By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Parents of 33 Kenwood Elementary students have applied to send their children to private schools rather than stay at Kenwood.
But parents of 370 students have opted to keep their children at the school after the state declared the elementary earlier this year to be an EdChoice school. That designation is allowing parents of Kenwood students to access scholarships for their students to attend parochial or private schools.
While Bowling Green Superintendent Francis Scruci is not pleased with the EdChoice designation, he is gratified that so many families have confidence in the education provided at Kenwood.
“That is pretty comparable to last year’s enrollment,” Scruci said earlier this week about the student numbers at Kenwood for the coming year. “I’ve got to believe that people do appreciate the education their children are receiving.”
Scruci stands by his belief that the state ranking system is a “flawed system.”
“By no means am I saying that as a school or district that we do not embrace accountability,” he said.
But he is saying that the poor ranking doesn’t add up.
The EdChoice designation came this spring not long after school officials got the good news from the state that all the buildings in the Bowling Green School District had been removed from the Ohio Improvement Process, based on progress the district made in student growth. District-wide, Bowling Green was recognized for its improvements.
However, the district was then informed by the state that Kenwood had been designated an EdChoice school. The data used to declare Kenwood as EdChoice were the K-3 literacy results from 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2017-18. Any district getting a D or F grade in two of those three years made the EdChoice list.
Since 2014, the district has made major curriculum changes – which resulted in the lifting of the OIP ranking. The state testing system failed to take into account the progress made at Kenwood that got the building off the OIP list, Scruci said.
Letters were sent this spring to parents of all Kenwood students, notifying them that they had the option of sending their children to private schools – with the state picking up part of the cost.
The private schools taking in the students get “scholarships” of $4,650 a year for K-8 grades, and $6,000 a year for 9-12 grades.
Meanwhile, for each child leaving Kenwood, the school district loses $1,980 per year which would add up to about $65,000. The reason Bowling Green City Schools receives so much less than the private schools is because of the district’s “perceived wealth,” Scruci said.
The district heard from parents of 33 students who have applied at local private schools. More than half – 18 – will be kindergartners and have never attended Kenwood. The others include two in first grade, three in second, six in third, two in fourth and two in fifth grade.
Those enrollments depend on the ability of the private schools to handle the additional students. According to Scruci, 12 students have requested to attend St. Aloysius Catholic School, 11 at Bowling Green Christian Academy, five at the Montessori School in Bowling Green, and five at St. Louis in Custar.
“Those schools have to determine if they have space,” Scruci said.
Even if Kenwood sheds the EdChoice designation in a few years, the expenses could linger. According to Scruci, the state program allows parents of kindergartners to take them out of the public school and place them in private facilities all the way through graduation.
“We’ll play by the rules of the state and we’ll dig our way out of it,” Scruci said.
But losing the state funding for the students leaving won’t help.
“That makes our task very difficult,” he said earlier this year.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that the economic demographics have changed for many students who go to Kenwood.
“We do have a poverty issue in this district. I know we’re not supposed to talk about that,” he said. “Those kids are coming to us less prepared.”
“This is as much an indictment on poverty as anything else,” Scruci said. “We embrace that challenge. We’re going to love those kids like any other kids.”
And the school will continue to build on its growing success of the last couple years, he added.
“Plans have been put in place,” Scruci said. “We’re going to be more diligent with each student so we can get ourselves out of this situation. We have good teachers. We do have the pieces in place.”
