Parents, teachers, and community members all want to know that their local school district is supporting and nurturing student growth, but how do we know when a district is successful? Welcome to the Logan County “Pillars of Success”, a local accountability system that strives to do just that for our Logan County Schools.
“We are only the fourth district in the State of Kentucky to bring a local accountability system to the public,” said Chief Academic Officer Dr. Josh Matthews. “The Kentucky Department of Education is looking at Logan County as they build a state-level model of accountability that does not solely rely on one test score.”
The Pillars of Success measure success beyond the test by including rates of student involvement, student happiness and wellbeing, student achievement, and student growth throughout the year as important indicators of successful students.
Logan County Schools’ first ever Pillars of Success scores have been calculated, and we are excited to share our results with you today. These scores evaluate Logan County based on our four key pillars identified by teachers and administrators as the most important aspects of student success:
1. Student Performance
2. Student Growth
3. Student Readiness
4. Student Wellbeing
Each of these four pillars is assigned a score, on a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest. These scores are then combined to get the overall rating for the school district. The process of scoring involves a combination of quantitative data, qualitative assessments (surveys), and stakeholder feedback.
For our August to October 2023 reporting period, the district scored an average of 2.9 out of 4.0 on the Pillars of Success. The district aims to score a 4.0 in each category, but we know that realistically, there is always room to grow. Please review the score breakdown below.
Pillar of Student Performance: 2.8/4.0-- Student Performance reflects the recently-released Kentucky Summative Assessment and State School Report Card data. While the district is scoring around average with the rest of the state, we want to increase student achievement beyond average.
Pillar of Student Growth: 3.0/4.0-- Student Growth reflects our current supports in place for students to grow and for teachers to learn how to help students grow. This data will change quite a bit for our second report since we will be able to measure the growth from the first nine weeks to the second nine weeks.
Pillar of Student Readiness: 2.8/4.0-- Student Readiness reflects the opportunities students have to prepare for life beyond K-12 school. We plan to see an increase as we provide more leadership and career-based learning opportunities for students.
Pillar of Student Wellbeing: 3.0/4.0-- Student Wellbeing reflects how happy, safe, and healthy our students are. We also plan to see this score increase as students jump into more extracurricular and cocurricular activities. We also scored 4.0 in this area for our average daily attendance rates, so thank you for being at school each day!
The Pillars of Success scores are being used to identify areas where the district is excelling and where we need to improve. District administrators will be reflecting on scores alongside our LC Innovators, our team of teachers and support staff dedicated to innovative solutions to make Logan County Schools the best place to learn.
“As we move forward, we will continue to grow our local accountability system to ensure that we are transparent and accountable to the public,” said Dr. Matthews. “Today is a huge step forward for our district and our students. I want to thank all of our stakeholders– parents, students, and staff members– who took the time to fill out the surveys as they are a huge part of the final score.”
By breaking down the scoring system for each of the four pillars, we hope our families and the community gain a deeper understanding of where Logan County Schools is already excelling and where we plan to focus our efforts. We recognize that education is not just about academic achievements but encompasses the wellbeing of students, community engagement, staff development, and more. Logan County Schools will continue to pursue providing the best possible education for our students, ensuring that the path to success is clear and well-supported.
Stay tuned for our next quarterly report in January 2024, where we will continue to share our progress and work towards making Logan County Schools the best it can be. Thank you for your support and dedication to our shared vision of accountability and excellence for all students. If you have any questions about the Logan County Pillars of Success, please visit our website: logan.kyschools.us/mc/pillars/