einstein got that one wrong. He should have said something like illiteracy or hunger or war. Surely one of those things are the greatest problem in the world, said Hovis.
But since then I have tested Dr. Einsteins answer against any problem Ive observed in society and so far hes always been right – that every problem we wrestle with in our lives can be traced to its roots to somebody not thinking, Hovis continued.
Our schools are thinking centers where we send people to learn to think and solve problems and the Wooster City School District does this in an outstanding way, said Hovis.
This year you are earning an Excellent With Distinction Award - the highest honor, an A+ - for your school district, said Hovis.
Looking at the districts local report card for 2010-2011, Hovis noted that the district qualified in 25 of 26 indicators that make up the state report card system.
The states minimum score on most of these is a 75 percent grade but Wooster has 90s and high 80s in almost all of them so youre not letting the states minimums become your maximum level of performance, said Hovis.
That tells me that you have motivated students, dedicated teachers, diligent staff members and board of education members who are on top of the situation and guiding this district ever upward, Hovis concluded.
Hovis also noted that over the last three years the districts Performance Index has gone from 96.9 to 99.5 and most recently 101.5 out of a total possible score of 120.
That puts this district in the top 14 percent of the 614 school districts in Ohio and you are doing that by spending less than 8 percent over the state average per pupil expenditure, said Hovis adding thats value for money and a lot to be proud of.
Board of Education Vice President Bob Reynolds noted that the entire community shares the districts accomplishment.
Were making a big deal out of the Excellent With Distinction rating and were doing so not because the seven people up here want to beat our chest, said Reynolds referring to the members of the board and the administrative team seated at the front of the room.
Reynolds gave credit for the honor to all of our administrators, certified and classified staff and even more importantly the kids and the parents and really the community as a whole because without their backing we couldnt have accomplished any of this.
This is a community achievement and we all ought to be very proud of what the community has accomplished, said Reynolds.
Its not about us up here. We want the community to understand what the community has achieved, said Reynolds.
