News and Information from Pickerington Schools

News

Pickerington Schools: Supporting the Whole Child

By Dr. Cathy Ely, Executive Director of Prevention & Intervention

The Plan for Progress is the road map for the district’s future and includes academic excellence. As part of our academic excellence, we address the whole child and relationships. The importance of student voice in supporting the whole child cannot be overstated. To measure student voice, Pickerington Schools uses the No. 1 ranked social and emotional learning (SEL) survey tool, Panorama. From Sept. 26 through Oct. 17, Panorama data were collected in grades 3-12 on the following indicators: Grit, Self-Management, Emotion Regulation, Social Awareness, Teacher-Student Relationship, Sense of Belonging, School Safety, and Cultural Awareness and Action. One of our district’s three main goals focuses on increasing Sense of Belonging. We are excited to share the latest survey results as well as more details about our SEL initiatives in the full article at pickerington.k12.oh.us. Scroll down to the District News and Highlights section and look for the “Panorama Survey Results Are In” article.

Pickerington Local School District Is

Seeing Stars By Leslie Kelly, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning

The Ohio Department of Education’s release of the 2022 Ohio Schools Report Card provides a report card that looks different than those we have seen in the past. The new report card moves away from letter grades; now, components are rated with stars. The 2022 Ohio School Report Card components are: Achievement, Gap Closing, Progress, Early Literacy and Graduation. Ratings for each component are on a one- (needs significant support to meet state standards) to five-star (significantly exceeds state standards) scale for a total of 25 possible stars.

Through the hard work and commitment of the teachers, students, families and administrators, the PLSD Report Card is an illustration of resilience and a school community coming together to “Level Up.” Through our “Level Up” initiative, led by Assistant Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer Alesia Gillison, a collective ownership in our students’ academic achievement was fostered and resulted in an increase in our district performance index and the highest rating in both the Progress and Gap Closing Components.

Earning two 5-star ratings, two 4-star ratings and one 3-star rating for a total of 21 out of 25 stars earned across the five rated components, we find PLSD at the top of the list compared to similar districts. While we are pleased with this year’s report card, we know there is more work to be done. As we continue to implement our PLSD Plan for Progress and our commitment to the success of all our students, we look forward to “Leveling Up” to new heights and seeing even more stars in our future.