Over the past couple of months, a district team of twenty four (composed of staff and board of education members, parents, and students) has been hard at work using the Ohio Improvement Process to develop goals, strategies and action steps to address weaknesses in our student testing program. The efforts of the team have been facilitated by representatives from the Clermont County Educational Service Center. Three subcommittees were formed in the areas of reading, math, and educator quality. Their focus has been on test scores in reading and math as well in a highly qualified staff. When finished late this spring, the team will compose a new three year continuous improvement plan which will guide the district for the near future. I would like to thank team members for their commitment of time and efforts in this process. This is not easy work. Going through the Ohio Improvement Process takes roughly 40 to 50 hours.

We await word from the state on the status of the state’s application to the federal government for “Raise to the Top” funds. In January, the district joined 250 other districts to partner with the Ohio Department of Education. The “Raise to the Top” program is designed to award federal dollars to states applying innovative and successful reforms to instruction in the classroom. Ohio expects to hear something from Washington next month.

Bethel-Tate Schools are very much focused on the academic preparation of your children. Our goal is for our graduates to have the abilities and background to be successful in whatever post graduate endeavor they choose. More and more, BTHS grads are not only going to college but also graduating. As always, I appreciate your support as we work together to make this happen.