The District

The Massillon City Schools enroll a little more than 4,000 students in a high school (grades 9-12), junior high school (grades 7-8), intermediate school (grades 4-6), and three K-3 elementary schools (one of which also includes pre-kindergarten classrooms). The intermediate and junior high schools share a campus. The district also sponsors a charter school, the Massillon Digital Academy, and operates its own career and technical center as part of the high school.

Massillon is bordered by four other school districts. Of the five districts, Massillon’s median household income is lowest ($42,808 in 2016 in contrast to $64,375 in the neighboring district with the highest median household income). The ODE report cards show that Massillon (the poorest district) is doing the least well and that the neighboring district with the highest median household income is doing the best on state indicators of district-level performance. This situation is typical: a close association between school district wealth and school district performance persists across Ohio and other states in the US.

Reflective Questions

Many Ohio school districts permit open enrollment—an arrangement that enables students to attend schools outside their home district without paying tuition. Sometimes open enrollment provides a way to help districts combat declining enrollment, and open enrollment sometimes gives students an opportunity to attend schools that offer programs not available in their home districts or to attend schools that have received higher accountability scores on statewide metrics. However, when a student enrolls in a school outside his or her home district, the money provided by the state to educate that student follows the student to the new district. Massillon permits open enrollment; a nearby but more affluent and higher scoring district does not.

In what ways might open enrollment benefit Massillon?
In what ways might open enrollment negatively impact the district?
When high-performing districts do not permit open enrollment, in what ways might students and schools in surrounding districts be affected?

The Massillon City Schools are led by a superintendent and assistant superintendent. Central office staff also includes three coordinators and five directors, including one person who serves as both athletic director and head football coach. The schools are headed by six principals. The district’s teaching staff is about 95% White, 3% Black, and 1% Hispanic.