CINCINNATI -- After her first year in charge of the largest school district in the Tri-State, Cincinnati Public Schools superintendent Laura Mitchell is moving into 2018-'19 with a plan.
“The first year was a really good year,” Mitchell said. “I think the team and I, we more than survived. We learned a lot of really great lessons along the way.”
Mitchell said she now has a good idea of where the district needs to focus its energy: “Literacy in grades three, six and nine. Mathematics in grades three, six and nine as well."
Kindergarten to third-grade literacy was the only highlight of last year’s state report card for CPS. Mitchell said they’ll build from there.
“We believe that if we can change those indicators for our kids, then it means that they will have long-term success academically,” Mitchell said.
Students at Walnut Hills scored well on state testing, but that’s not the case across the whole district. Superintendent Mitchell said they have a plan for improvement.
“We look at very carefully what do our high-performing schools have and make sure that our other schools are receiving those things as well,” Mitchell said.
More than 35,000 students are expected to be enrolled in Cincinnati Public Schools this year. The district bought the former Mercy High School, and another building is set to open.
“We’re going to be opening the new Clifton School sometime this school year,” Mitchell said.
The latest school district report cards for Ohio will arrive in September.
