DEERFIELD TWP. — Eighteen months of planning have put the Kings School District closer to its goal of a state ranking of “effective” in 2002, says Superintendent David Query.

        The district is now ranked “improving.”

        The district's strategy is to mentor teachers, increase student testing, and expand use of technology.

        Mr. Query hopes the strategy, as well as the dis trict's continuous improvement plan, will help students show progress in several key areas on the Ohio Proficiency Test. Results of the tests the students take this school year will be officially released in 2002.

        Kings students met 22 of 27 test standards for the 2000 district report card, but districts have to meet at least 26 of 27 standards to be rated “effective” by the state.

        In the 2001 report card to be released in January, students again met 22 out of 27 standards, falling short in fourth-grade math and science, and sixth-grade reading, math and science. However, they were less than 10 percentage points from meeting each of the five standards and, in one case, missed by just a point, Mr. Query said.

        But students taking the test in the months ahead will benefit from the strategic plan and the 65-page continuous improvement plan, which all districts that are not “effective” have to develop.

        “I think this year we're close enough and have the wherewithal to make it happen,” Mr. Query said.

        One of the strategies to help Kings become “effec tive” is the addition of two curriculum leaders at the elementary level, for a total of four leaders in the areas of math, science, language/arts and social studies.

        The curriculum leaders, whose focus last year was mostly on technology, aim to:

        • Implement technology into all curricula.

        • Develop new courses of study and help implement those in every classroom.

        • Mentor other teachers and provide a model for them.

        • Stay current with research in their fields.

        • Develop assessments, or student tests, that measure the areas in which students need help and where they are strong so teachers can concentrate on the most pressing areas

        Each elementary building also has a reading intervention specialist to help students improve in reading.

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