Tri-County ESC's
Statewide
Quality Movement
"Alive and Well"
When Ryan Delaney was principal of Taft Elementary in
Ashland, he echoed the sentiment of thousands of
teachers and administrators in Ohio when he says,
| "The Quality Change initiative has changed the way we educate our childern at Taft Elementary. Not only have we seen improvement in our statewide test scores, but also the student's ownership towards academic achievement has greatly improved. We also have eliminated over 85% of our behavior problems, and over 95% of our students are tracking their daily and nightly work in their data folders. This is the first initiative that has actually made a difference with the students of Taft." |
This statewide Quality-In-Education movement began in October 2001. Tri-County ESC Superintendent, Ed Swartz, had the courage to take actions when other educational leaders in Ohio were hesitant. Jerry Marshall, a former ODE consultant employed by Tri-County ESC, was given permission to create and coordinate a program that has as the primary focus increasing student achievement in Ohio classrooms by the use of Quality Tools. At the initial meeting in October of 2001, 78 educators from all over Ohio gathered in Wooster for a two-day summit to discuss the “vision” of a statewide Quality Movement. Thus, the Ohio Educational Conclave was created.
The first conclave involved superintendents, building principals, teachers, Educational Service Center consultants, curriculum coordinators, board members, state level teacher union representatives, a representative from the Ohio Department of Education, and parents. A few of the participating districts in the initial Conclave were: Ashland, Sandusky, Coldwater, Fredericktown, Gahanna, Mentor, West Carrollton, Rossford and Martins Ferry. Since that initial year, the numbers of districts, teachers, and administrators have grown to over 12,000 individuals involved in activities. It is truly a statewide initiative.
The results have been apparent not
only in the “regular classrooms” but in
others as well. Wendy Stephens comments,
| "I am a Special Education teacher at Eastport Elementary in Claymont City School District. My students range in ability and grade level from grades 1-4. My students write personal goals, set classroom goals, and we all created our classroom mission statement. I believe Quality in the classroom is a benefit for the special education students. My students have data folders and they chart all their grades in their data folders." |
Although there are many great success stories found in the Conclave districts and classrooms, one stands out: Martins Ferry in Belmont County. This is a district in the high poverty area along the Ohio River. They were able to make drastic jumps in Ohio Proficiency Testing
scores in only 8 months. Their district's scores
have gone from the worst in the region to the
best in a very short period of time.
Those scores continue to remain at a high level as we go into the 2009-2010 school year. Superintendent Nick Stankovich comments,
| "Successful schools use data to drive decision-making that is aligned with the district's vision and mission. We use data to drive all of our instruction in grades K-12." |
Stankovich credits the Quality Change process for the great successes the students are having in Martins Ferry. He adds that,
| "Along with the high state test results, the most visible change is in student attitudes. They all know the mission of the class/building and district and can state it. They understand the meaning of it and they take responsibility for their learning. It has been the best movement in Ohio in my many years of being involved in education." |
Rae White, Curriculum Coordinator from Gahanna Schools sums up the feelings on many of the districts involved when she says,
| "Our middle school buildings have been actively involved in the statewide Quality Movement, especially Middle School West (the most diverse building in our district) and Middle School South. During this process we have seen students become more actively involved in their own learning, resulting in increased achievement. The structure has allowed us to focus on learning standards, classroom assessment and instruction, goal setting, and continuous improvement." |
Several districts have been recognized as Schools of Promise by the Ohio Department of Education. Over half of these have had some participation in the Quality Improvement Academies, the workshops or total building professional development through the Conclave. Martins Ferry received the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Schools Award in Washington DC in November 2005. In 2006 they received recognition in Texas as they spoke to districts from across the country. Their Hilltop Elementary had Ohio Proficiency Test scores skyrocketed to 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, and 96% to earn this recognition. The success has contiued.
The Ohio Educational Conclave and its participating classroom teachers and administrators have been very successful in the short few years it has been in existence. In addition to the success in the classroom, they have produced several educational videotapes and CDs that have been distributed across Ohio. They have been responsible for the creation of the Quality Improvement Academy after expanding into 6 regions in June and August, 2006. Members of the Ohio Educational Conclave also provide workshops for educators, as well as a Mentor Program. These workshops continue to be conducted across the state of Ohio.
The 2005-2006 school year saw the activities of the Conclave totally shift from the Tri-County ESC to DRM Productions, Educational Division in Mansfield, Ohio. There was little difficulty in making the transition as DRM had been a collaborative partner with Tri-County since the onset of the Conclave.
The expansion continues as the group was invited to share at a national forum. They presented in South Carolina to educators from cross the U.S. The group still conducts building and district workshops and is finding Ohio teachers enthusiastic, full of energy, and with positive attitudes toward school improvement.
Lee Iacocca once said,
| "Your legacy should be that you made it much better than it was when you got it." |
That certainly applies to those teachers and administrators that are actively involved in the Quality Tools Process. Not only have they made it “better”, they have the “data” to support it!
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