The Story of the Spirit of Success the Story of the Spirit of Success

THE STORY OF THE SPIRIT OF SUCCESS THE STORY OF THE SPIRIT OF SUCCESS

Every day and in every corner of Columbus City Schools, a story of success is being written by some of the nearly 51,500 children actively learning in our more than 3,000 classrooms or by some of our more than 8,000 teachers, staff, and administrators eager to share their positive empowering energy with all of our students, our families, each other, and the community we serve.

In just one day, there can be the story of the child in Pre-Kindergarten who can now print his own first name, along with meaningful words like Mom, Dad, and love… or the kindergartener in her white lab coat who’s still talking about the doctor who visited her class.

Perhaps it’s about the third-grader who overcame his shyness to act out the tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff… a fourth-grader who focused on her math test instead of her growling stomach because she ate a nutritious breakfast and lunch - available at no charge to every student each day… or the fifth grader whose class took a virtual tour of a real-life archeology dig in Utah.

2 There’s the story of the seventh-grader who’s learning to write computer code and create his own mobile app at the ripe old age of 13.

The freshman who teaches English to his own family members from South America, or the eleventh- grade band members who are still showing off Facebook pictures from their performance in New York City just a few weeks ago, or the senior who has earned so much college credit in science that she’ll be a sophomore instead of a freshman when she heads off to college in the Fall.

The stories don’t stop there: There’s the mother and son who just ended a day of work in the health care field, having graduated from our School of Practical Nursing together last year. And one of our bus drivers who earned her GED classes while raising 3 nieces and a daughter… and now she’s taking classes to prepare for college. And then there’s the 73-year-old great-grandmother who was both a volunteer and a student at the Marion-Franklin Opportunity Center, working toward her diploma as she sits each evening sits with her 7 grandchildren at the kitchen table and proudly does her homework.

Over the past five years, the story of the Spirit of Success in Columbus City Schools and the deep pride behind it has been strengthening and resonating across our schools and throughout our city. In this report, we detail many of the impressive steps taken by the District - under the leadership of Superintendent/CEO Dr. Dan Good and the members of the Columbus Board of Education - to educate and empower our students and their families more than ever before and to best serve the Columbus community we all call home.

As we look ahead, this sustainable positive trajectory in Columbus City Schools will set the stage for our next stories of success in 2018, to be written as a new Superintendent takes the helm of Ohio’s largest school district.

In announcing his retirement, Dr. Good concluded his story of success by sharing:

“I am so very proud of the work that’s been accomplished in this District… the families who’ve been better served in every neighborhood… the social, emotional, and health needs of our students that we are now better able to address… the partnerships we’ve built with the private and non-profit, businesses and organizations, churches and charities, elected leaders and caring, concerned individuals across our communities… and, most of all, the empowerment and Spirit of Success that’s been instilled in our young people that will last far beyond today, far beyond my time.”

This is our Story of Success.

3 5 OUR STORY OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

22 OUR STORY OF SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES

32 OUR STORY OF HIGHER EXPECTATIONS

41 OUR STORY OF RESTORED TRUST

4 OUR STORY OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

From cradle to career, a high-quality education opens doors to opportunities for students from any background and in every part of our city, empowering them with the skills to build their own better future. Over the past five years, Columbus City Schools has been recognized for boosting high quality pre-Kindergarten, strengthening reading and mathematics preparation, and opening new career/college options. We are bridging the achievement gap so all students can find their pathway to success in high school and beyond.

5 SIGN UP: ENROLLMENT IS BUILDING

Early education is the start to a life-long love affair with learning. Columbus City Schools is now the city’s leader in offering High-Quality Early Education, which is the first step to launching a child’s success in school and in life, as our youngest learners become familiar with books, new words and ways to use language, numbers, and problem-solving strategies.

In the past five years, Columbus City Schools has boosted the number of Pre-K seats by more than 22%, to nearly 2,100 seats. Best in Ohio: 64 CCS Pre-K classrooms earned the highest “five-star” rating in Step Up to Quality from the State of Ohio.

Linden Park Neighborhood Early Childhood Education Center: opened in October 2016 with funding from the City of Columbus and the Ohio Dept. of Education, this collaborative center houses a blend of updated, kid-friendly classroom space for multiple Pre-K service providers - CCS and local partners - all under one roof.

Partnered with the Childhood League Center to open a state-of-the- art pre-school facility on the campus of our downtown Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center.

Coordinated, co-located, and consolidated the administration of pre- school programming (including administration of programming for students with disabilities) to improve the effective management of the District’s early education programming.

Countdown to Kindergarten: Thousands of families have benefited from the launch of this successful one-day orientation initiative highlighting kindergarten readiness and family engagement. Families are empowered with free fun-yet-enriching learning activities that promote and reinforce kindergarten skills.

Piloted “Kindervention” effort focused on identifying and addressing phonemic awareness and phonics.

With support from the PNC Foundation’s philanthropic initiative Grow Up Great, CCS Pre-K classrooms visit COSI for programming that helps prepare the preschoolers to succeed in school by incorporating creative movement and science into learning activities designed to engage their minds and bodies.

6 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT #CCSreads: ALL-IN FOR READING

Proficiency in reading by the end of third grade is a leading factor in a student’s ability to master more complex subject matter in future grade levels. To give Columbus third graders strong literacy skills to last a lifetime, we took an “all hands in” approach, engaging and enlisting active involvement from students, teachers, parents and partners outside the system. Together, we led a dramatic turnaround in improving elementary literacy, with nine out of every ten third graders meeting or exceeding the state’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee requirements to matriculate to 4th Grade.

Near 50-Point Reading Score Turn-Around:

In the Fall of 2013, only 42% of 3rd graders started the year meeting the standards of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. By the summer of that year (2014), the rate raised to 88%, then to 91% for two years in a row (2015, 2016), and would have ended the following year at 92.3% based on the same scoring criteria.

Despite a change in scoring thresholds by the Ohio Dept. of Education, the 2016-2017 school year ended with 86.2% of 3rd Graders meeting or exceeding the state’s higher 3GRG requirement, which means nearly 4,100 students matriculated to 4th grade.

Promoted a widespread, research-based teacher development and training model (Literacy Collaborative) to equip teachers with specific teaching skills and intervention strategies, recognizing that teaching literacy is a specialized skill.

More Reading Time and More Reading Help: All elementary schools dedicated 90-minutes to reading with 30 additional minutes for intervention. Dozens of reading specialist have been deployed in 70 schools across the District.

#CCSreads: This multi-tiered initiative featured interactive reading activities, classroom challenges, and family engagement shared online, in school, through social media and community-wide, including visits and videos by celebrity guest readers, weekly online and at-home easy-to- teach activities for families, and a series of Saturday Reading Academies.

7 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT K-3 Literacy and Numeracy Academy: Thousands of families have participated in these free District-wide events, aimed at fostering continued learning at home; the District also collaborated with community partners to provide additional valuable resources to support families.

Students unable to meet the requirements of the 3GRG during the regular school year were encouraged to attended Summer 3GRG Boot Camps, with District staff reaching out directly to hundreds of families to enlist students.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library, in partnership with the District academic teams, modified its reading program and launched the citywide Homework Help Centers to incorporate the District’s reading model and materials in its after-school reading program.

Reading Buddies: more than 1100 volunteers have been trained since the launch of the program to place caring adult readers into classrooms to work one-on-one with students to improve their literacy skills.

Books on the Bus: To encourage students to read (and read to each other) while traveling to and from schools - and supported by members of the OAPSE bargaining unit - specially-designed bags filled with books were placed on several District buses, and bus drivers encouraged riders to select titles based on their reading levels.

