The Family Connector

Dear CCS Community,

As many of you are aware, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released its 2021-2022 School Report Cards today.

View the state report card for Columbus City Schools here.

Like many districts across the nation, we are still navigating academic and social-emotional challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. We know there is still much work to be done, and we are actively addressing issues and seeking to continually improve student outcomes.

The annual state report card is a reminder of the work ahead in CCS, but it does not show a whole picture of what students, families, teachers, and administrators have accomplished since the return to in-person learning last year.

I’d like to share some positives that aren’t reflected by the number of stars we see in this year’s report card:

• Overall, 16 of the 22 tested grades and subjects showed improvement, four remained stable (within 1% of last year), and only two declined by more than one percent.

• We had double-digit growth in English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency for third and fourth grade students, with proficiency data improving from 23% to 33.5% and 25.4% to 36.8% respectively.

• We had exceptional gains in fourth grade mathematics proficiency with proficiency data improving from 18.8% to 29.3%.

• Students in sixth grade ELA came within one percent of pre-pandemic performance.

• Our four-year graduation rate remains near 80% and is anticipated to be similar for the class of 2022. Our five-year rate was slightly higher at 84%.

As you can see, much of this is centered around growth, and it is important to understand that improvements in achievement cannot happen without improvements in growth first. And as we continue to focus on growth, guided by four Strategic Priorities, I am confident we will see a positive impact on achievement. We are already seeing encouraging results and examples of the Board of Education’s goals and vision for Portrait-Ready Graduates in action across all grade levels.

Click here to read more about the District's report card.

Columbus City Schools is teaming up with the Columbus Crew to encourage our students to come to school each day. The partnership is part of the ‘Stay in the Game! Keep Learning, Every Day’ Network. CCS Superintendent Dr. Talisa Dixon joined the Columbus Crew President of Business Operations Kristin Bernert at Lower.com Field for a preview of the creative ways the Crew plans to promote attendance.

Is Your Parent Portal Account Activated? Stay engaged in your child’s education by setting up and signing into the Columbus City Schools Parent Portal. Through the Parent Portal, you’ll be able to securely access valuable information on your student(s):

• Teacher Contact
• Grades and Course Schedules
• Daily Attendance
• Missed Assignments
• Paperless Applications for: School Choice, Summer School, and Career Tech
• Update Contact Information
• Pay Fees

If you have not yet created your portal account, click the button below to activate your account.

First Time User Activation

In order to activate your account, you must have an Activation Key. If you do not have an Activation Key, please contact your child’s school. You will be asked to provide proper identification before receiving the key. NOTE: Each parent/guardian has their own Activation Key to create their account, which can be used to access all of their children enrolled in Columbus City Schools.

Existing users can log in here

Please click here to RSVP for upcoming Virtual Family Engagement Sessions.

Our sessions are recorded and posted in our Virtual Family Engagement Session Library in case you are unable to attend.

During the September 6 Board Business Meeting, the District provided notice of a proposed change to the previously adopted Traditional Academic Calendar. The proposed change is necessary to accommodate a professional development day outlined in the district’s Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OPASE) contract.

The revision to the Traditional Academic Calendar moves the current Friday, October 14 Professional Development Day (Non-Attendance Day for Students) to Friday, October 21. On the new calendar, students would NOT attend on Friday, October 21.

No other dates on the school year calendar, as well as Woodcrest’s year-round schedule, are impacted.

The Columbus City Schools Board of Education will vote on the proposed calendar change in an upcoming meeting (date TBA).

To view the updated traditional calendar with the proposed update included, see below or visit the District Calendars page.

As a reminder, please review, sign and return all student consent forms. Forms can be found on pages 27-34 of the Student Success Guide. The publication contains important documents that must be filled out and returned to your student's school of attendance OR completed as part of the Parent Portal Annual Update (preferred method) in Infinite Campus.

The Office of School Counseling welcomes you to the 2022-2023 school year! Our mission is to provide the necessary resources to help our high school students and families navigate successfully throughout the school year. Click here to visit the CCS Office of School Counseling website for more details.

IMPACT Community Action has Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance funding available that will expire September 23, 2022.

Who is eligible for rental assistance at IMPACT?

An eligible household is a household of one or more individuals who are obligated to pay rent on a primary residential dwelling. Households including undocumented immigrants are eligible for assistance. For more information visit Impact Community Action.