As far as he can remember, Austintown Superintendent Vincent Colaluca said his school district has never performed as well as it did on the 2011-12 Ohio State Report Card.
"We got 26 out of 26 indicators," he said. "I'd say that's pretty good."
This year, Austintown made the climb from Effective to Excellent With Distinction, based on preliminary information released by the Ohio Department of Education on Wednesday.
Article Photos
Students at Austintown Middle School report for classes on Tuesday morning. Photo by Virginia Shank
The state released additional preliminary Local Report Card data for districts, traditional schools, community schools and STEM schools. The updated spreadsheet includes preliminary district / school ratings, Performance Index and attendance rate information - data not previously released.
The updated spreadsheets include this information along with data released last month, plus SAT and ACT mean scores and other enrollment data.
The most recent information provides a more complete picture of how each school performed.
Fact Box
Building ratings
Trumbull County
Bloomfield-Mesopotamia Local School District
Bloomfield High School - Excellent
Mesopotamia Elementary School - Excellent
Bristol Local School District
Bristol High School - Continuous Improvement
Bristol Elementary School - Excellent
Brookfield Local School District
Brookfield High School - Effective
Brookfield Middle School - Effective
Brookfield Elementary School - Excellent
Champion Local School District
Champion High School - Excellent
Champion Middle School - Excellent
Champion Central Elementary School - Effective
Girard City School District
Senior High School - Excellent
Junior High School - Excellent with Distinction
Intermediate Middle School - Excellent
Prospect Elementary School - Excellent
Howland Local School District
Howland High School - Excellent
Howland Middle School - Excellent
Howland Springs Elementary School - n/a (not tested)
Mines Elementary School - Excellent
North Road Elementary - Excellent with Distinction
Hubbard Exempted Village
Hubbard High School - Excellent
Reed Middle School - Effective
Hubbard Elementary School - Excellent
Joseph Badger Local School District
Badger High School - Excellent
Badger Middle School - Effective
LaBrae Local School District
LaBrae High School - Effective
LaBrae Middle School - Excellent
LaBrae Intermediate School - Excellent with Distinction
Bascom Elementary School - n/a (not tested)
Lakeview Local School District
Lakeview High School - Excellent
Lakeview Middle School - Excellent with Distinction
Lakeview Elementary School - Excellent
Liberty Local School District
Liberty High School - Effective
William S Guy Middle School - Excellent
EJ Blott Elementary School - Effective
Lordstown Local School District
Lordstown High School - Effective
Lordstown Elementary School - Excellent with Distinction
Maplewood Local School District
Maplewood High School - Excellent
Maplewood Middle School - Excellent with Distinction
Maplewood Elementary School - Excellent
Mathews Local School District
Mathews High School - Excellent
Mathews Junior High School - Excellent
Baker Elementary School - Effective
Currie Elementary School - n/a (not tested)
McDonald Local School District
McDonald High School - Excellent
Roosevelt Elementary School - Excellent with Distinction
Niles City School District
McKinley High School - Effective
Niles Middle School - Effective
Jackson Elementary School - n/a (not tested)
Rhodes Avenue Elementary - n/a (not tested)
Washington Elementary School - Effective
Newton Falls Exempted Village
Newton Falls High School - Excellent
Newton Falls Junior High School - Excellent
Newton Falls Middle School - Excellent
Newton Falls Elementary School - n/a (not tested)
Southington Local School District
Chalker High School - Excellent
Southington Middle School - Effective
Southington Elementary School - Effective
Weathersfield Local School District
Mineral Ridge High School - Excellent
Mineral Ridge Middle School - Excellent
Seaborn Elementary School - Excellent with Distinction
Warren City School District
Warren G Harding High School - Continuous Improvement
Jefferson K-8 School - Continuous Improvement
Lincoln K-8 School - Effective
McGuffey K-8 School - Academic Watch
Willard K-8 School - Academic Watch
Mahoning County
Youngstown City Schools
Youngstown Chaney - Effective
Youngstown Early College - Excellent
Youngstown East High School - Academic Emergency
Youngstown Virtual Academy - n/a (not tested)
Rayen Early College - Continuous Improvement
Volney Rogers Junior High - Academic Watch
P. Ross Berry 8th and 9th Grade Academy - Academic Emergency