Books for Breakfast: Complimenting the Books on the Bus, local Panera Bread locations and the Columbus Metropolitan Libraries hosted a series of book donation events - collecting more than 24,000 donated books over the three years of the effort. In addition to placing some of the books on buses, bins of books were delivered to every elementary and several middle schools to give students material to read during morning breakfast.

Barbershop Books: A partnership between Columbus City Schools and Columbus City Council, Barbershop Books is a community-based literacy program founded in New York City that creates child-friendly reading spaces in neighborhood barbershops to encourage all young people, particularly four to eight-year-olds, to read.

In 2015, the Columbus Foundation, through an anonymous award from its Gifts of Kindness™ fund, facilitated the donation of more than 10,000 books - 5,000 copies of Pete the Cat and 5,000 copies of Fly Guy - one for every kindergartener and 1st grader.

Short Édition Reading Kiosks: Set to launch in December 2017, Columbus City Schools will be the first District in the nation to deploy the exclusive Short Édition short story dispensing machine - a thin tower that function similar to a vending machine, where users (at no charge) can select “Stories for Young Readers” or “Stories for Everyone” and the kiosk prints on a piece of receipt paper a short 3-to-5-minute story.

8 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT SERVING OUR EXCEPTIONALITIES

Barriers have no place in a public education system that With approximately 8,600 students in Columbus City serves all students, no matter the country where their Schools identified as Special Needs and requiring families originate or the languages spoken at home, no Individualized Education Plans, the District has matter any physical, emotional or cognitive challenges exponentially increased the number of Special Education to their ability to learn, and no matter their high levels staff and the amount of specialized training to support of skill or intellect that could leave them bored or both students and teachers. indifferent in class. Columbus City Schools is now a leader in serving students with exceptionalities, both Over the past four years, the District made consider- in terms of numbers and in levels of identification and able investments in training and staffing to better iden- assistance. tify and serve special needs students, including the deployment of: more than 700 With roughly one in six students special education teachers/tutors; coming from a home where En- more than 200 psychologists, glish is not the primary lan- speech therapists, mobility spe- guage spoken, Columbus City cialists, interpreters, behavior Schools enrolls and serves specialists, transition coordi- more than 8,500 Limited nators, special education co- English Proficient (LEP) students each year, one of the ordinators, vision specialists, largest enrollment numbers central enrollment special- across the entire Midwest. ists, assessment and testing coordinators; and more than There are more than 100 350 instructional assistants non-English languages and dia- who support special education lects spoken by students and fam- throughout our District. ilies in Columbus City Schools, with the top non-English languages being In 2015, District leaders updated pro- Spanish, Somali, Nepali, Arabic, French, Twi, tocols on discipline and restraint practices Somali Mai Mai, Fulani, Swahili, and Krio. related to students with special needs and removed questionable seclusion rooms from all schools. Investing in an expansion of English as a Second Language service, the District provides English-as-a-Second- A Strategic Improvement Plan for Special Education Language (ESL) Sheltered Sites at 49 schools, with an included widespread training of elementary and additional 55 schools serving LEP students. middle school special education teachers and tutors, implementation of an internal review team to monitor To provide additional support and language assistance to IEP compliance, and expansion of Inclusive Practices to ESL students, the District moved the Columbus Global increase access and progress in the general education Academy program and ESL services into its own building setting. (and former high school with tremendous community support) - creating the Columbus Global Academy at Having exceeded the requirements of a corrective action Brookhaven. plan in place by the Ohio Dept. of Education, the state has recognized Columbus City Schools as a model of To further enlist non-English speaking family members in success for how urban districts should work to identify helping our students learn, our District made an historic and serve more students with special needs. commitment to the US Dept. of Education to translate important family information in five additional languages: Spanish, Somali, French, Arabic, and Nepali.

9 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT With just under 10% (or approximately 4,800 First housed in the former Beck Elementary. Columbus students) identified as gifted and talented, this Gifted Academy housed nearly 300 scholars during its District has dedicated significant time, energy, 2015-16 charter year and grew the second year to more and resources to create a model Gifted and than 350 scholars. Now located in the former Everett Talented program which has set us apart from Elementary, more than 450 scholars are currently enrolled. other districts across the state and earning national recognition. Using a model that provides a varying continuum of services across the District - classroom-based, in-school A first-of-its-kind for public schools in Central based, neighborhood-based, and separate locations - Ohio, the Columbus Gifted Academy was opened in the Gifted and Talented Program deploys 75 classroom 2015 as a completely self-contained gifted program teachers, instructional assistants, teachers on special serving students in Grades 3-8 identified as gifted assignment, and other staff to Columbus Gifted Academy in either superior cognitive ability or both reading and neighborhood schools. and mathematics. The program offers students the opportunity to participate in accelerated curricular To accommodate additional state mandates and opportunities throughout the school day and participate address disproportionalities in students identified has in off-campus learning experiences with Columbus having superior cognitive ability or higher reading and Museum of Art, COSI, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, mathematics skills, The Gifted and Talented team is set See Kids Dream, Grange Audubon, Columbus Actors to grow to more than 100 over the next five years, Theatre, and Ohio History Connection. allowing the District to further develop the gifts and talents in our diverse student body.

10 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT BRIDGING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Demography doesn’t determine destiny. Columbus City Schools has made unprecedented advancements to bridge the gaps in achievement that have historically separated economically disadvantaged students and students of color from other students - and in several schools, the gap is gone.

Over the past two years, results on state tests now show no measurable gaps in achievement at 16 of our elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 5 of our high schools.

Among Ohio’s Big 8 schools, Columbus City Schools had the highest overall growth in closing the Achievement Gap, as reported on the State’s 2017 Local Report Card, at 8.3%.

As an example of a complete gap closure, Black/Non-Hispanic students in 2012 were 1.7% below the average proficiency for all race/ethnicity student groups in 10th Grade Writing. In 2016, in 10th Grade Writing, Black/Non-Hispanic students scored 1.1% above the average proficiency.

As an example of a gap on track to close, Black/Non-Hispanic students in 2012 were 4.8% below the average proficiency for all race/ethnicity student groups in 10th Grade Mathematics. By 2016, in 10th Grade Mathematics, Black/Non- Hispanic students scored 2.9% below the average - moving in the right direction.

The District also implemented new non-culturally biased testing (given to second graders) to better identify gifted students. The new Naglieri Test provided for major gains in identifying those gifted students who are Black or Asian and provided for slight gains in identification of other non-White racial groups.

In 2014, the District’s first Males of Color Task Force sparked initial efforts to address barriers to educational opportunities for our boys of color, recommending proven strategies that deliver measurable results in the areas of family engagement and educational placement, as well as improved staff training (culturally relevant pedagogy).

For our Priority Schools - those buildings that rank in the lowest 5 percent of schools in Ohio in student academic performance - the District reduced class sizes, with a target goal of 25 students or less per teacher, to allow for additional individualized teaching. Priority Schools also receive additional state support from the Ohio Department of Education.

11 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT CHAMPIONING ARTS EDUCATION

Arts education is not simply about sparking creativity or allowing students to express themselves. It’s about literacy and the ways in which young people learn. Auditory Literacy. Visual Literacy. Kinesthetic Literacy. While significant budget reductions had to be made in other programming across the District, the Unified Arts programming in Columbus City School saw no funding cuts over the past four years. Community support and generous donors are also helping to strengthen and grow arts education for every student in the District.

Experiential learning opportunities are available for every child in Columbus City Schools. The Columbus Zoo, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Museum of Art are dedicated education partners at several schools, including our Columbus Gifted Academy.

The All City Orchestra provides an opportunity for our students to play with a full orchestra and to learn directly from musicians in the Columbus Symphony, while across town, students in nearly a dozen schools get direct interaction with dance experts at weekly lessons through an organization called Momentum.

