FR receives a B

FORT RECOVERY — The grades were good. There is still room for improvement.

That was the message superintendent Justin Firks delivered Monday to Fort Recovery School Board about the district report card.

Ohio Department of Education gave out overall school district grades for the first time this year, with Fort Recovery earning a B. Only 4.6 percent of schools statewide received an A, with 31.4 percent receiving a B, 41.6 percent a C, 20.1 percent a D and 2.3 percent an F.

Elsewhere in Mercer County, Coldwater, Marion Local and St. Henry all earned B grades. Celina and Parkway schools received a C.

Fort Recovery’s score on the Performance Index — overall assessment of student scores on state standardized tests — came in at 99 out of 120 for the 2017-18 school year. That’s up from 97.1 in the previous year and 93 in 2015-16. The score ranks 101st in the state of Ohio out of more than 900 public schools.

The district showed continued strong performance in graduation rate, receiving an A grade. It also received an A for “gap closing” — how well it meets the performance expectations for its “most vulnerable students” — up from a B last year.

It received a C for achievement, progress and K-3 reading. It got a D for “prepared for success,” which measures college entrance exam scores, honors diplomas and industry-recognized credentials.

Firks explained that a C grade means students have made the expected amount of progress, as noted on the Ohio Department of Education website.

“We still have some areas to work on as usual,” said Firks, who is in his fourth year leading Fort Recovery Local Schools. “But we’re excited about the direction we’re going in, and we’ll keep working on the areas we need to improve in.”

A key area for improvement, he said, involves “indicators met,” which refers to have percentage of students who have passed a state test. In order to meet an indicator, at least 80 percent of students must pass a given test. (That number was bumped up from 75 percent for the 2016-17 school year.)

Fort Recovery reached the 80-percent mark on 14 of the 24 indicators, including a 98.5 percent passage rate in fourth grade math. It fell short in other areas, with its lowest mark coming in at a 64.2 percent passage rate on the eighth grade English language arts test.

“We need to raise our proficiency levels at certain grade levels as far as tests that are being taken,” Firks said.

In other business, the board:

•Congratulated the marching band on taking first place in Class C on Saturday in the contest at Tipp City. The band earned a “excellent” rating.

•Heard from Firks that Fort Recovery’s energy savings project that involved replacing boilers at the elementary/middle school, installing new LED lighting and adding weather stripping has resulted in nearly $14,000 in energy savings this year. Savings is projected to clear the $23,000 mark.

•Approved the following: field trips for FFA students Oct. 23 through 27 the the national FFA convention in Indianapolis and fifth grade students May 9 and 10 to Chicago; Reid Knuth as a van driver; Tony Stahl as a substitute bus driver; Renee Brunswick as a substitute teacher; the transfer of $30,000 to the preschool tuition fund from the general fund; high school student fees for the 2018-19 school year; payment of an invoice for $31,075.09 from Focus 3; and Firks as a credentialed principal evaluator.

•Heard from treasurer Lori Koch that because of the district’s change to purchasing insurance through the Southwestern Ohio Educational Purchasing Council, there will be new open enrollment as well as training sessions. Those are expected to be scheduled later this fall.

•Were reminded that a preschool parent meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in the elementary/middle school auditeria, 

•Accepted $9,533.78 in donations, including $5,000 to the high school band from Fort Recovery Community Foundation and $2,825 from to the athletics department from Fort Recovery Athletic Boosters.

•OK’d supplemental contracts for Kathleen Klosterman (middle school drama club) and Julie Schlater (high school national honor society) and coaching positions for Kylee Moody (track), Brian Reichert (assistant track), Kevin Eyink (assistant baseball), Christy Diller (middle school track), Corey Gerlach (volunteer bowling) and Payton Thobe (assistant volunteer swim).

•Heard a request from Kirk Link that the school district consider busing all students. Fort Recovery currently offers bus service only to those who live outside village limits. A recent annexation eliminated bus service in some areas, leading to discussion of the issue at last month’s meeting.

•Appointed Mitch Ervin and Mike Grube to the health insurance committee.

•Set a work session to discuss the district’s five-year financial forecast for 6 p.m. Oct. 16. The board’s regular meeting will follow.