“I think we got a good presentation on that last year,” said board member Chrisondra Goodwine
River’s Edge Montessori received one of the highest ratings among Dayton Public elementary buildings last school year. The state awarded River’s Edge three stars out of a possible five.
The only other elementary school in DPS that was awarded that rating was Cleveland Elementary, located in the Twin Towers neighborhood. The highest-rated building in the district was Stivers School for the Arts, which offers seventh and eighth grade.
Board member Will Smith noted that the presentation given by Rivers’ Edge students in November was compelling and asked that other schools also be given a similar chance to showcase their students.
“We don’t do that the same way that we do for certain schools and certain buildings,” Smith said.
This is not the first time that DPS added middle school grades to competitive elementary schools. DPS voted to add seventh and eighth grades to Charity Adams Earley Academy, an all-girls school in north Dayton, in 2023.
Improving middle school buildings and offering more options has also been a priority among DPS administrators and board members in recent years. The transition between elementary and middle school is a common place for people to leave the district, according to board members.
The three middle school buildings — Wogaman, Wright Brothers and E.J. Brown — all ranked within the bottom third of DPS buildings on the last state report card and received 1.5 stars out of five.
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