Pep rally to kick off district academic testing
01/03/2006
Thanks to Dayton Public Schools, spirited pep rallies aren’t just motivators for athletic success anymore.
The district’s third annual Rally for Success takes place Sunday, March 5, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Sinclair College’s Ponitz Center. The event is free and open to students, parents, school employees and community leaders. Parking is available under Building 12, located at the corner of Fourth and Perry streets.
“Our students and teachers are gearing up for state-mandated testing, and we want to provide them with every opportunity for success,” Superintendent Percy Mack said. “This rally is an afternoon of fun to show we’re behind them 100 percent, and have no doubt about their abilities to succeed and achieve.”
DPS students and their counterparts across the state will take either achievements tests (grades three through eight) or the Ohio Graduation Test (high school). Testing will take place between March 7 and 24.
The rally will feature music by the Lincoln Jazz band and Dunbar choir; a performance by the Colonel White JROTC Honor Guard; the Lincoln Elementary drill team; an “Ohio Achievement Cheer” by Meadowdale High cheerleaders; motivational speeches by Christine Hoy (2006 district spelling bee winner), Antonio Alstork (2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. speech winner) and Gregory Powell (2005 DPS Teacher of the Year); achievement raps by Allen, Meadowdale Elementary and Dunbar students; and performances by the Tigers Who Care puppet troupe at Stivers and Jefferson Jammers.
Double-digit growth in Dayton’s test scores has outpaced gains over the last two years. This improvement is credited to a district focus on literacy and mathematics, with a teaching focus on student achievement and use of data to target areas in need of strengthening.
With assistance from literacy and mathematics coaches, teachers helped elementary students achieve greater levels of proficiency than previous years. At the secondary level, curriculum coaches also helped students and teachers achieve higher results than ever before. DPS expects to see similar gains this year.
School officials note that when students do not attend school during testing, they are counted as having failed state tests. Student absenteeism can have a profound impact on district test results, as well as general classroom performance, retention and graduation.
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