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Middletown schools spend more, rank low

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sassygirl View Drop Down
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    Posted: Nov 16 2011 at 2:02pm
A recent state report, "Performance Index Ranking for Districts" puts the Middletown School District at the bottom of the list.

According to the ODE, the report "provides parents and taxpayers a new way to evaluate how local schools are performing while allowing educators to compare their performance with peers." The list is based on the Performance Index (PI) score. The Middletown district ranks 572 out of 611 eligible districts.
The report also indicates that MCSD spends the most per student, $10,843, more than any other Butler County traditional school district. 

The report can be seen at: http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1&ContentID=114398&Content=115380
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VietVet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 16 2011 at 3:46pm
Oh boy! Now you've gone and done it sassy. You've found some data that incriminates the work that has been done to improve the district and the high cost per student for a low rating.

Be prepared to incur the wrath of a school board member or school supporters. We seem to have an abundance of folks who sponsor what the schools have done so far. Even with data supplied, some have a tendency to take issue with any criticism leveled at the effort. (Why am I thinking of the movie "A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson says "you can't handle the truth" line?)

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jsmith2011 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jsmith2011 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 16 2011 at 9:52pm
I had heard the superintendent sent an email out to school employees letting them know that ODE rated the district at the bottom. I guess the district didn't call the journal to report this information as they did when Battelle For Kids...whoever that is....rated the district at the top 3% when they crunched the numbers adding in the "value added" part.
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acclaro View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 16 2011 at 11:11pm
Battelle is an interactive approach that caters to a specific demographic, specifically heavy in Appalachia area. Surrounding schools simply FAR EXCEED Middletown. With this, brings decline in valuation of property and businesses.Getting there, is not there. It matters not. For those looking in, they see a dismal picture, excuses, and simply run to another city, another district. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 17 2011 at 6:37am
As Lewis Black says in his stand-up comedy routines, "something is ASKEW"

From the Journal.......

The Ross Local School District has the area’s best ranking on student performance — No. 62 out of 611 districts statewide — while Middletown is the county’s lowest at No. 590 and spends $10,843 per pupil which is more than the state average of $10,144.

WHICH PROVES THAT MONEY GIVEN TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS DOESN'T EQUATE TO A GOOD EDUCATION. THEREFORE, STOP TELLING US AT LEVY TIME THAT MORE MONEY IS NEEDED TO ENSURE PROGRESS. IT JUST AIN'T SO EDUCATION PEOPLE. AS A MATTER OF FACT, STOP ASKING FOR MORE MONEY AT ALL UNTIL YOU STRAIGHTEN UP THIS CLUSTER THAT HAS BEEN OCCURING FOR DECADES. THE PACE OF SO-CALLED "IMPROVEMENT" IS CLOSE TO BEING NON-MEASUREABLE. THE FACT IS, THE MIDDLETOWN SCHOOLS ARE AND HAVE BEEN CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM FOR MANY YEARS, THROUGH MANY SUPERINTENDENTS, THROUGH MANY "CHANGES", THROUGH MANY SCHOOL BOARDS AND THROUGH MANY LEVY PASSAGES AND WE ARE NO CLOSER TO MAKING REAL MEASURABLE PROGRESS THAN WE WERE DECADES AGO. STOP THE BS AT LEVY TIME.


“We know we’ve got to get better,” second-year Middletown Superintendent Greg Rasmussen said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, and evidence supports that we’re doing a heck of a job in a lot of ways. We need to keep doing it and keep improving

GEE, YA THINK?

Hamilton City Schools ranked No. 538 for PI with a per pupil spending of $9,191 (No. 379).

HAMILTON, A SIMILAR TYPE COMMUNITY WITH SIMILAR DEMOGRAHICS, WITH A BETTER STATE RANKING, DONE ON LOWER PER STUDENT COSTS. WHY IS MIDDLETOWN LAGGING BEHIND?

The Lakota Local School District also was in the top 100 as far as performance, coming in at No. 64, and spends $9,387 per pupil (No. 342).

LAKOTA.....WEST CHESTER, A RICH, UPSCALE COMMUNITY WITH HIGH ROLLER INCOMES SPENDS LESS PER STUDENT WHEN THEY COULD TAX THE PEOPLE MORE, RECEIVING MORE PER STUDENT TO MATCH MIDDLETOWN'S $10,000+ COST PER STUDENT. THEY DON'T SPEND AS MUCH ON STUDENTS AS MIDDLETOWN WHEN THEY COULD.....AND GET BETTER RESULTS. AGAIN, MORE MONEY DOESN'T MEAN BETTER RESULTS.

The Fairfield City School District was about right in the middle with a No. 316 PI ranking, but in terms of spending per pupil, it was No. 501 ($8,606).

