Summary

The Gibsonburg School District is recovering from a period of difficulty during which interrelated crises of fiscal instability and declining enrollment threatened the existence of the district. Because of one school’s achievement gaps, the district was directed to develop and implement an improvement plan using the Ohio Improvement Process. The district initially had difficulty getting its improvement efforts to take hold. It is important to note that Gibsonburg is not an underperforming district overall. Like many other districts in Ohio, gaps between the performance of one or more subgroups in comparison to students overall brought the district’s needs for improvement to the forefront.

A new superintendent brought the district’s finances under control and addressed the issues contributing to declining enrollment. He put together a strong leadership team and refocused the district’s improvement efforts, which improved morale and communication, strengthened the performance of the OIP teams, and fostered collaboration around instructional practice. The district’s attendance and graduation rates are high. Despite evidence that the district is “back on track,” student accountability scores continue to fall—a trend that reflects what seems to be taking place in Ohio in general.