City schools meet performance standards

First time in 20 years that district’s five buildings don’t need state support

WARREN -- City schools Superintendent Steve Chiaro announced Tuesday that for the first time in 20 years, none of the district's five schools were federally designated as underperforming or needing state support for educational purposes by the Ohio Every Student Succeeds Act.

A news release from the district called the announcement a "major milestone" in the Warren City School District's work to offer high quality education for students.

"Tonight, I can proudly say that we have no schools in the Warren City School District with an adverse academic designation," Superintendent Steve Chiaro said during Wednesday's board of education meeting. "The district doesn't have (a designation), no schools do."

Ohio has identified schools in improvement status since the early 2000s with the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act. ESSA provides each state with flexibility to designate and serve schools in need of support, according to the news release.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce recently released the latest ESSA designations. In the recent report, there are nearly 400 schools across Ohio that are designated as underperforming, including others in Trumbull County, according to State Support Team Region 5 Director Michele Moore.

In a letter to the district, Moore cited Warren City Schools "intentional and systematic" focus on continuous improvement as a key factor in reaching the achievement.

"This intentionality has led to all of the schools being identification-free for the first time in 20-plus years," Moore wrote. "As a mid-size urban school, this is especially commendable."

At the meeting, Moore continued to commend the district on its focus and intentionality to achieve this milestone.

"The larger your school district is, the more rich diversity you have, the harder it is to meet all the targets because you are calculated for every student group that you have," Moore said. "It's even more commendable, I think, when you have rich diversity in your community and you're still meeting those targets."

In the news release, Chiaro stated the district strives to continue pursuing its goal of offering high quality education for its students.

"Our district has moved all five schools' data out of an underperforming status due to the commitment and dedication of the entire Warren City Schools community," Chiaro said. "Our work is nowhere near completion and is ongoing with our goal of making continued strides and success for all children academically and social emotionally."