4/25/09

Columbus Dispatch Editorial

In response to the recent Dispatch editorial “Big-city education plan?” it’s important to note that Columbus City Schools is different from districts in the cities mentioned. Our school district continues to demonstrate measurable, positive results, such as improvement in academic and operational accountability.

Columbus City Schools gratefully has the confidence of its community because it continues to demonstrate value to the public and deliver on promises to improve the quality of education in its schools.

I believe this vote of confidence comes because of measurable success, such as:

• Maintaining a “continuous improvement” rating and moving toward “effective” on the most recent state report card, up from a designation of “academic emergency” in 2001.
• Increasing the district’s graduation rate by more than 18 percentage points (55.5 percent in 2002 to 73.9 percent on the most recent state report card), while graduation testing has become more stringent.
• Supporting the phase-in of the Ohio Core curriculum requirements, which will require three lab-based sciences and mathematics through Algebra II for all Ohio students.
• Adding an hour of instruction back into the school day and directing more resources into the classroom.
• Providing gifted and talented services in all schools and at all levels, going beyond current state requirements of merely identifying these students.
• Piloting the Seniors-to-Sophomores initiative that allows Columbus students to earn a year’s college credit while still in high school, one of many college-success initiatives that include post-secondary education options, Advanced Placement and the DeVry Advantage Academy, whose first class of students earned their high-school diplomas and associate degrees in network administration last June.

The district is recognized nationally for improvements, with six high schools in Columbus City Schools listed among the nation’s best by U.S. News and World Report. The district has been named by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission as one of four recipients of the 2009 Clean Air Award for clean, fuel-efficient school buses.

The district’s Consolidated Annual Financial Report continues to win awards, and state audits show increased levels of compliance. The district’s bond rating remains high, indicative of ongoing fiscal responsibility and saving taxpayers money on school-construction projects. The efficient completion of 34 new and totally renovated schools since 2002 is a state and national model for cost-effective, well-planned, 21st-century learning environments.

Poverty, high mobility, 87 different languages spoken in our students’ homes and other nonacademic barriers to achievement are considered challenges to every member of our team, from the school board to the people in each classroom, office and work site.

In reality, Columbus City Schools is a team that includes the Columbus community, teachers, students, parents, our hands-on business partners, the board and administrators — all with a singular and urgent goal of 100 percent student success. In Columbus, we are moving students forward with the strong support of our city and its community.

GENE T. HARRIS
Superintendent Columbus City Schools