MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Schools’ Spanish Immersion School is one of only two schools in Ohio – and 100 nationally — to receive the 2016 National Title 1 Distinguished School Award.
The honor recognizes Spanish Immersion’s success in closing the achievement gap among students in all subgroups, as defined by state and national education officials. Subgroups include low-income, racial/ethnic and students with disabilities.
Principal Gabe Costa was notified of the award by Jeremy Marks, the Ohio Department of Education’s director of federal programs. Title 1 is the nation’s largest federal assistance program for schools.
“Mansfield Spanish Immersion School has been a (Ohio) School of Promise for two consecutive years. Your commitment to high expectations and raising achievement levels for all students is deserving of this (national) recognition,” Marks wrote.
Costa credited three key factors for earning the National Title 1 Distinguished School Award.
“We have outstanding teacher and staff instruction and a high level of student focus. Our students come to school with their homework completed or mostly completed,” Costa said. “I really think the third leg of that stool of success is our high level of parental involvement.
“Our parents take their role very seriously. Those chose to send their children here. We have nearly 100 percent participation in parent-teacher conferences.”
The Spanish Immersion School opened in the fall of 2008 with a kindergarten class of 11, two teachers and Principal Jody Nash. The school now has an enrollment of 181 in kindergarten through sixth grade. Costa, a former third-grade teacher there, succeeded the retiring Nash as principal in June 2015.
Superintendent Brian Garverick added his congratulations for the school’s national recognition.
“Spanish Immersion has a strong partnership with parents and the community. Student achievement is our top priority across the district and the Spanish Immersion staff has worked hard to close gaps in that achievement,” he said. “This award is certainly is deserved.”
Under the Title 1 program the federal government provides funding to the states. Each state then distributes the money to school districts based on the number of families below a set income level.
Mansfield City Schools has a districtwide poverty rate of approximately 84 percent, based on the number of free and reduced-price lunches. The rate at Spanish Immersion is about 50 percent.
Larry Gibbs is spokesman for Mansfield City Schools.
