SUNBURY — The Big Walnut Local School District exceeded state standards on the 2023-2024 Ohio Report Card.
The district received an overall grade of 4 out of a possible 5 stars in the report card, released last week by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. All of the state’s school districts are graded on five factors (district’s results noted):
• Achievement: Exceeds state standards in academic achievement (4 stars).
• Progress: Evidence that the district met student growth expectations (3 stars).
• Gap Closing: Exceeds state standards in closing educational gaps (4 stars).
• Graduation: Significantly exceeds state standards in graduation rates (5 stars).
• Early Literacy: Meets state standards in early literacy for grades K-3 (3 stars).
The home page for the report card also has grades for individual schools. They are as follows:
• Big Walnut High School: Overall 4, Achievement 4, Progress 3, Gap Closing 3, Graduation Rate 5.
• Big Walnut Intermediate School: Overall 3.5, Achievement 4, Progress 2, Gap Closing 4.
• Big Walnut Middle School: Overall 4.5, Achievement 4, Progress 4, Gap Closing 4.
• Big Walnut Elementary School: Overall 4.5, Achievement 4, Progress 5, Gap Closing 5, Early Literacy 3.
• General Rosecrans Elementary: Overall 4, Achievement 4, Progress 3, Gap Closing 4, Early Literacy 4.
• Hylen Souders Elementary: Overall 4.5, Achievement 4, Progress 5, Gap Closing 5, Early Literacy 3.
• Prairie Run Elementary: Overall 4, Achievement 4, Progress 3, Gap Closing 5, Early Literacy 3.
“There are some areas that we are pleased with and obviously some other areas we would like to see improvement,” Superintendent Ryan McLane said to The Gazette. “However, we have internal measures in place to assess our progress throughout the school year and determine if changes need to be made. We generally do not wait until the State Report Card comes out in the fall to determine what those changes need to be.”
In other data, the district enrollment is 4,101 students in eight schools. The four-year graduation rate is 96.7% and the chronic absenteeism rate is 13.5%. The teachers have an average of 13 years of experience. The teachers have an attendance rate of 93.7% and earn an average salary of $71,885.
The Ohio School Report Cards website is reportcard.education.ohio.gov.
For more information, visit www.bwls.net (website), Big Walnut Local Schools (Facebook), Big Walnut Local Schools (YouTube) or bwlsdoh (Instagram).
Editor’s note: The Gazette will be highlighting the results of every school district in Delaware County in upcoming articles.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He can be reached at 740-413-0906.
