Garfield Heights City Schools reports rise to 3‑star district, highlights early‑literacy gaps and new CTE program

Gina Bezier, director of teaching and learning at Garfield Heights City Schools, told the academic excellence committee that the district’s report card improved to an overall 3‑star rating this year, up from 2 stars. Bezier credited stronger progress metrics, a higher graduation rate and gains in college, career and military readiness for the advance.

The announcement came with caveats: the district’s achievement component remains at 2 stars and early literacy scored 1 star, Bezier said, signaling targeted work ahead. "We have areas we still need to improve in, but we've really grown," she said, outlining a districtwide reading achievement plan tied to state expectations and a slate of interventions, diagnostics and curriculum changes intended to raise proficiency.

Bezier described the district’s instructional approach in detail. Garfield Heights is emphasizing the science of reading in early grades, using pacing guides and common assessments, and implementing a tiered intervention model: Tier 1 core instruction, Tier 2 small‑group work during a 40‑minute "no new instruction" block, and Tier 3 targeted rotations. The district uses AIMSweb and AMSOID Plus benchmarks and Edmentum personal pathways to identify students who are on track or need extra support and to monitor growth.

Bezier provided school‑level results from fall diagnostics and last year’s state tests: Elmwood Elementary 2.5 stars overall; Garfield Heights High School 3 stars; the middle school 2 stars; Maple Leaf 3 stars; William Foster 2.5 stars. She reported specific diagnostic counts for early grades: of 143 kindergarten students tested, 110 were identified as on track and 33 off track; 57% of kindergarteners were Tier 1 on the screener. At Elmwood, 52% of incoming second‑graders were on track and 60% of third graders were on track, a figure Bezier framed as central to meeting the third‑grade reading guarantee and promotion requirements under state law.

At the middle and high school levels, Bezier outlined supports for students behind grade level. Middle‑school results showed roughly 132 students at or above proficiency and 372 limited/basic out of 506 students on OST testing; the school has added daily intervention periods and morphemic awareness instruction. At the high school, about 30% of students were proficient on last spring’s OST tests; the district has introduced diagnostic screeners for ninth and tenth graders, before‑ and after‑school tutoring with transportation, a peer‑trained writing lab and additional teacher support periods.

The district also highlighted programmatic expansions: a new agriculture CTE program at the high school with 36 students enrolled in its first semester, an affiliated Future Farmers of America charter and a business advisory council; community partners include Bridal Farms. Bezier said the district hopes to expand the program beyond the current three classes.

Bezier closed by emphasizing family partnerships, social‑emotional growth and plans to aim for a 4‑star rating next year. She said the district will report second‑quarter findings in January.