“It is special what you all have done.”

That’s what Superintendent Brian Dunn told staff members at Circleville Middle School Friday as they celebrated their school coming off the state list of schools in need of improvement.

“You have set the tone for our district goals,” said Mr. Dunn. “Thank you for being the vanguard, for being the model, for our district.”

 

 

CVMS was cited as in need of improvement for the Hispanic student subgroup based on the 2018-19 school year. CVMS principal Lisa Hankinson said throughout the whole process they worked with the identified subgroup but also looked at the process through the lens of helping all students who had identified deficit areas in need of improvement.

“We looked at chronic absenteeism and previous years’ test results,” said Ms. Hankinson. “We, as a team, made phone calls explaining how important it is for kids to be present in school and to take the standardized tests. There is no refusing the Regents tests once the students are in high school. This is great practice for our students. It also provides us with vital information about how to target our instruction based on students’ individual needs.”

 

 

Parents and guardians heeded the call. Ms. Hankinson said their refusal rate for the standardized tests “dropped exponentially” last year and this year, thanks to the staff personally reaching out to families. Their absentee rate also improved.

They re-established the Road to Success after-school program at CVMS, this year focusing on math and English language arts. The previous Road to Success program focused on science.

“We had 84 kids participate in the CVMS Road to Success program this year,” she added.

Ms. Hankinson noted that throughout this process they looked at the data more strategically, thanks to the guidance of Mary Ann Wilson, liaison with the district for data, grants and personnel. “Data took on a whole new meaning!” said Ms. Hankinson.

“This was a process we all had to jump into,” said Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Amy Brockner. “It was such a team approach to making this happen.”

And that, above all else, was Ms. Hankinson’s message. Speaking to her staff she said, “I hope all of you feel valued because you are. Our teachers, and everyone in this building really worked so hard for this. Every single person who walks through our doors every day contributed to us reaching our goal. This was truly a team effort.”

Great news from Circleville Middle School. Excellent job to all!