Youngstown City School District (YCSD) has a four-star rating in the Gap Closing Component category in the Ohio Department of Education's (ODE) recent release of the current state report card. The category shows how well schools meet the performance expectations for students in English language arts, math, and graduation. It also measures how schools are doing in supporting English learners to increase language proficiency, reducing chronic absenteeism for all students, and identifying gifted students and providing gifted services.
The district has reduced chronic absenteeism by over 10%, which we have been diligently addressing. The attendance team works closely with families to provide wraparound support. In addition, YCSD was awarded a Stronger Connections Grant from the Ohio Department of Education earlier this year, which will strengthen the district's efforts to eliminate chronic absenteeism.
YCSD's English Learners (EL) Program continues to grow across the district, with 10% of all scholars being identified as English language learners. According to the ODE, "The English Language Proficiency Improvement Indicator measures the English language proficiency of students identified as English learners…against annual goals and the improvement of proficiency year over year."
The district celebrates our English learning scholars and EL team for their dedication, as the program surpassed its yearly goal of 46.6% with a 51.3% growth rate (the highest success rate in YCSD history). Additionally, of the 406 scholars who were assessed, a total of 25 scholars (6.15%) tested as proficient, graduating them out of the program with grade-level fluency.
For math, the district saw significant progress by meeting 7 out of 8 subgroup categories for growth. A subgroup's progress is fulfilled when it receives a +2 rating or higher. A +2 rating indicates that there is significant evidence that the group exceeded Growth expectations for the year.
Youngstown Rayen Early College High School (YREC) has achieved a remarkable milestone of receiving an overall rating of 5 stars. This rating indicates that YREC has significantly exceeded state standards. YREC's dedication to academic distinction is evident throughout all six components of the state report card. YREC scholars improved in the Achievement Component from 3 stars in 21-22 to 4 stars.
YREC has continued to excel academically by receiving five stars in Progress and Gap Closing components. 96.7% of all subgroups met, exceeded, and outperformed the state annual achievement goals set by the state by at least 12 percentage points and higher. Lastly, YREC received four stars in the Graduation Component. Overall, YREC is proud of this achievement. It motivates YREC to continue to strive for even greater success.
The Rayen Early College Middle School, a flagship to YREC, earned a 4.5-star rating, exceeding state standards. They also received five outstanding stars in the progress and gap-closing categories.
In addition to the district's traditional schools, career and technical education has excelled. Choffin Career and Technical Center earned 4.5 stars overall, which exceeds state standards. Choffin's commitment to excellence is exemplified by its impressive overall rating for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Choffin's scholars continue to excel academically, with a remarkable 85.7% WebXam Achievement/Pathway passage rate, earning them four stars.
With a stellar 100.5% certification achievement rate, Choffin earned a perfect five stars in the Career & Post-Secondary Readiness component, demonstrating its scholars' readiness for future employment, enrollment, enlistment, or entrepreneurship.
Click the following link for an interactive map of our district and its star ratings.: https://tabsoft.co/469JELd. You can also click here to view the full district report card: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/045161.