By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
In the following video Mr. Scott Fishel, Chairman of the Riverside Curriculum Committee, discusses with Superintendent Dr. Chris Rateno and Curriculum Director Dr. Melissa Mlakar the need to measure performances in the classroom.
There was agreement from the school administrators that the academic proficiency scores at the Riverside campus need to improve. How bad are they?
We generated the following reports from the Ohio Department of Education website. We wanted to compare the Report Cards for the last five years for Riverside Jr. / Sr High to determine the trend in their performances.
We would like anyone to look at these reports and tell us what they are saying. Instead of the standard grading system of A = 90% – 100%, etc., they have purposefully complicated the system by introducing a “star rating system”. It is very difficult to ascertain real performance, and they are basically meaningless. It gives the whole educational cabal something to hide behind so that they cannot be held accountable. Looking at the percentages for the 2022- 2023 school year, we question the numbers reported. The measurement of proficiency is a moving target because of the concept of “cut scores”, where the State Department of Education determines what is “proficient”. Ohio schools are the fourth lowest in the nation in what is considered “proficient”. Knowing that, we then realize that the grades are even worse than reported. (We are doing more research on the “cut scores”.)
We would like to know how the Riverside School Board and the Administration expect the overburdened taxpayers to judge their performance? What the school districts’ personnel need to understand is that the taxpayers are slowly, but surely, catching on to their deceptions, and poor performances will no longer be tolerated. We will never accept being priced out of our homes that we have worked all our lives to achieve, while they produce substandard students, and fail to promote high moral standards.
Regretfully, the administration and the School Board continue to avoid the bathroom issues that, we have been told, have been prevalent for years. The School Board continues to fail the children by not ensuring privacy and protection for the children in the bathrooms. We will continue to give Dr. Rateno a pass for now on this issue since he has just recently assumed the Superintendent’s position. In a one-on-one discussion with Dr. Rateno, I definitely got the impression that he is committed to improving the academic standards of the entire school district, and we must allow him the opportunity to demonstrate his expertise and leadership skills. We are rooting for him to be successful!
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In January 2024, there will be the School Board’s organizational meeting where members are assigned to the various committees. If we do not see Scott Fishel assigned as the Chairman of the Buildings and Grounds committee, and newly elected Board Member, Denise Brewster, as the Chairwoman of the Curriculum committee, then we will know that the other three Board members (Grassi, Hardin, Krenisky) are not serious about changing anything in the Riverside School District. Belinda Grassi, a VERY long time Board member, can then be declared “Queen Bee” of the district, and will continue to control the Board because she, as she has previously said, has three votes. It is that simple!
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Categories: Riverside S.D., Uncategorized