High school students partner with the Harmony Project - a local music and volunteerism organization – to perform mini-concerts locally, represent the District on Broadway in New York City, and spark conversations around diversity with the painting of murals.

12 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Through an incredibly generous donation from the family of Les and Abigail Wexner, nearly 9,000 students and their families had the opportunity to visit an exhibition of Modern Masters from the Wexner’s personal family collection on display at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University.

Pledging $1.5 million to music education, Nanci and David Gobey annually present the District with $50,000 to purchase musical instruments and are committed to $50,000 each year for 30 years - enough to annually purchase about 100 instruments. Qualified students will get to keep their instruments.

The “Their Walk, Our Walk” art installation by students at the Ft. Hayes Arts and Academic High School - 1,300 red ceramic poppies on the lawn of the historic Shot Tower - received national recognition for commemorating the sacrifices made by America’s veterans and the downtown campus’ 150-year history as a military training and service center.

Through a partnership with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Superintendent Good has hosted three music educator events for Columbus teachers and arts educators throughout Franklin and surrounding counties, bringing them to a CSO performance and special access to the organization’s conductor and professional musicians. Nearly a dozen of the District’s music educators also participated in CSO’s one-on-one musician education experiences.

Participation in the Annual Columbus City Schools High School Marching Band Invitational has steadily improved, highlighted by generous grants given by the Superintendent in 2017 to each high school program to further support the purchase of new instruments and travel to competitions and shows.

Special Superintendent Grants were also awarded to student orchestras who participated in the Columbus City Schools High School All City Orchestra Concert in 2016, providing for additional financial support of music education.

13 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT UNIQUE LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Through impressive and historic community partnerships, Connected with key business partners through the Columbus City Schools is able to provide students Columbus Partnership’s Education Committee and across the District with unique learning experiences. Annual Retreat, and the Ohio Business Roundtable Over the past several years, we have cultivated new and Annual Meeting. stronger partnerships with individuals, businesses, non- profits, and countless others who are also committed to Successful partnership with the Columbus Rotary for our mission and expressing their great faith and hope in the Student Service Above Self program. Since 2003, the our students Columbus Rotary has partnered with the District on these projects, nurturing a culture of service by foster- Health Sciences Academies: With the 2015- ing community service attitudes, knowledge, 2016 school year, Columbus City Schools and skills among our high school and mid- entered into an historic agreement dle school students. Over the past with the Near East Side Partners four years, the Rotary has provided more than $200,000 in scholar- Achieving Community Transfor- ships to CCS graduates. New mation (PACT) and the Ohio in 2017, the Rotary provided State University Wenxer all Columbus third graders Medical Center to launch with their own printed dic- the Health Sciences Acade- tionary. mies at schools in the East High School feeder pattern, National Children’s Day: including Beatty Park, East Thousands of families have Columbus, Eastgate, Ohio Av- celebrated this annual event enue, and Trevitt Elementary, with free activities at several in addition to East High School sites across the District, which and Champion Middle School. The are geared at providing a festive ed- program includes real-world learning ucational atmosphere. In 2015, participants also contributed to the relief efforts experiences through partnerships with area of the Red Cross. medical facilities including University Hospital East and CarePoint East. LifeTown: Developed by special education professionals and designed specifically to encourage and advance the COSI: In 2016, the District entered into an historic building of transitional skills for student with special Memorandum of Understanding with COSI, which needs, LifeTown at Lori Schottenstein Chabad Center has had a long-history of partnership with Columbus allows students to practice pedestrian safety using real City Schools. COSI’s technology-rich, learning-led traffic lights, interact with volunteer police officers, environment is the exclusive host to some of the make their first bank withdrawal and purchases with District’s largest family-resource events. COSI staff are real money in venues such as a movie theater, market frequent visitors to our schools. And every 5th grader and salon. in the District has an opportunity to visit the science center on field trip, with activities aligned directly to the As students master those concepts, they graduate to State curriculum and proficiency testing. more complex lessons such as learning to socialize with and care for others, managing one’s own doctor’s visits, Coordinated school supply drives businesses and or making and keeping appointments. community organizations each year to benefit students in all Columbus elementary schools and several middle The Ohio State College of Dentistry hosts its annual and high schools. Annual clothing and coat drives have Give Kids a Smile Day, offering free dental exams, also benefitted students in every school. And Charity cleanings, extractions, fillings, and crowns for kids in Newsies annually provides clothing, shoes, and work need. clothes, fulfilling their mission “that no child shall be kept from school for lack of adequate clothing.”

14 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT MORE TO THE SCORE

There is more to a child’s learning than what is measured On the Local Report Card issues in Summer 2017, 13 of on the State’s annual Local Report Cards, which offer our schools earned an A or B on Overall Achievement. only a limited snapshot on six state-selected indicators. Over the past five years, Columbus City Schools – both The same Local Report Card also showed 16 schools the District as a whole and individual school buildings earning an A or B on overall Progress, demonstrating - has earned scores on the Local Report Card that clear gains in helping students achieve more than a year’s show improvement. Changes in which state tests are worth of academic growth in a single school year. administered and how those testes are scored make year-to-year comparisons near impossible. Alternatively, Through improved identification and intervention, District measurement show true student gain from we’ve seen growth in students recognized as the lowest year-to-year. 20% statewide in reading and math. In fact, 17 of our schools earned an A or B on this year’s Report Card for On the Local Report Card issued in early 2016, supporting these priority students. Columbus City Schools earned an A in Progress for all students in math and reading for Grades Measured progress has been made with students 4 through 8, and A’s and B’s in how the District identified as gifted and/or superior cognitive, with 6 helps students who need extra attention: schools earning an A or B for serving gifted students. Gifted Students, Students in the Lowest 20% Five schools earned an A or B on this year’s Report Card for serving students identified as Special Needs of Achievement, and Students with Disabilities. and in need of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

15 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT District data shows continued improvement Specifically in 2016-2017, in Reading and Math, with clear student • 3rd Grade Reading: 9% increase over previous school year. proficiency gains from the beginning-of-year to end-of-year assessments. In 2016-2017, • 3rd Grade Math: 2.5% increase over previous school year.

more than 88% of elementary and middle • 4th Grade Reading: 2% increase over previous school year. school grades meet and exceed projected • 4th Grade Math: increase over previous school year. learning and growth goals in math and 3% reading for all students. • 5th Grade Reading: 2% increase over previous school year.

16 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED MENTORING

For struggling teenagers, having trusted adults standing in their corners - not to judge but to encourage, offering both an ear to concerns and a voice to aspirations - can be the difference between falling into despair or reaching for success. Columbus City Schools was recognized at both the local and national levels for its expanding mentoring efforts and results that show mentoring works. At the same time, expanded opportunities at virtual classwork are also helping more students get back and stay on track to graduation.

Through the new Office of Student Mentoring Initiatives, data revealed that when off-track high school seniors at risk of failing to graduate were paired with caring and dedicated adult mentors in 2016-2017, those students had a 75% better chance of earning their diplomas.

President Obama selected Columbus as one of only ten cities to launch a special Middle School mentoring program under his My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which still continues even though the occupant in the White House has changed.

The District significantly increased investment in the near-peer mentoring work of City Year to expand the organization’s reach to students and staff in six of our schools, providing in-depth mentorship and academic support that has helped to boost attendance and achievement rates – an accomplishment spotlighted at the organization’s national meeting.

Because of his dedication to expanding the opportunities of mentoring across the entire District, Superintendent/CEO Dr. Dan Good was recognized as the United Way of Central Ohio’s Champion of Children in 2016.

