Harris Sees 'Fabulous' Potential for Columbus Public Schools

Summary

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This year, the Columbus Public Schools - whose "grade" on the state rating system had been mired in the 60s just a few years before reached 80.5 this year, putting the district in "Continuous Improvement" - not just a step up from the "Academic Watch" status that the schools first achieved several years ago, but progressing toward the designation of "Effective" that is the next step in the state's grading system.

"We are definitely on the move," [Gene Harris] said, "And the move is toward higher levels of graduation and achievement." But the goal is not just to see the numbers by which the district is measured improve: the goal is to produce a better human product than the district has ever seen. "We don't want [our students] to just graduate," Harris said.

"We've got the evidence of improvement, it's been happening since 2001, but this is kind of the crowning piece so far," Harris continued. "And you notice I say, 'so far', because this isn't the final step."

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Harris Sees 'Fabulous' Potential for Columbus Public Schools

Dr. Gene Harris is, you might say, geeked. Hyped. Fired up. Zooming.

Those are not educator's words. But they probably reflect, better than any others, the sense of energy and expectation that is accompanying her seventh first day of school as Superintendent of the Columbus Public Schools.

"It is just fabulous" to see the another first day of school for Columbus...

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