Bay Village City School District administrators report on state of the schools

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, administrators from across the Bay Village City School District gave a State of the Schools report at Bay Middle School to share facts, figures and success stories with the community. Bay Village Kiwanis hosted the event. While a video of the presentation, complete with supporting documentation, is available on the district’s website at bayvillageschools.com/stateofschools, following is a brief synopsis of each speaker’s remarks.

District Vision
Superintendent Clint Keener
“This school district is truly about the community. That’s the strength of our district, that’s the strength of everything we do, and right now there’s more evidence [of that] than ever before.”
In the most recent data available, the district ranked sixth-lowest in spending per pupil in Cuyahoga County, yet had the sixth-highest scores in the countywide performance index. The district’s goal is to instill in every student the desire to be an active, lifelong learner. To demonstrate his school spirit, Keener donned a blue and white mohawk wig that students often wear to high school athletic events.

Curriculum
Char Shryock, Director of Curriculum & Instruction
"Common standards allow for consistency across the country so students can move across state, county or city lines and receive the same quality curriculum."
Bay Schools, like other districts in Ohio, are adopting Common Core Standards, a national movement that is state-driven. Fifteen percent of the curriculum is created by each state, allowing for some flexibility. The emphasis is on college and career readiness, and there is also an increase in the rigor and the depth of the curriculum. The focus is on learning progressions, student assessment tools and applying learning to real world situations. In Bay Village, curriculum teams consisting of K-12 teachers meet monthly to ensure a consistent delivery of the curriculum for all students.

Enrichment
Dr. Jim McGlamery, Normandy Elementary principal; Josie Caputo, Westerly Elementary principal
“It’s important that we provide enrichment programs because all students have different needs and abilities and they’re very diverse. All children are good at some things, but no child is good at everything.” –Dr. McGlamery
Enrichment programs include field trip opportunities, gifted classes, individual study in the library, and extended-day and summer learning programs. The Bay STEM Academy began last summer for students in grade 6 with advanced scores in math and science. Twenty-seven students enrolled in the program and the district expects that number to double next summer when grade 7 is added. Normandy’s Bee Bouncers, a group of students who learn basketball dribbling and handling skills – not shooting baskets – have earned local recognition, performing during the halftimes of Bay High basketball and Cleveland Cavaliers games.

Student Achievement
Jason Martin, Bay High principal
“Last year we had a performance index of 107.4; the state goal is 100. This reflects a high proportion of our students passing the test at the accelerated or advanced levels. This achievement ranked our district at 28th in the state [out of] 609 districts.”
Bay Schools met or exceeded all 26 test indicators on the most recent Ohio Report Card, earning an Excellent rating. The district has an attendance rate of 96.3% and a graduation rate of 99.5%. Last year, Bay High launched a digital literacy class to help struggling students prepare for the Ohio Graduation Test. All of the 30 students who took the class passed the OGT reading test on the first try. BHS had 209 students participate in AP exams last year in 14 subject areas, with 84% receiving a passing score qualifying for college credit. In addition, SAT and ACT college entrance exam scores for Bay High students average above both state and national averages.

Athletics and Activities
Matt Spellman, Athletic & Activities Director
“We offer up to 90 different clubs and activities... both athletic and non-athletic activities at the middle school and high school. I’d say roughly 88% of our student body... participate in some form of activity.”
Bay Village has been ranked one of the best music education communities since 2003. Six students were recently nominated for the Northeast Ohio Regional Orchestra and two Bay students have been named to the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band in the past several years. Large numbers of middle and high school students are involved in philanthropic and service-oriented activities, including Relay For Life, Bay Waterways Clean-Up, Hoops for Hunger and the Bike to School Challenge. Student also perform in both drama and music to sold-out houses, a great experience for them and for their audiences.

Student Achievement
Sean McAndrews, Bay Middle School principal
“With all our successes, you would think that we are a district that would rest on our laurels.That is truly not the case.”
The district is implementing the Align, Assess, Achieve program this year. The three facets of this major initiative are: (1) align the curriculum with state standards and let students know what is expected of them; (2) perform formative assessments using smaller, more frequents tests to determine what a student knows, and summative assessments at the end of learning units when the student should be able to show mastery of the subject matter; and (3) providing feedback to students on their progress and adapting lesson plans to meet students’ needs as revealed by test results. It is a continuously diagnostic and instructional adjustment process.

Communication
Kevin Jakub, Bay Middle School assistant principal
“There’s an old popular adage that it takes a village to raise a child and I believe that adage is very much highlighted here in Bay Village.”
Bay Schools are fortunate to have strong support from parent groups, community groups and Bay citizens, who passed last year’s operating levy despite the tough economy. Parent education programs and support from groups like the Bay Education Foundation, Kiwanis and Bay Rockets Association and Band Boosters enrich student offerings. The district places an emphasis on open communication: an online gradebook allows parents and students to access upcoming assignments, homework, grades and teacher comments throughout the grading period. Teachers have also set up blogs to share information about curriculum and class events. Bay Schools and Bay Athletics have Twitter accounts to keep the public up to date. The district also addresses student behavior in the form of intervention programs regarding bullying, attendance and substance abuse.

Special Education
Marty Patton, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services
“In Bay Village, 10-12% of the students have some type of special need, most commonly: reading or speech disability, health impairment/attention deficit or autism.”
The guiding legislation for special education is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), which ensures that all students have the same educational experience to the maximum extent possible. Two criteria are used to determine if a student has special education needs: an identified disability as defined by the IDEIA and a need for specialized instruction or services. By law, special education begins at age three, and Bay’s Glenview Center houses two preschool special ed classrooms. The majority of funding comes from local taxes, with 17% of general funds allocated to special education. Some additional support comes from the federal and state level. These students succeed, with 97 percent passing the Ohio Graduation Test last year, and all indicating that they intended to go on to college.

Facilities
Daryl Stumph, Assistant Superintendent for Operations
“The support staff are an important part of the educational experience of the students.”
The district makes smart, efficient investments in facilities maintenance. Recent projects in the district included upgrading the BHS band room, courtyard, gym bleachers and kitchen, and updating fire alarms across the district to bring them up to current code. The roof of the middle school was damaged by hail and is being repaired, with most of the cost covered by insurance. The district has reduced energy costs by over 15% by using automated controls to turn the heat down when buildings are unoccupied. A variety of projects are planned to increase the energy efficiencies in all buildings.

Finances
Deborah Putnam, Treasurer
“I have not seen a budget forecast that looks this good in many years. We are in very, very good financial shape.”
The district’s five-year forecast predicts that the district will have sufficient funding for at least four years before an increase in revenue need be requested from residents. The Bay Village City School District is considered a wealthy district, and therefore the state supplies only 14% of the needed funding; one percent of funding is received from federal sources; and 85% of funding comes from local residents. In terms of spending, 81% goes to salaries and benefits, as education is a labor intensive service. Another 8.8% of expenditures go to purchased services (especially utilities), 3.8% to textbooks and other supplies, 3.2% to capital outlays and another 3.1% to other miscellaneous needs.