VCAP: To further help students stay on-track to graduation, the District expanded the number of courses offered through the Virtual Credit Advancement Program, now up to 31 courses offered for VCAP. The team also expanded lab hours for VCAP at our Full-Time site to include tutoring from highly-qualified teachers in all core subject areas.

17 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT VALUABLE JOB SKILLS TIED TO IN DEMAND CAREERS

With one in every four students on average taking a job-skills related course in high school, Columbus City Schools has been recognized for transforming its career-technical education to meet the skilled- job openings that Central Ohio employers need most. With dozens of career pathways to choose from, more Columbus students are learning valuable and transferable job skills, earning college credit or industry certification, and landing jobs right out of high school.

This isn’t Home Ec or Woodshop. Columbus City Schools now offer 37 career technical pathways for student to choose from: cyber security, automotive diagnostics, high-end catering, construction engineering, information technology specialization, landscape design, cosmetology science, community safety (police/fire) and environmental control repair, to name some of the most popular and in- demand.

A year-long study by non-profit KidsOhio revealed that nearly 29% of all juniors and seniors in Columbus City Schools is enrolled in a career- technical class or pathway. The District is on-track to more than double the total number of students in career-technical education.

18 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Following statewide trends that show most students who are in high- quality career-technical programs such as those offered at Columbus Downtown High School and Ft. Hayes Career graduate on time and with A’s and B’s, Columbus students are also completing their experience with college credit or industry certification, some with apprenticeships or with jobs in hand.

In partnership with six of the city’s largest construction companies, the District launched a first-of-its-kind program to allow students in Construction Arts to work alongside professionals, learning elements of their craft while getting a feel for whether they would like to make it a career. During the pilot, students alternated one week working full time and one week going to school full time. The successful pilot has since grown to include longer periods on the job site.

Deepening partnerships with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, more students are also participating in the Student Partner Program at the Electrical Trades Center, where upon graduation students enter IBEW’s five-year apprenticeship program. Forty percent of the union’s apprenticeship population has come from the program. Students earn free college credits from Columbus State Community College, allowing them to complete the program with an associate degree in applied technologies, debt free, and qualify for average earnings of $65,000 to $70,000 a year.

New in 2017, every 7th grader in the District now has the opportunity to explore the in-demand career of computer programming - with unique classes on writing computer code and designing games for tablets and mobile devices.

As part of an historic Community Benefits Agreement with building construction unions, the City of Columbus will invest more than $166,000 in the our Career Technical Program, including tools, safety kits, and materials for our construction classrooms. The agreement also provides resources for a mobile construction lab, which will provide hands-on experiences for more than 275 middle school students. Adult workforce demand: The new Marion-Franklin Opportunity Center (former Beery Middle School) has become a model for success in providing adult education programming, including GED classes, nursing courses, and English language education. Greater interest is expected as the District begins to offer in-demand training on HVAC and commercial driver licensure.

19 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT EARNING COLLEGE CREDIT IN HIGH SCHOOL

We want to prepare students for all of the avenues they might pursue following high school graduation. And we are helping Columbus students build stronger foundations for success in college and career - and life. Columbus City Schools has expanded the number of pathways for students to earn a diploma and college credit.

Credits Count: Made possible by a $5 million gift from the American Electric Power Foundation, the Columbus State Community College Credits Count program with its focus on STEM education now reaches across three high schools: West, Whetstone, and Northland. Students graduate with up to 30 college credits, supported by tutoring and remediation as needed and unique college and career exploration opportunities during the summer.

In 2017, the District introduced a new i3 partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Columbus State Community College focused on giving students at South High School an introduction to studies and career opportunities in pediatric health care.

In 2016 alone, Columbus students earned 1292 college credits while still in high school, a remarkable 315% increase from just four years ago.

The percentage of graduates taking International Baccalaureate coursework at one of the District’s highest-performing high schools (CAHS) jumped from 28% in 2012 to 81% in 2016.

DeVry Advantage Academy: 90% of our students in the DeVry Advantage Academy successfully completed all program requirements thus earning their high school diploma and an Associate’s Degree in Web Graphic Design from DeVry University.

In one school year (2015), more than 91% of students in CCS’ Seniors to Sophomores Scholars group successfully completed all program requirements. The average GPA was 4.0, with each student earning approximately twenty two semester hours - for a total of 418 semester hours.

20 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THE GOAL OF GRADUATION

More students are graduating from Columbus City Expanding the investment with I Know I Can, college Schools! The District continues to see modest yet steady application counselors are now stationed at every high increases in the number of students who are graduating. school. Positive results are measurable: while the national With data now verifiable and compliant with state rate of seniors completing the FAFSA (Free Application standard, graduation rates are on a positive trajectory. for Federal Student Aid) decreased, our District boosted More students are also able to afford to continue their its number. education into college. All Seniors In/College Signing Day: the partnership with New numbers on the Four-Year Graduation Rate as re- I Know I Can produced two major rallies – bringing to- ported by the Ohio Department of Educa- gether all seniors in the District – to build tion (which are a year behind) show an excitement and learn about graduation increase of four percentage points requirements. Three annual College between the Class of 2015 and Signing Day events showcased Class of 2016, jumping from graduates heading to more than 74.1% up to 78.0%. 100 different college and uni- versities across the country The Class of 2017 repre- – including some of the na- sented more than 2,300 tion’s most prestigious insti- graduates in all, another tutions. modest yet positive increase of 2% from the year before. Making college more afford- That means the Senior Suc- able to those who want to cess Rate - the percentage of attend, Columbus City Schools students who started the year has helped graduating seniors in 12th grade and earned a diplo- earn an historic amount of more ma by the end of the year - rose to than $170 million in grants and schol- 84.99% at graduation. arships over the past three years. (2015 - $41 million; 2016- $57 million; 2017 - $72 million). In 2017, the District launched a coordinated effort to identify potential “off-track” seniors earlier so Students in Columbus City Schools earned one of the interventions can be put into place and the student’s highest percentages of the historic Gates Millennium progress can be monitored. This team consists of the Scholarships, part of a $1.6 billion dollar initiative funded Chief Academic Officer, Chief Accountability Officer, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In all, Columbus Executive Director of High Schools, the Supervisor of students earned 50 of these prestigious scholarships Higher Education Partnerships, a senior Administrator that pay for the full college education, including post at each high school, a senior counselor at each high graduate studies. school, and the Office of Student Mentoring Initiatives.

21 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OUR STORY OF SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES

With 110 school buildings stretching across the city, the District has invested more resources, more talent, and more innovation to provide students in every neighborhood access to safe and supportive environments that foster all types of learning in the classroom and better address the social and emotional challenges students might bring from home. Families are responding, with more choosing to call Columbus City School their home. And as new buildings open and long-delayed repairs are made, an updated plan now provides a blueprint for bring great schools and supportive spaces to every neighborhood.

22 SIGN UP: ENROLLMENT IS BUILDING

Enrollment in Columbus City School is beginning to grow again, albeit modestly over the past five years, after significant declines from its peak in 1971 of serving more than110,000 students. Still, with approximately 51,500 enrolled for the 2017-2018 school year, Columbus City School remains the largest district in Ohio – serving the most number of students and largest number of families.

To better serve ALL families, the opening of a Central Enrollment Center and creation of an online registration system within the past three years have simplified and centralized the enrollment process for student who are new or returning to Columbus City Schools.

In addition to having the largest student enrollment in the state, Columbus City Schools also has one of the regions highest percentages of students from often underserved and at-risk populations: 89% of students are in families deemed economically disadvantaged by the US Dept. of Agriculture; 1 in 4 - or about 13,000 students each year - will change schools or change school districts because they move to a different home; and 1 in 12 - or more than 4,000 students - were deemed homeless at one point during the last school year.

