Change is in the works for Lorain City Schools. The district has a new superintendent this year and six new priorities for its academic recovery plan. The district is in year-two of being supervised by an academic distress commission.
The Ohio Department of Education appointed the commission in 2013 to help improve student performance after Lorain Schools failed to make adequate progress four years in a row.
One of the six new priorities recently outlined by the commission is to recognize the work of the district’s teachers.
Jay Pickering, the president of the Lorain Education Association, is now more confident in the district because of the collaboration.
“In the past all we heard about what are the teachers not doing that is impacting the kids. Our teachers are working hard all the time. They need people to understand what we need to help the kids do better. I think with this openness, it’s going to bring our staff along a lot,” Pickering said.
Some of the commission’s other new priorities include hiring a more diverse faculty and improving communication with parents.