2 Solon Schools Receive State Honors

SOLON, OH - Two Solon School district schools have received awards from the state. Dorothy E. Lewis Elementary was named an All A Award winner for 2016. The award recognizes schools that received all A's on the school's state report card.

Solon High School was named a 2016 Momentum school. The award recognizes schools that have received A’s on every value-added measure included on the 2016 Ohio School Report Card.

"I think these kinds of awards signify the work our schools put in every day to educate students," said Tammy Strom, Solon School's communications rep. "Every child, every day is our district mantra. We want to make sure each student is receiving the academic rigor they deserve."

Strom said that while these awards singled out two of the district's schools, there was a great deal of consistency throughout all of the schools. Teachers are working together to craft curriculum and ensure student success.

While celebrating the achievements, the district is also saying parents and the community should keep these awards in context. For one, Strom said, there are multiple paths to tracking student success that extend beyond the state's report card. For instance, the district is using classroom data to monitor student and teacher performance and measure the skills and content that students are receiving.

Second, Joseph Regano, Solon's superintendent, openly criticized the state testing standards in September when the grades were first released. While praising the stellar performance by teachers and students in his district, Regano also cautioned that the state accountability system has serious flaws when so few districts and students statewide are showing improving results. Due to the continuing changes in the assessment system and dramatic ramping up of cut scores on those assessments each year, the results are losing important context, he added

"We just need the assessment system to appropriately measure this learning for all students," he said in a statement.

Solon Schools ranked as one of the best districts in Ohio, nearly scoring straight As on the 2016 report card. Both of these awards are based off the district's performance on the report card assessment.

"This is all part of the big picture," Strom said. "We have to be careful not to over attribute success one way or the other. There are a number of way to track our students' success beyond the report card."

Photo from Solon Schools