With a downtown location easily accessible for car or transit, the services at the Central Enrollment Center have been expanded to providing families with opportunities to meet with a counselor, social worker, nurse, custody representative, and/or homeless liaison, as well as receive transportation information, submit a school choice lottery application, request student work permits, test for English proficiency (ESL), pay school fees, and order past transcripts.

SPEEDY PASS: As more new families in Columbus come from the tech-savvy Millennial generation, creation of an online pre-registration system has streamlined the enrollment process, allowing families to complete nearly all of the enrollment process on their computer or mobile device.

An appointment system built within SPEEDY PASS for enrollment has removed the confusion and long lines at the Central Enrollment Center. This has also increased the Center’s overall productivity and efficiency, thus producing improved (and well-appreciated) customer service.

Through renovations, process and procedural updates, and additional software and technology upgrades, the District now has a welcoming environment for enrolling new families while providing data accuracy and integrity for District record keeping. The Columbus City Schools Central Enrollment Center is the premier enrollment center in Ohio.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES NEW BUILDINGS AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Technology is integrally connected to how students a separate building but fully connected with all of the access and use information. Combined with modern same programming, staff, and neighborhood support construction and classroom designs, new schools and already serving our students at Woodward Park Middle upgraded classrooms are providing more Columbus School (which now serves 7-8). students with the latest innovations in education. On the technology front, the District has a student-to- Since 2013, Columbus City Schools has opened seven computer device ratio of better than 2:1. To improve that new state-of-the-art school buildings: Stewart Elemen- number, our technology teams have deployed more than tary, a $12.7 million project to house 350 students; 7,500 Chromebooks over the last four years. Upgraded Cedarwood Elementary, a $14.2 million operating systems power more than 35,000 project to house 550 students; Star- computers. And new servers and PCs ling STEM PreK-8, a $ 16.8 million have been installed throughout project to house 600 students; the district as old desktops are Columbus Scioto 6-12, a $ 16.2 replaced. million project to house 250 students; Ecole Kenwood With the help of student PreK-6 school, a $15.4 leaders, the District imple- million project to house 550 mented its first Bring Your students; Columbus Spanish Own Device policy, permit- Immersion Academy PreK-6 ting and encouraging stu- school, a $16.7 million proj- dents to bring handheld tech- ect to house 550 students; nology from home. To further and a new Columbus Africen- help every student and teacher tric Early College Campus, a stay connected, the District in- $42 million project to house 1,000 vested in full wireless “wifi” inter- students. net access in all school buildings.

Reimagining existing space, the Columbus Gifted Nearly every classroom in the district has Smart- Academy first opened in the former Beck Elementary Board interactive technology bringing the world into the School before moving to the former Everett Middle classroom. School. The Columbus Global Academy found a new home in the former Brookhaven High School. With easier access to the internet, teachers are providing blended learning strategies that encourage a In an innovative approach to address tremendous combination of digital instruction, whether it’s with a student growth and building strain, the District opened desktop, laptop, tablet, or smart board. two buildings with unique sets of student groups: Northgate Intermediate School serves students in 4th For the District’s administrative offices, upgraded and 5th grades who would have been previously assigned broadband access has improved speed and efficiency in to Alpine Elementary and Avalon Elementary (which accessing valuable online information and the District’s now serves K-3); a new 6th-Grade-only Woodward Park expanding data processing systems. Websites are up and at Walden in the former Walden Elementary building is available to browse in seconds instead of minutes.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES PLANS TO REPAIR AND REPLACE THE OLD AND OUTDATED

More than 60 “legacy” buildings across the District have still yet to be modernized or replaced as part of the first wave of renovations that started more than a decade ago. Elementary buildings average more than 61 years old, middle schools average more than 57 years old, and high schools average 60 years in age and up. Strong community input and financial support have allowed Columbus City Schools to update its Facilities Master Plan to plan new buildings for the future and launch a $125 million “Operation: Fix It” to make infrastructure repairs now.

A community-volunteer Facilities Master Plan Ad Hoc Committee, led by members of the Board of Educa- tion, provided an updated blueprint for renovating and rebuilding the legacy buildings in our District.

The FMP Committee looked at more than 100 different options, As part of the Facilities Master Plan work narrowing on a plan that calls for closing five current elementary and updated budgeting in Operations, the schools over the next 15-20 years, readjusting some attendance District documented a more-than-$200 boundaries, adding 3-4 new middle schools and two new million backlog of building repairs and elementary schools in other parts of the city, expanding popular replacements across the District. Over the specialty programs, and adding dedicated pre-kindergarten space five-year period, the District is set to invest to every elementary school that’s rebuilt. bond-backed funds totaling $125 million on deferred maintenance projects in all legacy In addition, the Committee recommended continued discussions buildings, with repairs ranging from roofing on unanswered community questions: what is the true right size for and electric to security upgrades and asphalt new school buildings, especially modern high schools; how much repaving. Taxpayers are able to hold the and how diverse should the programming be at each school; and District accountable, with a special section of finally, how much should the final plan cost be and what will our the website tracking every repair promised community support. Preliminary estimates show the plan would and every project completed. total more than $1.3 billion. The first wave of projects resulted in several Funded by voter approval of Issue 57 in 2016, Columbus new improvements completed during the City Schools launched “Operation: Fix It” - a five-year, Summer of 2016. Most notable, students and staff in three elementary buildings - $125 million initiative to target deferred maintenance Devonshire, Cassady, and Hamilton STEM needs across the District. - were welcomed for the first time with building-wide air conditioning, added as part of the repair projects on the heating and ventilation systems.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES SAFER SCHOOLS AND MORE SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS

Safety is a fundamental priority. Columbus City Schools has made measurable gains in creating safer school climates over the past several years - including significant increases in the staff, equipment, training, and resources dedicated daily to safety in our buildings - we are also now better suited to address the social and emotional challenges students bring from home. Still, the dangers arising in the neighborhoods outside of our schools are having very real and direct effects on the environments in our classrooms and hallways.

Columbus City Schools has the largest dedicated school Safety & Security staff in Central Ohio, with additional staff added over the past two years to monitor school grounds, hallways and parking lots, report unsafe conditions and situations, address disruptive behavior, enforce school policies and safety protocols, develop positive relationships with students and staff, role model appropriate behavior, and foster the safest environment possible.

The Safety & Security team also leads and assists with school safety training and drills, crisis plans, and building emergencies. The District performs more practice drills and exercise than any other district in Ohio – far exceeding the annual requirements set by the state.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES In 2016, Columbus City Schools expanded its partnership with the City of Columbus to enlist additional uniformed School Resource Officers (SROs) from the Columbus Division of Police, which now provides a compliment of 19 SROs and 2 SRO sergeants - along with collaborative assistance from two Columbus Police detectives assigned to CCS and the Department’s Truancy Unit and sergeant.

No one can do it alone: The Board of Education also hosted a series of provocative Safety Meetings designed to bring citywide attention to the District’s own safety and security efforts as well as the need for addition safety resources and support from the City of Columbus, community partners, and neighborhood-based organizations.

Recognizing that students’ concerns over personal safety often rise during extended break times from school, the District and City launched a collaborative effort to highlight free and engaging safe activities for students. The “Safe Winter Break” and “Safer Spring Break” efforts led to the launch of a permanent School’s Out initiative by the Columbus Department of Recreation and Park to host and identify free or low- cost activities for students and families when classes are not in session.

LobbyGuard: The main offices in all schools now require visitors to sign- in and present identification (such as a driver’s license) to be scanned into the new LobbyGuard digital visitor management system, which can determine if and how a visitor is connected to the school and whether that person has permission to enter the building. The system also checks against a national database of registered sex offenders as well as school- entered information on individuals who have previously been asked to stay off the school property.

