Greeneview High School

2015 - 2016 Winter Newsletter

School Report Card

The Ohio Department of Education recently published an “initial” school report card, to be followed sometime in the spring by a “full” report card containing results from the new assessments administered last year. Listed below are four reasons why you should be proud of the academic progress at GHS, as well as four reasons why you should approach the new report card with caution. Reasons to be Proud of GHS’ Academic Progress 1) GHS’ composite score on the ACT, 22.5, is its highest in five years and exceeds the state avg.! The ACT and SAT are arguably the most valued measures of student proficiency by colleges. 2) With nearly 15% of our students enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement course, our AP pass rate (60%) exceeds the national average. 3) Our projected performance index score of 105 on the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) is the highest in school history. The state avg. PI score fell by 1.76 points last year while our high school PI score increased by nearly 3 points! Our three year PI avg. of 104 shows this is not an anomaly. 4) Our teachers have resisted the temptation to pattern their teaching around the new emphasis on high stakes tests, instead choosing to focus on strategies like project-based learning and blended instruction that make learning more relevant and accessible for all students (see next page). Reasons to Reserve Judgment 1) Ohio is replacing 75% of the assessments after just one year. Over the summer, the legislature ended Ohio’s partnership with the PARCC testing consortium, which means Ohio must now develop its own English / math tests. The state also chose to replace the physical science test administered last year with a biology assessment. Collectively, this means 75% of the assessments were deemed inappropriate for future administrations.

2) The new assessments were implemented hastily. For instance, while taking the English 2 assessment, several students encountered a test item that was missing information necessary for them to complete the question. Students were not able to resume testing until the issue was resolved nearly three weeks later! In preliminary data released by ODE, results were so abysmal on the new assessments that the approximate percentage of points needed for “proficiency” on some assessments, such as Algebra 1, was set as low as 15%. When student scores are that low, it is time to evaluate the assessment itself. 3) Results from assessments that have been around for years, such as the ACT, AP, and OGT, should be valued more highly than those from tests that were hastily implemented for the first time last year and will not be administered a second time. 4) The report card will punish schools such as Greeneview who accelerate students. Approximately the top 25% of our students in English 1 and Algebra 1 will not be included in our scores since they took these courses in eighth grade. This will also be true of our government scores, which will not include those students enrolled in AP Government, since they took the AP test instead of the state assessment.

The purpose of this briefing is not to be overly negative. Rather, it is just the opposite. Hopefully in providing a bit of perspective on the current state of our assessments, you’ll recognize that in the midst of this political tug of war, our students and teachers are accomplishing great things! As a district, we take great pains to employ research-based best practices. We constantly analyze data, looking for ways to improve our performance. But, until the data yielded by our new assessments stabilizes, we will continue to look at other, more time-tested metrics. These metrics point to a school system trending in a very positive academic direction! ~Brian Masser, Principal Greeneview High School

Greeneview High School

2015 - 2016 Winter Newsletter

Project Based Learning Spotlight

This year ten of our teachers joined a Project Based Learning professional development group to learn about PBL strategies they could implement in their classrooms. The goal of PBL is to situate learning in a relevant, real world context for students, so learning becomes more meaningful and engaging. Several teachers have already begun implementing PBL units:

● Teri Garringer’s Spanish 4 students partnered with Molly Beam’s Adv. Art students to write and illustrate three children’s storybooks. After having these books formally published, they will read them to Anita Mayes’ 1st grade students and leave a copy in the elementary library.

● Mark Matt’s Current Issues class visited the elementary school to work on life skills with Mr. Hook’s second grade students.

● Theresa Hoyle reorganized her entire Essentials of Physical Science course around the concept of project based learning. Students complete seven projects throughout the school year, such as finding ways to sanitize water or creating a simple machine to capture a food source when stranded on an uninhabited island.

● Cindy Mash took her Contemporary World Issues students back to the 1930’s with her annual soup kitchen simulation.

One interdisciplinary PBL unit of special significance to our community is a nine-hole disc golf course being installed behind the high school that will benefit our PE program and be open to the public. Mr. Wickline’s vocational agriculture students have already been active installing the baskets and tee posts. In the process, they’ve learned about setting posts with concrete. In the spring they will research plants appropriate for our climate / soil and develop, present, and install landscaping proposals for the course.

Mr. Haines’ Sports Marketing and Management class is developing a marketing plan, including securing sponsors for each hole, and will plan/run a kick-off event from 11 AM - 1 PM on Saturday, May 14.

Mrs. Beam’s graphic design students are working on a logo for the course. Later, they will develop a course map and the artwork for all course signage.

Greeneview High School

2015 - 2016 Winter Newsletter

Project Based Learning (continued)

Katrina Swinehart partnered with The Ohio State University extension office and the Jamestown Chamber of Commerce to bring the Real Money. Real World. program to students in our new Career Explorations course. This program is an interactive spending simulation that provides students with the opportunity to make lifestyle and budget choices.

Greeneview Gives

Although it is not measured on any report card, our students continue to excel in the area of compassion for others. They are service-minded, always looking for opportunities to “be the change” in our community and the surrounding area. Each month students in our National Honor Society group serve at a soup kitchen in Dayton. The NHS also hosts two blood drives a year, collecting a total of 89 units this year. Beyond these group service projects, students in NHS also organize individual service projects. Examples include:

● Chris Jones organized a blanket collection for an overnight shelter in Xenia.

● Kenzie Cochran organized a bottle top collection to offset the cost of dialysis for an individual battling cancer.

● Evan Rinehart organized snow shoveling for neighbors who are physically unable to clear their own driveways.

Organized by the Service Club, nearly 15% of our high school students showed up voluntarily to serve their community by cleaning up downtown Jamestown in preparation for the Bean Festival!

Greeneview students and staff helped lead fundraising efforts to support Charlotte Caraway, the 20-month daughter of GHS graduate Matt Caraway and Cedarville graduate Stephanie (Creamer) Caraway. A bake sale, organized by Teri Garringer and supported by Spanish students, raised $3,300. Service Club members Alena Clark, Kenzie Cochran, and Jessica Wooten then partnered with students from Cedarville to set aside the “Battle of 72” and collaborate on a “Fierce Charlotte” night for the boys’ basketball game. They were able to present the Caraway family with $1,700 at halftime of the game. Cumulatively, our school community raised $5,000 for the Caraway family!

Greeneview High School

2015 - 2016 Winter Newsletter

Greeneview Gives (continued) On Thursday, November 12, a nine-foot-tall granite veteran’s memorial was unveiled near the school’s main entrance. The memorial is the culmination of efforts by students from the class of 2012 who began fundraising over three years ago and are finally seeing their dream of recognizing local veterans from all branches of service come to fruition. Adding to the celebration was a breakfast provided by Sodexo, performances by Sensations and the Marching Band, a flag presentation by Representative Bob Hackett, and a 21-gun salute by the Jamestown American Legion. Nearly 100 local veterans attended the event.

Oct. / Nov. Students of the Month

(pictured left to right) - freshman, Wade Wilson; sophomore, Griffin Mangan; juniors, Jacquelyn Hall and Veronica Stull; senior, Joshua Brakeall December Students of the Month

(pictured left to right) - senior, Cody Myers; junior, Cole Ritchie; sophomore, Ellie Adkins; freshman, Bryce Ratliff