Mount Vernon City Schools cited for reading and math gains; summer food program serves hundreds

Mount Vernon City Schools was recognized on a national scorecard for strong three‑year academic growth in both reading and math, Superintendent Bill Fry told the board at its June 15 meeting, and the district reported a large early turnout for its summer food service program.

Fry said an independent National Education Scorecard produced with Harvard and Stanford identified Mount Vernon among Ohio districts achieving exceptional multi‑year growth. “We were ranked in that top 5% of the state of Ohio in both reading and math,” Fry said, adding the district’s modeled three‑year growth figure was about 0.74 and crediting targeted ESSER investments and reading/math interventions.

Board members praised teachers and staff for the gains and highlighted individual extracurricular accomplishments: athlete Lucy Rush placed second in the 3,200 at a state meet and also placed in the 1,600; student Kobe Bradley also placed at state competition.

The superintendent also described the district’s summer food distribution model: during the program’s launch inspectors visited and staff distributed boxed meals in a drive‑through format, serving more than 600 students between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on a single day. Each student received boxes intended to provide seven days of breakfasts and seven days of lunches along with milk distribution.

Fry credited food‑service staff: “I got to give Mag and her crew a lot of credit for that,” he said, describing the logistical scale of filling and chilling boxes for distribution.

The board also heard brief updates on a privately funded stadium turf project (athletic booster club funding) and other community recognitions. Members said they want the district to share the recognition and program successes with the community in accessible formats.