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The entire James A. Garfield School family is thrilled the district received an EXCELLENT state rating for the 2007/08 year. This is the first for the district in the nine years of the state issuing "School Report Cards". We are the only district in Portage County to be ranked Excellent along with Aurora. I want to commend our teachers and students who have worked hard to attain this high rating! Our numbers were 28 of 30 indicators and we achieved Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) and exceeded expected achievement growth for two years to earn the value-added indicator. Our next goal is to achieve the Performance Index by earning a score above 100; our score was 98.7 for 2007/08.
We were able to earn an Excellent state rating spending $7,437 per child, the lowest in Portage County, while Aurora spent $9,112 per child. Also, we spent the third least per pupil of all the 43 Excellent school districts of surrounding counties. We are able to provide a quality education for our students while managing the financial resources the community is willing to provide. When this is the situation, it is win-win for everyone!
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If you are a senior citizen, at least 62 years of age and residing in the Garfield School District, you are encouraged to stop at the Orson E. Ott Administrative Offices, 8am-4pm (near the bus garage) to pick up your free gold G-Man lifetime pass. This entitles you to free admission to all home activities. The Board believes this is a small token of appreciation for your many years of supporting our students.
The students, staff and Board have appreciated and spent due diligence with the $925,000 annual emergency levy monies that you approved for five years in November 2004. On the November 4, 2008 ballot you will have an opportunity to approve the same dollar amount for another five years, a renewal. Please consider your continued support of our deserving students!
The Board and administration has walked a financial tightrope in balancing the budget and offering quality educational programs and co-curricular opportunities for the students. School should be a well-rounded experience for kids of today and the future. We are pleased to say that this has benefited our kids for five years and we expect it to work for another five years. Please show your support again on November 4th! The 1,600 students will appreciate it for the next five years.
Please continue to view our website often. Feel free to provide feedback or contact me with a suggestion or concern. The James A. Garfield School personnel are here to serve students, parents and the community members. Call me at 330-527-4336, mailbox 601 or email me at cklamer@mail.garfield.sparcc.org
Educationally,
Chuck Klamer
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