PINE GROVE – A pat on the back for a job well done at a Rock Hill elementary school is coming in the form of a hefty check.

Tuesday, March 21, 2000

PINE GROVE – A pat on the back for a job well done at a Rock Hill elementary school is coming in the form of a hefty check.

Rock Hill Elementary No. 3 is one of 220 schools in the state honored for improving their proficiency test scores. The honor brings with it a $25,000 check from the state.

The district joins the South Point School District in receiving the incentive award, which is designed differently from a grant in that the distribution requirements are less stringent, school officials said.

Gov. Bob Taft and Ohio’s superintendent of public instruction Susan Tave Zelman recently announced the school is one of the recipients of the more than $6.5 million in School Improvement Incentive Awards.

And teachers and administrators at Rock Hill No. 3 know that the improvements in the students’ test performance came as a result of a lot of hard work by staff and students.

"The teachers and kids are working really hard and I think we will continue to improve," said Mick Hairston, No. 3 principal. "This is proficiency week. They take it seriously and work really hard and I’m really proud of them."

Despite smaller per-pupil expenditures than other more wealthy districts, Rock Hill continues to improve educational opportunities afforded to the community children, Hairston added.

"The thing I’m most proud of with the teachers is that this is really a poverty-stricken area and they didn’t make excuses," he said. "They just got down to work."

The $25,000 will be used not only to improve proficiency scores but also to give back to the community, which has been very supportive over the years, Hairston said.

"What the teachers accomplished will allow them to give something back to a community that has given back to us," he said. "I’ve been a principal here for over 12 years and the people of the community have been really supportive. We will use this money to give something back to their kids."

The school now boasts point improvements over the five proficiency areas in the elementary school through grade 5 category to bring in a big budgetary boost for further improvements, district superintendent Lloyd Evans said.

The new awards program, funded in Ohio’s first budget dedicated exclusively to education, is designed to reward schools showing the greatest improvement on Local Report Card indicators.

Evans said the pride in the students, teachers and faculty at this school is district-wide.

"We’re very proud of everyone at the No. 3 elementary school," Evans said. "There is a lot of hard work that went into meeting the requirements for this award, and we are proud of them for their accomplishments."

The district is planning a budget for the funds, which will be received later from the state.