Something exceptional will take place at the next meeting of the Symmes Valley Board of Education.

Friday, May 18, 2001

Something exceptional will take place at the next meeting of the Symmes Valley Board of Education.

The local school district will be recognized for improvement in its rating on the State Report Card, Superintendent Thomas Ben said.

Cyrus Richardson, regional representative and vice president of the State Board of Education, will present the achievement award at the regular monthly meeting, which will be held 7 p.m. Monday.

"All aspects of our educational environment contributed to this," Ben said.

The district has made an effort to improve in recent years, he said.

"There was a cooperative effort on behalf of the teaching staff, the administration and the board of education in allowing us to pursue this issue in this manner.

"We have reviewed and will continue to review the curriculum to make sure certain areas are taught," Ben added.

As part of the effort for improvement, Nelrose Koffman was hired two years ago as curriculum coordinator to help improve the district’s performance, Ben said.

Different teaching techniques, which emphasize hands-on learning, were implemented to help the students’ scores improve, Ben said. The classroom environment is one of research and finding answers rather than being given the answers, he said.

"Traditional lecture and the traditional presentation of material is becoming obsolete," Ben said.

Ratings for the State Report Card are based on proficiency testing during the previous school year, Ben said. Grades four, six, eight, nine and 12 are tested each year on math, science, writing, citizenship and reading.

The district’s score increased from 9 on the 2000 State Report Card to 15 this year.

Out of a total possible score of 27, 26 to 27 is classified as "effective," 14 to 25 as "continuous improvement," 9 to 13 as "academic watch" and one to eight as "academic emergency."

Symmes Valley Local School District is one of 17 schools in the state receiving this award.