“This Quality Profile is an important complement to the state report card. It expands the conversation and reflects what our communities value from their schools,” explained Dr. Gail Kist-Kline, Mason City Schools superintendent.
The goal of the Quality Profile is to characterize the overall value of public education beyond standardized testing. The content is based on 10 categories: academics, arts, commitment to improvement, digital learning, fiscal stewardship, parent and community involvement, staff leadership, student activities, student leadership and student services.
Little Miami Local School District Superintendent Greg Power said he was pleased to be part of the effort to provide a more comprehensive view of the district.
“The Quality Profile will enable the members of our community to have a more complete picture of Little Miami,” he said. “Ten high-performing districts have collaborated and worked hard to develop all of the elements of this Quality Profile, and we are grateful for their efforts.”
More than a year ago, 10 southwest Ohio districts — Mason, Forest Hills, Indian Hill, Loveland, Madeira, Mariemont, Milford, Oak Hills, Sycamore and Wyoming — surveyed residents to determine factors they value in their child’s education that were not represented on the state report card. The result is the Quality Profile, a collaborative report that shares an expanded story of each participating school district.
“Several of us decided we could no longer sit on the sidelines and complain about how schools are measured or compared. Instead, we wanted to work together to develop robust measures that mattered to our families and community members,” said Kist-Kline.
Now adopted by about 20 districts in Ohio, the report is supported by the Alliance for High Quality Education, an education consortium that works to improve educational opportunities for students and to represent member districts on matters of educational policy and funding.
“I can’t wait to see what people in Mason think about the Quality Profile, and look forward to improving it based on their feedback,” said Kist-Kline.
Power said the adoption of the Quality Profile is one important component to revitalizing the district as it rebuilds after being released from fiscal emergency.
“In many ways, Little Miami is an outlier in this group — our recent financial struggles are no secret, many of our — and prepare our students for success on a global scale — we need to adopt some of the best practices that high-performing districts like these have proven to be successful. This Quality Profile is just one example of those practices.”
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