Evening Street and Worthington Estates elementary schools were among 16 Ohio schools recognized last week for academic achievements.

The schools received the 2007 SOAR Awards for High Progress during the Ohio School Boards Association's Capital Conference on Nov. 12.

For schools in Ohio that participate in SOAR (Schools Online Assessment Reports), the annual award is designed to acknowledge academic progress in multiple grade levels and subjects over the past three school years.

The two Worthington schools were among approximately the top 3.5 percent of schools (out of 435 SOAR schools) making exceptional growth.

The schools are proof that tremendous growth is occurring in schools across the state, according to Jim Mahoney, executive director of Battelle for Kids, which began the program five years ago.

"It's no longer just about the students you have, but rather what educators do with those students that makes a difference," he said.

Each school was evaluated on 18 indicators of effectiveness in the three most recent school years, 2005-07.

Caption: (1) Accepting the award for Worthington Estates are Sandy St. Cyr, Sue DeRose, Dan Williams, Alison Palermo, Jennifer Wene, Carl Kohrt (CEO of Battelle) and Mark Glasbrenner.
(2) Accepting the award for Evening Street are Kellie Ehlers, Jennifer Wene, Sue O'Rourke, Carl Kohrt (CEO of Battelle), Chris Collaros and Mark Glasbrenner.