Wilson Middle - Academic Emergency
Harding Elementary - Academic Watch
Kirkmere Elementary - Continuous Improvement
Martin Luther King - Continuous Improvement
Paul C. Bunn Elementary - Continuous Improvement
Taft Elementary - Continuous Improvement
University Project Learning Center - Academic Emergency
William Holmes McGuffey - Effective
Williamson Elementary - Effective
Austintown Local Schools
Fitch High School - Excellent
Austintown Middle School - Excellent with Distinction
Frank Ohl Intermediate - Effective
Lloyd Elementary - Excellent
Lynn-Kirk Elementary - Excellent
Watson Elementary - Excellent
Woodside Elementary - Excellent
Boardman Local Schools
Boardman High School - Excellent
Boardman Center Middle School -Excellent
Boardman Glenwood Middle School - Excellent with Distinction
Market Street Elementary - Excellent
Robinwood Lane Elementary - Excellent with Distinction
Stadium Drive Elementary - Effective
West Boulevard Elementary - Excellent with Distinction
Canfield Local Schools
Canfield High School - Excellent
Canfield Village Middle School - Excellent
C.H. Campbell Elementary - Excellent with Distinction
Hilltop Elementary - Excellent with Distinction
Jackson-Milton Local Schools
Jackson-Milton High School -Excellent
Jackson-Milton Middle School - Excellent
Jackson-Milton Elementary - Effective
Warren City Schools also has reason to celebrate. After several years of being on Academic Watch, Warren appears to have climbed to Continuous Improvement based on its 2011-12 Ohio State Report Card.
"We've worked hard and it shows in our improvement," said Melissa Watson, teaching and learning director at Warren. "We have an idea where we are and where we need to focus. We'll continue working hard, improving and moving forward."
Based on the 2011-12 data, of Trumbull County's other 19 public school districts, 11 rated Excellent, four rated Effective, and four earned Excellent with Distinction.
Of 26 local districts analyzed in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, nine districts improved, three fell slightly and 14 remained the same.
Report Cards are typically released in August each year. The 2011-12 State Report Card data remains preliminary pending the resolution of an investigation by State Auditor David Yost into alleged irregularities in the reporting of student attendance.
State education officials have said they expect to release final data early next year.
"During the last few weeks, ODE employees have worked diligently to upload and verify remaining data for school improvement purposes," said Michael L. Sawyers, Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction.
"As we wait for additional information related to the investigation by the Auditor of State, ODE remains committed to sharing existing data so that students, parents, educators and the public can be informed about the progress of our schools."
Some local educators have expressed frustration over having to wait for the information, and then receiving it sporadically over the last several months.
"It's been a process this year," Colaluca said. "The information is still preliminary, but it gives us a very good idea where we stand and that's what's important. It's credit to our staff and our students that we've done this well."
The preliminary data released included results of the 26 indicators on the report card and graduation rates for districts and high schools, calculated using a method required by federal law that more closely tracks when students transfer to or from a school.
"We started the school year with an idea of where we need to improve," said Kirk Baker, Jackson-Milton superintendent. "Based on this information, we got 24 out of 26 indicators. Overall, everything is going very well. We're focusing on common core standards and working from there."
Jackson-Milton earned Excellent, dropping slightly from its Excellent With Distinction designation on the 2010-11 report card.
Damon Dohar, Weathersfield superintendent, said his school district, which made the climb from Effective to Excellent With Distinction, used data to create an academic enrichment class at the middle school, expanded its inclusion of students with disabilities and worked with teachers and staff to focus on areas that needed improving.
"Basically, we took a multi-year approach and with our teachers and staff working really hard, we made improvements," he said. "And we did pretty darned good.
''It's been a long process, but I believe we can maintain it. It feels pretty good right now. It's a big win for us overall and I'm exceptionally proud of the work we've done.''