By: Jordan Frantz

On November 14, from 7-9 pm, the Board of Education will host a monthly school board meeting at Bellbrook Middle School. This meeting will not be like every other monthly meeting, as it will go through the criteria Bellbrook Schools reached in order to become a 5 Star School District. The meeting will honor the hard work and dedication of the staff and students of Bellbrook. 

Becoming a 5 Star School District is not awarded to a typical high school. In Ohio, only 68 school districts received 5 stars out of 607 school districts.

In order to become a 5-star school, a list of five important criteria has to be met: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Early Literacy, and Graduation Rate. “We received 5 stars Overall and in the categories of Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing and Early Literacy,” superintendent Dr. Cozad said. “We did receive a 4 in graduation rate, though, missing a 5 star by .3%”

When taking a closer look at certain categories, Bellbrook was always near the top of the percent class. “We scored in the top 9% out of 607 school districts in the Achievement component,” Dr.Cozad said. “This measures the Performance Index score which accounts for the level of achievement of every student, not just whether they score a proficient or passing level on the tests.” 

“The Progress component measures the impact of districts, schools, and teachers on the academic growth of groups of students from year to year by comparing current achievement results with prior achievement results over the last 3 years on Ohio’s State Tests,” Dr. Cozad said. “This is sometimes also known as value-added. Out of 607 school districts, we scored in the top 5.5.”

While receiving 5 stars in 2023 and now 2024, hopes are higher than ever that Bellbrook will continue its success in and out of the classroom. 

“My hope is to continue to do really well not only on the state report card but on all of the other areas that really produce well-rounded young adults,” Dr.Cozad said. “If you take a closer look at our Quality Profile, this shows all of the great things going on in our schools in addition to our high marks on our State Report Card.”

November 14 will be the first State of Schools Performance at the Board of Education to showcase all of the amazing things going on throughout the schools.