Representatives from McVay Elementary and the Westerville City School District were present November 11 to accept the 2013 SOAR Award for High Progress from Battelle for Kids.
Representatives from McVay Elementary School received a 2013 SOAR Award for High Progress from Battelle for Kids at a reception held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on Monday, November 11.
Sixteen Ohio schools and 14 Ohio school districts were honored at the event. These annual awards are designed to acknowledge Ohio schools and districts participating in SOAR, Battelle for Kids’ school improvement collaborative, for their academic progress in multiple grade levels and subjects over the last school year (2012–2013).
“It is an honor to recognize these schools and districts for their extraordinary progress with students,” said Jim Mahoney, executive director, Battelle for Kids. “The exceptional growth these educators have made with students is a testament to the hard work they’ve put forth to improve their schools and districts. The award recipients are to be applauded for their efforts to advance student learning.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Richard A. Ross presented each school and district with their respective award. Dr. Jim Mahoney, Executive Director of Battelle for Kids, and Dr. Bobby Moore, Senior Director at Battelle for Kids, offered congratulatory remarks.
In 2002, Battelle for Kids launched SOAR – a statewide pilot to introduce value-added analysis to participating Ohio school districts and demonstrate how information can improve teachers’ and schools’ impact on student learning. For more than a decade, as the demands for higher expectations and results have increased, SOAR expanded its scope of services to become a comprehensive school improvement collaborative, offering an array of services, professional development, and benefits to Ohio school districts. Today, SOAR represents 110 Ohio school districts. SOAR is one of the country’s largest value-added initiatives and is a centerpiece of successful education reform on behalf of students.
Battelle for Kids is a national, not-for-profit organization that provides strategic counsel and innovative solutions for today’s complex educational-improvement challenges. Its mission-driven team of education, technology, communications, and business professionals specializes in creating strategies that advance the development of human capital, the use of strategic measures, the implementation of effective practices, and communication with all stakeholders in schools. They partner with state departments of education, school districts and education-focused organizations to advance these strategies with the shared goals of: improving teaching effectiveness and student progress; informing instructional practice in real time; recognizing and rewarding teaching excellence; and aligning goals and maximizing impact in schools.