Superintendent

Youngstown Community School is a school choice option for students residing in the Tri-County area and who are in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.  YCS has a current enrollment of approximately 375 students. We are so fortunate to have a school for which we can be proud of, with students, staff, families and the community coming together to support our mission and to inspire excellence.  We will continue to focus on several priority areas to help us focus our work in making our school a premier school in the Mahoning Valley.

Priority 1: High Academic Standards – All students will have access to a challenging and rigorous instructional program that is aligned to Common Core Standards and embeds 21st century skill demands.

Priority 2: Safe School Climate – The school will support and sustain a safe, nurturing, respectful environment where staff and students are supported to bring out the best in each other.

Priority 3: Fiscal Awareness – The school will provide an educationally sound and fiscally responsible budget that supports students in achieving our mission and is reflective of the community’s support for our school.

Priority 4: Community Involvement – The Youngstown Community School will engage the community in meaningful ways so as to foster support of programs and services.

In addition to the areas of focus above, we are adding programming that will allow our students to compete in the 21st century in both education and in the workforce.  We have several strong community partnerships that allow us to bring the newest technology and innovative ideas to the students at Youngstown Community School. We offer our students the following:

United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley – United Way is our largest community partner that helps YCS focus on the WHOLE CHILD and the WHOLE FAMILY.  United Way makes it possible to offer two programs to our students, Success By 6 and Success After 6. Success By 6 is a pre-kindergarten readiness program geared toward children who need a boost before they officially start school.  The students go through a four week summer program that prepares them for their academic careers but also focuses on their social/ emotional development. Success After 6 provides wrap-around services to help break down barriers many of the students and their families face on a daily basis.  Our United Way works in partnership with the school to help the students achieve success. They help the students realize their potential and encourages them to excel in the classroom and bring community partners to the table to best serve the children and their families.

Raspberry Pi – YCS has a partnership with The Oak HIll Collaborative in which The Oak Hill Makerspace Raspberry Pi Program will teach students at YCS how to build and program their very own Raspberry Pi microcomputer. Students work through a series of fun and exciting workshops with experienced engineers and computer programmers from the Oak Hill Makerspace.  “The Raspberry Pi Foundation works to put the power of digital making into the hands of people all over the world, so they are capable of understanding and shaping our increasingly digital world, able to solve the problems that matter to them, and equipped for the jobs of the future.”  (www.raspberrypi.org) 

Applied Systems and Technology Transfer (AST2) – YCS has a partnership with Applied Systems and Technology Transfer (AST2) to not only provide a 3-D printer, but to also bring a Computer Aided Design (CAD) curriculum to the school and provide technical support to staff.  AST2 will continue provide a significant amount of high level, high touch personalized training for the teacher and technology coordinator as well as personally assist in the teaching of CAD to students.

The district promotes and supports high achievement within a 21st Century education through the following avenues:  up-to-date technology, gifted education and enrichment and a program for English Language Learners, where English is a second language in the home.  We offer quality instruction in the core academic areas through the Literacy Collaborative framework in ELA and Everyday Math and Digits in the area of Mathematics.  

Technology – YCS offers CAD design, as well as 3-D printing to our students in the middle grades.  CAD, or computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), is the use of computer technology for design and design documentation. CAD software replaces manual drafting with an automated process. If you work in the architecture, MEP, or structural engineering fields, you’ve probably used 2D or 3D CAD programs.

3D printing is an additive manufacturing process that creates a physical object from a digital design. There are different 3D printing technologies and materials you can print with, but all are based on the same principle: a digital model is turned into a solid three-dimensional physical object by adding material layer by layer.  Individual and/or small groups of students have the ability to design a project and create their design with the use of 3D printers and materials.

Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) K-5

At the heart of Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)is a content-rich curriculum that intentionally and coherently builds knowledge early, and with increasing depth over the grade levels, so students become strong independent readers, critical thinkers, and problem-solvers ready for success in school and beyond.  As the foundation of a literacy-rich learning environment and at the heart of CKLA, knowledge-based learning will: 

Place knowledge at the center – CKLA exposes students to science, social studies, literature, and the arts through a coherent sequence of rich background knowledge that builds within and across grade levels. 

Engage, inspire, spark passion – CKLA offers authentic opportunities for students to explore a wealth of topics that introduce them to future possibilities in school and life. With a broad knowledge base, students can expand their interests, while practicing reading, writing, speaking, and listening. 

Connect knowledge and skills to build comprehension – It’s not enough to be able to just decode the words on the page. With CKLA, students build background knowledge to access and unpack complex text, so real comprehension can happen. CKLA

What makes CKLA unique:

Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is the only PreK–5 reading program that reflects what educators, cognitive scientists, and researchers already know: Background knowledge and foundational skills are the keys to early literacy and long-term success. 

• A coherent sequence of rich content knowledge across social studies, science, literature, and the arts. 

• A systematic approach to developing decoding and foundational skills through rigorous, explicit instruction.

 • Access to core content for English Language Learners through integrated scaffolds and a flexible English Language Learner companion.

 • A comprehensive integrated curriculum for reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction that supports every learner.

Amplify ELA (6-8)

Amplify ELA is a blended English language arts curriculum designed specifically to support students in grades 6–8 and prepare them for high school and beyond. With Amplify ELA, students learn to tackle any complex text and make observations, grapple with interesting ideas, and find relevance for themselves.

Students are engaged through dynamic texts, lively classroom discussions, and meaningful digital experiences.

Built specifically for middle school, Amplify ELA is an interactive core curriculum that brings complex texts to life. Amplify ELA’s 100-Day pathway is a built-in guide to covering required content for each grade level while allowing teachers time to add supplemental lessons and activities.

With text always at the center, students are encouraged to make meaning for themselves. They develop ideas and opinions on real-world, relevant texts, instead of focusing on right or wrong answers.

My Math (K-5)

McGraw-Hill My Math inspires students to embrace the power of math through real-world applications, experiencing just how fun math success can be. The program interweaves the three components of rigor—conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application—enabling your students to steadily progress and grow their math confidence.

Meaningful student engagement opportunities allow students to interact with math their way:

• Talk Math, Vocabulary Cards, Foldables®

• Real-World Problem Solving

• Digital Resources

• Hands-On Resources

There is a focus on skill development to address gaps in understanding with digital and hands-on resources.  Teachers will work to strengthen the core instruction with independent learning and small-group activities designed to boost a range of implementation models.  Engaging games provide students with individualized remediation and acceleration opportunities.

Reveal Math (6-8) 

Reveal Math empowers educators to uncover the mathematician in every middle school student through powerful explorations, rich technology, and timely and insightful differentiation opportunities. The unique approach of Reveal Math ensures students don’t just meet the standards, they master them.

Reveal Math Accelerated is intended to prepare students in seventh grade to take Algebra 1 in eighth grade with the inclusion of both grade seven and eight standards. Through the use of interactive student editions and hands-on digital resources, students experience active classroom learning to build conceptual understanding and mastery of content topics.

Through a growth mindset, insightful instruction and active, engaged classrooms, students learn the power of problem solving through real world applications.