FAIRFIELD.....BETTER RESULTS AND $2000 LESS PER PUPIL. WHY NOT SEE WHAT FAIRFIELD, ROSS, LAKOTA AND HAMILTON SCHOOLS ARE DOING THAT MIDDLETOWN IS NOT AND MAKE SOME CHANGES.......EMULATING SUCCESSFUL DISTRICTS. WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE. YOU"VE BEEN STUCK IN THE SAME PLACE FOR YEARS WHILE CONSTANTLY TELLING THE VOTING PUBLIC THAT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE. IF SO, IT IS TOO LITTLE OVER TOO LONG OF A PERIOD OF TIME AND IT HAS COST TOO MUCH WITH LEVY PASSAGES AND NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS BUILT, YIELDING MINUTE PROGRESS.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jsmith2011 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 17 2011 at 7:43am
If you look at the MCSD website and count the number of administrators that are employed, I believe you will find the answer to the amount of money spent. They even added an entirely new department this year that now employs 7 people. All together, I counted over 60 employees and you know most of those make over $100,000 a year. Hell, the football coach makes over $80,000 and he doesn't even teach a class. They make sure all their buddies have a good job. A person who previously worked in the district has now been rehired into a top position.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Fiora Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 17 2011 at 1:52pm
The facts support this group's general assessment of Middletown City School...that the district spends more per pupil than other districts and the academic achievement is below most other schools.  However, some of the information presented is incorrect and I'd like to provide the correct information.
 
1. Batelle for Kids is a large research organization that provides analysis and intellectual support to schools.  Their analysis that showed MCSD as the 12th best in the state was based on an analysis of STATE DATA.  It was not their own data and they focused only on the Value ADD portion of the state report card.  Value add measures how much 4th - 8th grade students learned in the year.  If a district is to improve their ranking then their students must learn more than a year's worth of information.  I think of it like a foot race.  If you're behind you have to run faster than those in front of you to catch up.  It is a "rate of learning" measurement instead of a "static" measurement.  What this says to me is, though the students of MCSD have a long way to go academically, the changes that have been put in place are having success in increasing the academic learning.  They are "running faster" than every district in the State except for 12.  This should be borne out in the next few years with gains in our static ranking.  We've already increased the number of state indicators from 5 to 10.  Whether it is easier to learn more in a year if you're underperforming than if you're a top performer (the weight loss analogy) I really don't know, but don't think so.  It actually may be harder.
2. In the school year ended June 2011 MCSD spent $10,800 per student.  However, we have significantly reduced our budget for this year.  We don't have the cost per student yet, but should be in the $9,900 - $10,000 range.  Yes this is still higher than many, but it is a huge step in the right direction.  And this was done with minimal impact on student programs.
3. No new departments were added this year.  In fact, the communicatons department was eliminated.  We did reorganize the remaining departments and one of them got a new name.  Maybe this is creating the false impression.  The reorganization was done to improve our effectiveness.
4.  As our Superintendent stated, “We know we’ve got to get better,” second-year Middletown Superintendent Greg Rasmussen said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, and evidence supports that we’re doing a heck of a job in a lot of ways. We need to keep doing it and keep improving".  This doesn't sound to me like someone who is making excuses.  It sounds to me like someone who recognizes the challenges facing MCSD and is working very hard to achieve them but also someone who knows how to celebrate the gains along the journey. 
Chris Fiora
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Fiora Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 17 2011 at 3:12pm
I forgot to also mention that MCSD now has 5 schools rated effective and 1 school rated excellent.  This is the best Middletown has ever done and shows, to me, that the district is on the right track.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Nov 18 2011 at 6:21am
Originally posted by Chris Fiora Chris Fiora wrote:



I forgot to also mention that MCSD now has 5 schools rated effective and 1 school rated excellent.  This is the best Middletown has ever done and shows, to me, that the district is on the right track.


Mr. Fiora, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I believe we can apply the same type of analogy when it comes to evaluating your school system achievements to date. You see it as an achievement to be noted. I see it as a "what took you and other school boards/supers so long to achieve the bottom tier-beginning phases of that achievement? What were the present/past school boards and present/past supers doing all this time to have such a minimal success rate in such a long period of time?

"THIS is the best Middletown has ever done" - Chris Fiora

If this is the best Middletown has ever done, then this is also an indictment on the apparent lack of urgency by past and present school personnel to identify the issues, initiate corrective actions to those issues, and achieve a result that would have kept Middletown schools off the bottom of the totem pole in performance all these years. The proficiency results have been essentially the same all along. The exception being the indicators doubling from 5 to 10 recently which is sound, meaningful, notable progress. Apparently, the focus of past and present boards has been to achieve results in a "baby steps" fashion, even before this community's schools were hit with the Section 8/low income influx, now another roadblock to greater achievement. We are getting overly excited about minimal gain here, aren't we?
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