In September, the Ohio Department of Education released the 2021-2022 annual school report cards. The report cards look different this year than in previous years. Schools and districts now receive star ratings, on a scale of one to five, for five components: achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation and early literacy.
Upper Arlington Schools was one of only 12 districts of the more than 600 in the state — and one of three in the central Ohio area — to receive a five-star rating on all five components.
The state report card is one of the data points we review as a district to monitor the success of our academic program and our students.
At the October 11 Board of Education meeting, our Teaching & Learning Department shared information about the 2021-2022 school report card. You can find more information at www.uaschools.org/statereportcards.aspx and updates from the Board meeting at www.uaschools.org/BoardofEducation.aspx.
Enrollment and financial update
We often say that schools are a “people” business — we are focused on helping young people become the best they can be.
That is why, when you look at our district finances, the majority of our budget — 78% in the 2020-2021 school year — goes to supporting students in our classrooms. In fact, Upper Arlington Schools is the #1 district of the more than 600 in the state of Ohio for the percentage of funding dedicated to the classroom. That also means that our district is #1 in the state for the lowest percentage of funding (22%) dedicated to non-classroom expenses, including administrative costs.
In order to keep our financial focus on the classroom, it’s critical to understand just how many people we will be serving both now and in the future. That is why we have an outside agency conduct an independent enrollment projection study for our schools each year. These experts look at everything from real estate trends to birth data to project how many students will be enrolled in our schools during the next 10 years.
Looking at the past 10 years, our student enrollment has grown by approximately 7%. The most recent projections indicate that our schools could see an increase of as much as 24.6% — or approximately 1,500 students — over the next 10 years.
These figures signify what many Upper Arlington residents already know. Our community is a wonderful place to live and to raise children, and many young families are coming here.
As a people business, we also know that more students creates a need for more teachers and school resources. That is one reason why suburban school districts like Upper Arlington return to the ballot to request additional operating funding to cover costs.
You can find more information about our enrollment on our website at www.uaschools.org/enrollment.aspx.