Safety Vestibules: The seven newly-constructed/renovated buildings opened by the District since 2013 have included safety vestibules at the main entrances. This double-entry system requires visitors to pass through an office with the secondary entrance remaining locked to the schools. Additional safety vestibules are being added to more schools through Operation: Fix It, with five completed in 2017.

Welcoming Spaces: In conjunction with the security upgrades, many of our buildings made subtle but impactful changes aimed at welcoming visitors, including new “Welcome to our School” signage and closer visitor parking spaces (even if it meant moving reserved staff parking further away).

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES Social and Emotional Support: The non-academic barriers created by a student’s social and emotional challenge far too often have an impact in the classroom. Funded by voter approval of the levy in 2016, the District has already begun to significantly increase the number of social workers, and nurses in our schools, with more set to be hired over the three five years.

To curb behavioral challenges, the District has broaden its training and emphasis on Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) which provides clear expectations for positive student behavior, outlines specific methods and strategies to encourage positive social skills, and details the consequences and strategies to correct inappropriate conduct.

Throughout the District, building-level staff responsible for P.E.A.K. (Positive Efforts for Adjustment and Knowledge) have transformed their efforts to go from a place where teachers sent students for “time outs” when they were in trouble to a meditative spot for students to calm their brains and refocus on learning activities - all of which keeps young people more regulated and increases their learning time even when out of the traditional classroom.

Over the past two years, several buildings have adopted “trauma-informed practices” - using emerging research on the brain to teach students to calm and regulate themselves through activities that are rhythmic and repetitive – which have further helped to reduce behavioral incidents and discipline… in some cases cutting discipline rates by as much as 75%

Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Community in Schools have added additional mental health services to fill in the gaps and provide an even greater level of support to both our students and their families.

For students whose improper actions put them at risk for being kicked out of class, the District created the new Options for Success program (a remodeling of the former iPass program) to provide students with an alternative education opportunity in lieu of potential suspension/ expulsion.

Originally designed for high school and middle school students, the new Options for Success program was also expanded to also serve students in grades K-5 – providing high-quality lessons using a blended instructional model (Korda Method) that includes assessment-based interventions and project-based learning.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES By encouraging changes in attitudes, our continued commitment to PBIS, our revamped Options for Success, and supportive work by our administrators, teachers, and staff, the District has seen significant change in hearing and expulsion numbers.

Comparing January 2016 to January 2017:

• Expulsion Hearings (high school): Down 29%

• Expulsion Hearings (District): Down 34%

• Expulsions (high school): Down 25%

• Expulsions (District): Down 38%

In September 2016, the Superintendent created a District-wide Discipline Committee to review trends in student behavior and the practices and procedures for responding to student behavior issues. The Discipline Committee’s review of district discipline data revealed that more than three dozen schools demonstrated clear success in finding alternatives to out-of-school suspension.

Looking to greater support from the communities around our schools, District leaders helped principals establish more effective Site-Based Councils to support teaching and learning. These Site-Based Councils are comprised of parents, teachers, non-teacher staff, and community members -- who together help make decisions and recommendations that align with the school’s goals. Community and site-based input have been critical to re-envisioning the missions of several schools - including Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy (Spanish), Ecole Kenwood (French), Hubbard Mastery, and Columbus Africentric Early College.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES HEALTHY BODIES. ACTIVE MINDS.

Students simply can’t learn at their best levels when The District’s Food Services program has been they are more concerned about where their next meal repeatedly recognized as offering one of the Best is coming from or have chronic health conditions that Breakfast Programs by the Ohio Dept. of Education and keep them home. Columbus City Schools is a leader the Children’s Hunger Alliance, serving approximately in reducing the barriers faced by many of Columbus’ 25,000 breakfasts each school morning. children to accessing healthy food and proper healthcare. Healthy bodies fuel active minds in the classroom, which In 2016, Columbus City Schools received national is why we focus on the “whole needs” of our students recognition for its new “Ohio Days: My State. My Plate.” as best as we can. initiative, serving a nutritious lunch each month of Ohio- sourced foods. Locally-sourced foods are fresher and Four years ago, Columbus City Schools took healthier. Transporting them a shorter distance instead the historic move to offer breakfast and lunch of across the country is better for the environment. And by purchasing food locally, we are supporting Ohio to every student at no charge. The “Power Up farmers, Ohio jobs, and Ohio’s economy. with Free Meals” initiative has fueled a double-digit increase in the number of students In 2017, the District expanded it locally-sourced food who eat healthy, nutritious meals at school efforts by pledging to serve only Ohio-grown apples in school cafeterias – a major commitment considering each day. the District serves approximately three-million apples each year.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES Working with the Columbus Department of Recreation Over the summer months, the NCH clinics housed and Parks and other local partners, the District contin- in our high schools were also open and available for ues to increase the number of students who access nu- students no matter their school assignment, providing tritious meals and educational fun during the summer sports physicals and updated school vaccinations for months, with the Summer Food Program serving 30% families who might otherwise not have a designated children. family physician.

Hunger and health issues often are a result Hoping to start healthy habits before students enter of other unfulfilled needs at home, often school, the District is also part of the “Growing Healthy Kids Columbus” collaborative, a citywide effort to in- attributed to families struggling through crease the health and wellness of children 0-5 years of generational poverty. Columbus City Schools age. expanded its unprecedented partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to place nurse The District collaborates with additional community partners such as Directions for Youth and Families, St. practitioners and behavioral health specialists Stephen’s Community Center, St. Vincent’s Family Cen- in offices right next to our licensed school ter, the Guadeloupe Center, Buckeye Ranch, Columbus nurses in up to 15 of our buildings. Urban League, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brother Big Sis- ters, and YMCA to better serve families and provide access to wrap-around services.

SUPPORTIVE LEARNING SPACES OUR STORY OF HIGHER EXPECTATIONS

The citizens of Columbus expect great outcomes of their schools and place a high level of expectation on the people who represent and work for the Columbus City Schools. Over the past four years, the District has attracted and retained some of the best and brightest talent. We have built a more modern enterprise that prioritizes a more efficient operation and the most effective use of public resources. For our efforts, our services and our staff have been recognized at some of the best in the land.

32 RECRUIT AND RETAIN GOOD TALENT

Talent is critical. The District needs employees who bring the best talents to our organization - even more so as we do much more complex, knowledge-based work and operate in a highly-competitive, highly-scrutinized public environment. Columbus City Schools’ ability to recruit, develop, support and retain the best talent is now one of its competitive strengths.

In contrast to public perception, good teachers do want to work in urban settings: Over the past two years, the District has hired a record number of new teachers yet still maintained the region’s most effective corps of educators and staff. in the last three years, 53% of our new teacher hires scored far above average on the national teacher assessment.

More than 3,500 teachers and licensed support personnel have earned an evaluation rating of skilled or accomplished from the state. More than 70% of CCS teachers hold at least a Master’s Degree.

33 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS BETTER REFLECTING OUR DIVERSITY

The diversity of Columbus’ population and community is one of this city’s great strengths. The same should be true of its schools. In recent years, the leadership and business of Columbus City Schools has better reflected the diversity of the city we serve and our student body, in which 60% identify as African-American or biracial (24% Caucasian; 12% Hispanic; 4% Asian).

The diverse make-up of the District’s leadership team and classified staffs better reflect our students’ diverse demography, with more than half of administrators and nearly two-third of classified workers identifying as non- Caucasian/Minority. The District continues to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce to even further reflect the diversity of the students and community we serve.

