Yellow Springs High School/McKinney Middle School as it appeared in late September 2021. (Drone photo by Bryan Cady)
YS School District talks ‘State of the Schools’
- Published: November 11, 2024
YS School District held its third annual “State of the Schools” event Wednesday, Oct. 23, presented by Superintendent Terri Holden.
Before launching into her report, Holden briefly summed up its conclusion: “We are doing well,” she said.
District enrollment is up from last year, breaking a several-year trend of declining student numbers; there are currently 634 students being educated in the district, with 436 being residents and 198 open-enrolled. This year’s rise in enrollment is attributed to more open-enrolled students; last year’s count was 437 resident students and 180 open-enrolled students.
As in the past two years, the “State of the Schools” included an overview of the district’s 2023–24 Ohio Schools Report Card, which was released by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce in September.
This year, the district received an overall 4.5-star rating — a little lower than last year’s five-star rating.
Using state testing and other diagnostic reports, the annual report card measures school districts and individual schools within five categories: achievement, progress, early literacy, gap closing and graduation.
In the category of achievement, YS Schools received an average performance index of 85.8% — 2% higher than last year — and received a four-star rating that indicates exceeding state standards. The rating is based on state testing results for students in grades 3–8 and select high school grades in English language arts, math, social studies and science.
The district also received four stars in the category of progress, which measures academic performance based on expected growth via state testing. All grades either met or exceeded state standards for progress within the tested subject areas, with the exception of mathematics and English language arts in seventh and eighth grades; those areas and grades were assessed as having fallen short of student growth expectations. Holden stated that the district is currently looking into new math curricula for district students.
The district again received four stars in the area of early literacy this year, with 80.9% of district third-graders demonstrating reading proficiency.
The district received five stars in the area of gap closing; this metric demonstrates how well a district meets performance expectations across academic subjects, graduation, supporting language proficiency for English language learners, reducing chronic absenteeism and identifying and providing services for gifted students. As it did last year, the district also received five stars in the category of graduation, reflecting a graduation rate of 98.1%.
The report card also measures chronic absenteeism in the district; students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% of instruction during a school year. The News reported last year that district administrators and the school board held a work session devoted to addressing the district’s 2022–23 school year chronic absentee average of 30.2% — 10% higher than the state’s 20.2% goal. This year’s percentage of students who were chronically absent has dropped to 25.7%, getting the district closer to the state goal.
YS Schools received a higher rating than most other schools in the region, with Bellbrook receiving a five-star rating; Beavercreek 4.5 stars; Cedar Cliff, Greeneview and Fairborn receiving four stars; and Xenia three stars.
Holden’s overview of state report card results was brief this year; as she said: “I want to talk about the other things that make us unique.”
The superintendent pointed out the strides the district has made in the last few years to keep district parents and the wider community informed by hiring Corina Denny, the district’s full-time communications and public relations coordinator.
“When I came [to the district], we had a part-time communications person who was never in-district and was shared with other districts,” Holden said. “We literally, and figuratively, were not getting the message out.”
Since Denny’s hiring, the district’s website has undergone a complete overhaul — including the establishment this year of a separate site updating the public as the district’s facilities improvement project progresses. Both district caregiver communication and yearly form-signing for students have been streamlined through online services, and the district printed and distributed annual calendars and quality profiles this year and last. Denny also established a podcast that keeps listeners informed about district initiatives, featuring interviews with both students and educators.
Holden reminded those present of district actions and initiatives in the last few years, including the hiring of a district student advocate and the use of bias report forms in the middle and high schools; establishing a new front-desk check-in protocol for visitors, facilitated by the Schoolpass identification software; the installation of a safety fence around the Mills Lawn playground; social and emotional support programs “Start with Hello” and “Sources of Strength”; instituting STEM programs at both campuses; hiring a full-time special education coordinator and two full-time nurses for the district; and membership in the League of Innovative Schools.
New this school year are the hiring of Shawna Welch as full-time athletic director — previously the position was filled part-time by Jeff Eyrich, now the district’s full-time operations manager. The district has also instituted a new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Council of staff members; Holden noted that those on the council receive a stipend for their time.
“If it’s important, then we’re going to pay for it,” she said.
Also new is the implementation of security cameras in school buses and bus-routing software; local school buses travel about 48,000 miles annually, covering weekday school routes as well as ferrying students to and from field trips and sporting events. Not new for the district, however, is a continued shortage of full-time bus drivers; the district currently employs three full-time drivers and two staff substitutes with CDL licenses.
“That is not enough,” Holden said. “But we are no different than other districts — it’s just a struggle getting drivers.”
At Mills Lawn, a new program this year is the Mills Lawn Interest Program, or MLIP. Taking place during school hours, the program allows students to “pick a passion,” as Holden said, and pursue it under the guidance of school specialists. She also noted that physical education teacher Emily Berlo has incorporated biking into the school’s curriculum, with kindergarten and first grade students learning on balance and pedal bikes, and has established a new weekly bike bus program.
“[The curriculum and bike bus] has them get comfortable, learn about bike safety and prepare to come up to the middle school to do [the annual seventh grade three-day biking trip] Into the Wild, and then really to start building lifelong skills of cycling and being active that they can take into adulthood,” Holden said.
At the middle and high schools, the district has rolled out a new Individual Career and Academic Plan, or ICAP, program. In brief, the program schedules counselors to meet with families of students in grades 8–12 to consider what they’ll do after they graduate, and gives students lessons around the “four Es” — enroll (in postsecondary education), enlist (in the armed forces), employ (in a career) and explore.
“How do you explore all of those options?” Holden said. “When students graduate and say they’re taking a gap year, my fear is that it’s because they don’t know what to do [next] because we’ve not done what we should do to show them the breadth of the options that are open today.”
ICAP includes an enlistment expo, college and job fairs and mock interviews, as well as visits to college campuses. Earlier this month, 26 high school students visited University of Cincinnati, Berea College, Kentucky State University and Mount St. Joseph University.
“The goal is to make sure that students leaving us have experienced 12 different schools,” Holden said.
To watch the entire “State of the Schools” address, and view Holden’s accompanying presentation, go to http://www.ysschools.org/about-us/state-of-the-schools
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