New focus on data helps this local school earn another honor, leaders say

Monroe Elementary has earned one of the state’s annual “momentum” awards for a third straight year, and the leader of the district said it shows the focus on student achievement data is working.

According to officials at the Ohio Department of Education, which presents the Momentum Award, the honor “recognizes schools for exceeding expectations in student growth for the year.”

State education officials said of the award that “schools must earn straight A’s on all value-added measures on the report card. The school or district must have at least two value-added subgroups of students, which includes gifted, lowest 20 percent in achievement, and students with disabilities.”

Monroe Elementary School was one of 226 schools to receive the Momentum Award statewide, said ODE officials. It has been the recipient of the Momentum Award for three consecutive years.

Kathy Demers, superintendent of Monroe Schools, said it’s the third consecutive year the elementary has earned the honor.

“We attribute our success to the leadership of our administrators and high quality, dedicated educators and support staff in the classroom,” said Demers.

“Our teachers have been focusing on and analyzing their formative assessment data to guide them in meeting the instructional needs of all students. As a result, we are seeing that our students are learning and growing and making progress based on past assessment performances,” she said.

Monroe Schools was among the Butler County districts to earn an overall grade of “B” — the highest letter grade by any county district — on Ohio’s most recent annual report card.

Other Butler County school districts with schools earning the Momentum Award are: New Miami, Ross and Lakota school systems.

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