Lake Orion Community Schools received a nice honor recently, being recognized by the Michigan Department of Education as a Notably Successful school district.
LOCS is one of 58 districts in the state to meet the criteria for the award, which consists of high absolute performance, growth or special Above Average Academic Performance standard.
Lake Orion Superintendent Marion Ginopolis was proud of the honor.
“In these difficult financial times, we have made millions of dollars in reductions over the past several years but have been committed to saving our instructional programs,” she said. “Based on the results of this study, it is very clear that this ongoing commitment to spending our money on instruction for our students has been the right decision.”
A letter to the district from State Superintendent Brian Whiston notified LOCS of the honor. It stated, “Your district was held as the high water mark in helping determine the financial resources needed to help students be academically successful. The achievements of your school district is a testament to the focus, hard work and commitment of your team and community to sustain a rigorous, high-quality learning environment.”
The study was very data-focused resulting in a detailed performance and financial database of district expenditure and revenue information, along with performance data for each school district in Michigan. The data allowed the study team to examine performance levels on state tests and performance changes over time.
All revenue data was collected from the MI Department of Education and reconciled with MI Financial Information Database.
The study indicates that Notably Successful districts represent the best indicator of what it might take for all districts to succeed and are reflective of what it may take to meet state standards in an efficient manner.