Dohn Community High School is a Cincinnati success story which the Ohio Department of Education 2016-2017 Report Card reflects. Our Dropout Recovery Charter School has earned an eight-year rating and a combined rating of Exceeding Standards. In addition to that, we improve performance each year.
Our success is real and it shows up through the exceptional leadership of Director Ramone Davenport, dedicated teachers and staff and remarkable students, all invested in Turning Lives Around.
As was reported by local media, Cincinnati Public Schools did not receive passing grades on their report cards. Local District Schools with strong school tax bases did do well on their report cards. While public and district schools receive letter grading, A through F, Dropout Recovery Schools receive ratings of Fail to, Meets or Exceeds Standards. Exact comparisons between school types is challenging. Dohn’s rating, when converted to a grade rating, is equivalent to a B+, as evidenced by metrics of graduation rates, progress and growth standards.
In contrast to schools in our same category, Dropout Recovery, we surpass the field. In further contrast, our enrollment is double other schools in this category.
“What concerns you most about your future?”
“Staying alive,”
“Not being murdered.”
Rubber, Meet Road
Social change is needed in order for Dohn to succeed in the two categories where we do not yet meet standards. The first area where we fell short is Gap Closing. As defined by the Ohio Department of Education, “The Gap Closing component shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for our most vulnerable populations of students in English language arts, math and graduation, so that all of Ohio’s students can be successful.”
Dohn educates some of Cincinnati, Ohio’s most vulnerable students. A beginning-of-the-year student survey reflects this fact. In response to the survey question, “What concerns you most about your future?” our students’ replies are “Staying alive,” or “Not being murdered.”
Many of our students experience this primal risk to safety. They live in violent urban settings and their families’ income levels fall below the poverty line. We know from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that the need for safety and security is fundamental. Despite living with lethal threat, our students are committed to their futures and we have the Ohio Department of Education Report Card to prove it.
The challenge to achieving a better grade in this category of the State Report Card invites a civic approach that includes reduction of extreme poverty and decreasing violence.
The other category where we fall short of the standard is in Progress. This component looks at the growth of students in contrast to past test performances. This grading component is dependent on another societal issue, attendance. As the Ohio Department of Education states, Chronic absenteeism is an issue the state is addressing.
Dohn’s Attendance rating is 56.1%. While that might seem dismal, it is above the 50% mark and our school is focused on increasing attendance this year. We have:
Initiated a home room experience in order to strengthen the relational bond between student and teacher
Added Life Coaches for individual attention to students’ unique needs
Added a dedicated Attendance Monitor to keep the entire school alert to extended absences
Added staff to our Truancy Team
As we did last year, our Street Teams will make home visits to check in with truant students
Dohn celebrates the outstanding success of our 2016-2017 Ohio Department of Education Report Card. Our Director, our teachers and staff, and our students know Dohn as A Place to Turn Your Life Around. We invite you to join us through a Like and a Follow on our Facebook page. We invite you to be part of our Cincinnati success story.