As of April of 2017, the diversity of our various employee groups ranges from:

• Administrators - 51% Minority / 49% Non-Minority

• Classified Staff -66% Minority / 34% Non-Minority

• Teachers - 23% Minority / 77% Non-Minority

• Full Time Hourly Employees - 22% Minority / 78% Non-Minority

• Part Time Hourly Employees - 22% Minority / 78% Non-Minority

• Substitute Administrators - 49% Minority / 51% Non-Minority

• Substitute Classified -73% Minority / 27% Non-Minority

• Substitute Teachers - 54% Minority / 46% Non-Minority

34 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS In our District’s purchasing and contracting of services, our Operations also reflect a more diverse vendor pool: we’ve nearly doubled the overall participation in the District’s Local Economically Disadvantaged Enterprise (LEDE) program in our daily Business and Operations over the past three years.

In Fiscal 2017 alone, the District’s Operation team invested more than $21.3 million with LEDE-participating companies- representing roughly 26% of our Business and Operations spending.

Over the past three years, the Business and Operations team has taken a number of steps to encourage greater participation in the LEDE program, including: eliminating the requirement that companies acquire business insurance before submitting a bid; increasing the RFP points that are allotted to LEDE participation; and adding indirect LEDE subcontractor participation to our RFPs.

To further emphasis the value our District places on diversity, students and staff have been recognized participants and financial sponsors of events such as the Columbus Pride Parade (supporting our LGBT communities), the African American Male Wellness Walk, the Lainto Festival, and the Columbus Veterans Day Parade.

35 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS MODERNIZING OUR OPERATIONS

The performance of our talent has a major impact on our bottom line and in the effectiveness of our services. Columbus City Schools has implemented a number of Operational efficiencies in the past 3 years to save money, while at the same time identifying new sources of revenue to minimize the District’s ask to voters. By modernizing our operations, we do more than save money and resources; we become better business partners with our community’s companies, better protectors of our local environment, and better stewards of taxpayer investments.

Millions in Savings: With a commitment to accountability, sustainability, and transparency, the District has improved its operations by:

• slashing the District budget by $50 million in 2015 by trimming existing programs and reducing forecasted projections;

• closing under-utilized schools, selling unneeded properties, and leasing buildings to organizations who wanted our empty space, which added $15 million more in income;

• and putting up for sale 13 more unneeded buildings and properties, which is set to generate more than $30 million.

36 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS Other cost-saving efforts in Operations have included: • In a two-month span during the Summer of 2016, the Purchasing Department generated cost savings of more than $3.1 million. • Textbook automation software saved an estimated $1 million. • Decreased workers’ compensation costs by lowering claims and reducing medical costs, saving more than $1 million. • Reduced central office administrative positions and reduced overall human resources costs by more than $6.5 million through a benefit premium holiday. • Changes in food service operation - including partnership with the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Program to cover district-wide free breakfast and lunch - have made food service fund profitable for first time in over a decade. • New programs and monitoring systems - along with construction of new energy efficient buildings - resulted in major reduction in district utility expenses.

In 2017, the US Green Building Council awarded the designation of LEED Gold Certification for the newly constructed Columbus Africentric Early College Campus, recognizing the building’s energy-saving and environmentally-sustainable design. CAEC is now the tenth building in our District to receive this international environmental distinction.

The District has enlisted the investments of partners outside of the traditional federal and state education sources, earning $1.57 million in FY2016. In FY 2017, the District grew the amount to more than $1.7 million, with additional non-federal/non-state grants.

Transparent Budget Process: In 2015, the District launched an extraordinary effort to offer a greater level of transparency and collaboration in the open budget process, providing an unprecedented level of detail and supporting records to demonstrate how the investments in each of our operational units are directly connected to the priorities and goals set by the Board of Education.

Approved in 2015, the District’s 2016 spending plan provided more than 400 pages of supporting detail to members of the Board of Education - a level of detail not provided previously by the District’s financial team or required by the state - with non-personnel items broken down by operational units and investments directly connected to District priorities in teaching and learning. The same level of detail was provided in 2016 and 2017.

37 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS To maximize revenues and resources optimally, the 2016 spending plan was constructed using a zero-based budget process. Each department identified and prioritized what they believe to be their needs, based on the District’s three goals on teaching, learning, and accountability. The budget process also began months earlier than in past years, starting in October of 2014.

In 2016, budget managers for the first time were tasked with created a long-range, five-year budget plan, which provided tremendous insight on the future financial needs of the District.

To further promote transparency, the budget has been posted each year in its entirety online, where it is accessible to anyone who wants to review it.

The Board of Education created a new Finance and Appropriations Committee consisting of both Board members and community representatives with extensive business and financial expertise.

Developed in cooperation with the District’s Treasurer, an improved five-year fiscal financial forecast now forms the basis for one-year annual budgets.

The Board of Education approved new budget and finance policies, including a new requirement that any unit transfer between operating units in the budget of more than $50,000 or 20% of a line item must have approval by the Board.

The Ohio Auditor of State’s annual audit of Columbus City Schools found the District’s financial statements are now free of any material misstatements and weaknesses.

The District has also benefited from a more robust Office of Legal Service. In addition to traditional legal services, the office was expanded to include Compliance and Diversity oversight.

38 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS BEING FAIR TO TAXPAYERS

Columbus voters have responded favorably to the In 2016, the Franklin County Convention Facilities District’s efforts to be better stewards of their public Authority agreed to a new compensation plan that will investment. Overwhelming support of a new levy/bond provide Columbus City Schools with reliable, on-going, package was buoyed by common-sense approaches to and equitable payments in lieu of tax for Nationwide resolving long-standing tax agreements and creating Arena. innovative new collaborations. The District receives an annual fixed amount of Earning more than 60% of the vote, a 6.92 mill levy/ $586,000 (even though the Authority received a waiv- bond request was approved by Columbus voters in er from the Ohio General Assembly requiring no tax November 2016 - the first levy request ap- payments) and is provided without charge proved by Columbus voters since 2008. the use of the Arena and/or portions of the neighboring Convention Cen- The majority of the new levy ter for up to four days each year funding is dedicated to daily for events such as graduations staffing and operating needs and commencement exercises plus the hiring of 324.5 new (a value between $70,000 - positions over a five-year $100,000). space. The package also included bonding authority to In 2017, the District nego- borrow up to $125 million tiated a precedent setting for needed infrastructure agreement with the Pizzu- repairs and replacements ti Company to provide the (Operation: Fix It) as well as District with a combination of an additional $4.4 million to be direct cash payments as well as earmarked annually for an ongoing direct student investments in ex- yearly program of maintenance and change for approval of a city-offered replacement. tax abatement package.

In 2016, the District renewed the historic 11-district The Pizzuti Company - which is making a multi-million Win-Win Agreement, making a strong recommitment dollar development investment in the Rickenbacker to secure territorial boundaries and provide continued area - provides both continued tax revenue and $1.1 stability and predictability for families and schools million in direct cash payments to the District as well as across Franklin County. specific benefits including purchase of $160,000 in state- of-the art equipment for our career technical education At the same time, the District began a process to orderly classrooms, placement of 10 well-paid internships for transition Win-Win from a single ten-district agreement our career-tech students in construction arts over each to separate individual district agreements which could of the next 10 years; and purchase of 5 innovative reading secure permanent district boundaries and allow for the kiosks designed to engage our city’s young readers. phase out of payments.

39 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS THE BEST IN THE STATE AND IN THE NATION

Columbus City Schools is often recognized at the state and national levels for its improved service to the children of this city and for the support shown to families and staff.

Because of the leadership and dedication of our team to become one of Ohio’s best districts - and become one of the top urban district in the entire nation - Columbus City Schools stands as a recognized model, with awards and honors coming from the Statehouse, the White House, national organizations of excellence, and peer-groups statewide.

