HOWARD — East Knox Local Schools received a 3.5-star rating from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) in the annual School Report Cards. The ratings were released Monday and are based on data from last school year.
Based on a one- to-five-star scale, three Knox County schools received an overall four-star rating, and two schools received a 3.5-star rating.
The Knox County Career Center (KCCC) also received a five-star rating. However, the state calculates the KCCC’s rating using a different, unique system.
These report cards score districts and individual K-12 schools using standardized test scores, attendance rates and other categories.
“This year, more than 90% of districts earned overall ratings of three stars or higher​, meaning they met or exceeded state expectations for performance,” a DEW press release states.
The DEW also evaluates schools on how they prepare their students for their next steps. The metric now factors students’ college, career, military, and workforce readiness (CCMWR) into a school or district’s overall rating.
This year marks the first time the CCMWR metric counts toward a school or district’s overall rating.
The following is a breakdown of each East Knox’s district report card and comments from Supt. Richard Baird.
Last year’s report card breakdown
Knox County schools react to ODE report cards
MOUNT VERNON — The 2024 Statewide Report Card has been issued by the State Department of Education (ODE.) These report cards evaluate districts and individual schools using standardized test scores, attendance rates and other data from K-12 educational institutions. Districts and schools receive several scores, including an overall rating, on a one- to five-star scale.…
East Knox schools by the numbers
East Knox Local Schools received an overall rating of 3.5 stars, including:
- Achievement: 3 stars
- Progress: 2 stars
- Gap Closing: 3 stars
- Graduation: 5 stars
- Early Literacy: 3 stars
- College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness: 2 stars
While not part of the overall rating, the chronic absenteeism rate was 16.5%. East Knox’s absenteeism rate last year was 14%.
“For the past three years, our chronic absenteeism rate has been hovering around 15%,” East Knox Supt. Richard Baird said.
“Last year, it went down to 14%, and this year, it went up to 17%. We monitor our absenteeism daily and intervene with behavior and overall wellness support.”
For more information, including specific stats for the elementary and high school, click here.
Baird chimes in
Baird pointed out the continued hard work of his teachers and students as a central reason for East Knox gaining half a star in their overall rating.
“First and foremost, it is the hard work of our staff and students teaching and learning in our classrooms,” Baird said.
“We do have to focus on some of our subgroups, and those strategies with looking closely at data, responding with interventions and tracking the progress of students as individuals is paying off.”
East Knox’s Progress rating gained a star, and Baird highlighted the district’s focus on individual growth.
“The focus on individual growth and development in learning made strides toward the Progress rating improvement,” Baird said.
Our message is that every single student can improve and learn with quality teaching and learning.
East knox supt. richard baird
As an example of this growth, Baird said teachers design activities and questions around specific standards where students need growth, helping them build comfort and confidence in demonstrating their knowledge.
In light of East Knox losing a star in Early Literacy, Baird stated the following:
“The Early Literacy component is very complicated and important. The component looks very closely at the achievement and progress in every student.”
“It is the task of our teachers in the younger grades to first assess, and figure out where all the students are, and respond to the students’ needs at their level.”
“We continue to see the hard work of our staff, students, and administration to continue to grow in this area, and we are proud of their response.”
How the new CCMWR metric affects East Knox
Baird is confident in the CCMWR foundation East Knox already has in place, stating several initiatives across his district.
“We currently have three strong Career Technical Education programs. Our FFA, agriculture and leadership programs, are the best in the state. We have a strong Family and Consumer Science program that continues to expose our students to all careers, and our Career-Based Intervention program sets students up for the workforce while they are learning real life skills.”
Baird also noted a newcomer to East Knox’s CCMWR foundation, an engineering and robotics program starting in seventh grade and continuing through ninth grade.
“Career Education is a Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth-grade initiative. We will have programming that exposes students to career exposure and workforce development throughout the years at East Knox. We are currently looking at additional pathways at the high school that will respond to student interest and area workforce needs.”
“One of the most significant initiatives is the Career Connections and Technology courses that we offer in the seventh and eighth grades. These courses hone in on student interests and the workforce skills that they seek, and will inform their career and academic decisions in the direct future.”
“Our community is very committed to workforce development. The Knox County Area Development Foundation has created initiatives that both support the workforce needs of the area as well as the schools, and most importantly, the students that will serve our future.”