Among the awards earned over the past two years alone: • Two of the Nation’s Best High Schools by US News & World Report: Columbus Alternative High School and Centennial High School • 2016-17 National Milken Educator Award • National Distinguished Principal of the Year • Ohio Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year • Ohio’s Best School Breakfast Program • Medical Mutual Pillar Award for Community Service • Healthy Ohio Silver Level Award for Healthy Workplaces • Smart Business Leadership Award • United Way of Central Ohio 2016 Champion of Children • Ohio Department of Education School Improvement Grants • 2016 Momentum Awards: 2 Schools • 2016 Breakfast All Stars: 61 Schools • Ohio’s Top School Nurse of the Year • Ohio’s School Social Worker of the Year • Ohio’s Secretary of the Year • Ohio’s Best School Breakfast Program • Central Ohio’s Top Teachers in Elementary And High School • Award-Winning Educators in Music And Sports • Best Bus Drivers in the Regional Road-Eo

40 HIGHER EXPECTATIONS OUR STORY OF RESTORED TRUST

In this age of public accountability and transparency on demand, Columbus City Schools has restored the public trust and set new procedures to further raise the levels of accountability at every position throughout the District. Better access to information has helped to maintain and strengthen the community’s involvement and led a dramatic turn-around in public perception.

41 STRENGTHENING THE INTEGRITY OF OUR DATA

Over the past four years, substantial steps have been taken to raise the level of accountability on student data and reassure the public that those records are sound, accurate, and honest. Through this diligent and robust work, wide- ranging controls and procedures have been developed and implemented to ensure the fidelity and accuracy of student attendance and related data.

Our Superintendent and the Columbus Board of Education have moved past this chapter in our history, having led aggressive efforts and taken strong steps over the past four-and-a-half years to review, secure, and improve the collection and reliability of student information, as well as raise the level of accountability in every position throughout our District.

Quite literally, changes were made from the top of the organization down, including the appointment of Dr. Good as Superintendent/CEO in 2013 by the Board of Education and the creation of a Chief Accountability Officer who reports directly to the Superintendent.

Among the wide-ranging controls and procedures that have been developed and implemented to ensure the fidelity and accuracy of student attendance and related data:

• As an initial step in transforming our operations, the District re-established an Attendance & Accountability Team, with a new directive to conduct random quarterly records inspections and review data for any irregularities, with specific trained staff members responsible for monitoring, reporting, and reviewing with key personnel.

• Clear directives and written instructions given to principals regarding end-of-year data verification procedures were updated and documented, with additional training and spot checks.

• An online “Attendance Toolbox” was launched to quickly and thoroughly explain the District’s attendance policies, regulations, procedures and practices.

• Through the District’s Office of Internal Auditor, a “Whistleblower Policy” was adopted and given to every current and new employee. The new policy provides a confidential, anonymous process by which employees can report fraud, waste, or abuse claims.

• Ongoing testing protocol training with all testing coordinators and test administrators has further increased the prevention of inappropriate behavior or student cheating on standardized testing, ensuring the integrity of results used in state reporting and evaluation.

42 RESTORED TRUST • The District’s Treasurer led diligent and exhaustive work to collect “Gainsharing” bonuses awarded to administrators and teachers at schools with questionable data, recovering more than $321,000.

• New Attendance and Student Information Specialists were embedded in school buildings to proactively assist secretaries, principals, and attendance teams on the accurate and timely collection of student data.

The District took deliberate action to determine the nature of the conduct engaged in by administrators and to terminate administrators when evidence of knowing and material wrongdoing was clear. All administrators were required to take additional training.

Through our Department of Accountability & Other Support Services, additional data-input training and safeguards at the school building level have been implemented, and new systems and policies at the District level are in place to further increase data security.

The Accountability Department has launched the use of Certify - a digital data review system - to provide daily updates on vital compliance measurements for enrollment, attendance and academic measures for individual buildings as well as the district as a whole, further ensuring the fidelity and accuracy of student-related data.

District administrators are working with the Office of Internal Audit to continue identifying process improvements.

The public now has unprecedented access to District data, with the launch of our first-ever Digital Dashboard - offering insight into student attendance, enrollment, academic achievement, and even the number of cafeteria meals served each school day -- updated every day. An accompanying Financial Dashboard allows users to see where every dollar into our District comes from and the amount of every check written out.

Our work is not done. The Superintendent and Board of Education continue to make significant investments to assure that resources (staff, training, and equipment) are in place to maintain this integrity and move forward with a renewed and growing spirit of trust and accountability.

As Auditor Yost shared in 2015: “The controls and processes outlined (in the District’s plan) are comprehensive, robust and may fairly be characterized as model policies for other districts.”

43 RESTORED TRUST NEW LEVELS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Over the past three years, our District has been more strategic in its communications and broken new ground in how we better engage our parents, families, and overall community. The renewed brand of Columbus City Schools and our Spirit of Success is well-recognized and reflects a more student-centric approach to community engagement. And our efforts are working!

In 2015, Superintendent Good introduced the Spirit of Success / the Spirit of CCS, a new sense of purpose and new sense of pride, matched with a renewed devotion to innovation and to academic achievement. Since that unveiling at the State of the District, the Spirit of Success branding and messaging have created a positive energy across the District.

The annual State of the District event was transformed from a stand-alone speech by the Superintendent to a large-scale demonstration of student success and achievement. A true community event, the student-centered celebrations attracted families and staff, government and business leaders, partners in higher education and social services, news media and interested individuals. Superintendent Good announced the launch of several new initiatives during these widely-popular and well-attended occasions. The 2017 event also doubled as the official opening of the new Columbus Africentric Early College.

Unveiled at the 2016 State of the District, the launch of the first District-wide Columbus City Schools Mobile App provided families with a continuous flow of information and updates, personalized alerts on student grades and attendance, a directory of school events and contacts, and connections to some of our most reliable partners for serving families and students.

44 RESTORED TRUST The District also created more direct lines of communications with families and local residents, including an exponential increase in our social media presence (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). #SpiritofCCS is now well-recognized and frequently used with all social media posts about the success of our students, staff, families, and partners.

As part of an internal communications strategy, a daily Spirit Spark email is sent each morning to all District employees featuring a picture of students and/or staff engaged in positive activities that reinforce the Spirit of Success messaging.

In 2016 and 2017, the start of the new school year turned into a true community-wide event, as several local organizations, community leaders, elected officials, and news media joined District leaders in welcoming students to the first day of classes. Families joined in the celebration by posting encouraging messages to students, using the hashtag #FirstDayCSS - which was trending on Twitter the entire first day of school.

In late 2017, the regular business meetings of the Columbus Board of Education began airing live on Facebook live, with the initial videos garnering nearly 2,000 views each.

Averaging more than 300 constituency meetings throughout a typical school year, the Superintendent and his administrative team launched an informal series of Community Coffee Conversations, which complimented an extensive Board of Education Listening Tour. and Academic Fairs.

The community’s view of Columbus City Schools reflects a restored respect of the District and a true appreciation for our efforts to serve and support our students, their families, our teachers and staff, and the Columbus community. Confidence in the District has been restored and maintained through strategic, responsible and transparent leadership.

45 RESTORED TRUST 270 East State Street Columbus, OH 43215 614.365.5000 www.ccsoh.us

Columbus Board of Education Gary L. Baker, II (Board President) Michael Cole (Vice President) Eric S. Brown W. Shawna Gibbs Mary Jo Hudson Dominic Paretti Ramona R. Reyes

Superintendent/CEO Dr. J. Daniel Good

Treasurer/CFO Stan Bahorek

Internal Auditor/CAE Carolyn Smith