​

The Richland School of Academic Arts

FY25 Annual Report

IRN 011967

2025-2026

​

1456 Park Ave. West, Mansfield, OH 44906

​

RSAA FY26 School Leadership

Governing Authority and Administration

President -Al Sigg

Vice President - Sandra Sutherland

Secretary - Karen Bierly

Member – Anne Kurtzman

Member – Eric Stigall

Superintendent/Head of School -Scott Will

Curriculum and Instruction - Michele Gorman

Intervention and Engagement-Shayla Logan

Dean of Students-Mike McPeek

Mission and Philosophy

Mission

We are committed to providing the best academic core curriculum blended with meaningful integration of the visual and performing arts to build educated, confident students to be future community leaders.

Philosophy

Students learn best when they are consistently challenged to develop and use higher order thinking and creativity skills through inquiry based projects. We believe that a curriculum focused on mastery in all core content areas, but designed to challenge students to develop additional skills related to leadership, teamwork, self-discipline, inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, reflection, collaboration, ethics and work habits is needed if students are to become true lifelong learners. We believe that not only must students learn these skills; they must apply these skills and knowledge at high levels if they are to be perceived as future community leaders.

​

​

Deeply Rooted in RSAA

The Richland School of Academic Arts is firmly established and committed to excellence in academics and the arts. Painted on the wall between the theater doors, the reminder of being deeply rooted is something our staff and students see on a daily basis. We have high expectations for our staff and our students and the level of success we have enjoyed are due to those expectations. While there continue to be challenges to the very framework of what education should entail throughout our state and nation, RSAA will continue to hold fast to those things that have allowed us to enjoy success: consistency in expectations, well-rounded educational experience focusing on inquiry and hands on activities, fiscal responsibility.

​

We truly believe we offer a unique experience in our school with both instruction, the arts, and overall education environment.

The Richland School of Academic Arts is the premier K-8 learning center in our area, as well as one of the premier K-8 community schools in the state through the integration of arts and education. We experience the same challenges that our partner schools face on a daily basis. RSAA is committed to academic excellence and the creation of a unique classroom and building environment that creates a positive learning experience for students and families in our community. We work very diligently to teach the “whole child” academically, socially and emotionally. We accept each child as they are and set high expectations for each child to reach their full potential, understanding the need for partnership with our families in understanding the dynamics of individual families as well as the dynamics of our immediate community.

RSAA Year in Review 2025-2026

​

2025-2026 saw the continuation of greenhouse programming Our culinary program expanded to 15 offerings of classes during the academic year with ten general classes and five advanced cooking classes.

​

RSAA continues to be under the sponsorship of Buckeye Community Hope Foundation and enjoy a partnership that allows us to continue growing our teachers and expanding learning opportunities for teachers and students through a rapport built on growth and accountability. We have been utilizing data points for growth provided from our sponsor to move the needle in student growth and teacher accountability in that growth.

​

This past year saw one of our largest enrollments in the history of the school as we finished with 348 students on our roster.

​

​

RSAA and Sponsor Compliance with the State of Ohio

Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 3314.03(D)(2) specifies that the sponsor of the school must “monitor and evaluate the academic and fiscal performance and the organization and operation of the community school on at least an annual basis.”

Buckeye Community Hope Foundation (BCHF) relies on multiple sources of data to evaluate the community school’s performance including academic performance on national normed tests and academic scores published by the Department of Education & Workforce on the Local Report Card. In addition, BCHF conducts multiple onsite visits to the school throughout the year to ensure compliance with all Rule and Law, as well as, the sponsorship contract. Performance results for the school will be available for the 2025-2026 school year on the BCHF website www.bchf.org after November 30.

​

RSAA Commitment to Students

1. We will provide an individualized 21st Century education, celebrating students and their individual talents/gifts and supporting student strengths.
2. We will commit to building higher order thinking skills through project based learning, integrating the visual and performing arts as well as working on personal and interpersonal relationships.
3. We will have a collaborative communicative process with our students, families and teachers.
4. We will provide a safe and nurturing environment to engage our students optimal learning potential.

2025-2026 Student Demographics (348 Students Total)

Gender

1. Female 184
2. Male 164

​

Students w/Disabilities (IEP and Section 504)

1. 31 IEPs/33 504s

Race/Ethnicity

1. Black - 138
2. White - 139
3. Hispanic - 4
4. Pacific Islander - 1
5. Multi-Racial - 63
6. American Indian - 3

Staff Demographics

Total Staff-39

Male - 8

Female - 31

Black - 2

White - 36

Multi-Racial - 1

​

Teachers w/BA - 89%

Teachers w/Masters - 21%

Properly Licensed - 100%

OST Results Comparison

FY25 RSAA Prof. State Prof.

3rd Grade Math 51.3% 65%

3rd Grade ELA 52.5% 59%

4th Grade Math 56.4% 70%

4th Grade ELA 59% 62%

5th Grade Math 37.5% 57%

5th Grade ELA 71.4% 68%

5th Grade Science 35.4% 64%

FY26 RSAA Prof. State Prof.

3rd Grade Math 31.9% 63.0 %

3rd Grade ELA 34.0% 62.0%

4th Grade Math 35.0% 68.0%

4th Grade ELA 60.0% 62.0%

5th Grade Math 28.2% 60.0%

5th Grade ELA 48.7% 71.0%

5th Grade Science 33.3% 63.0%

OST Results Comparison(Continued)

FY25 RSAA Prof. State Prof.

6th Grade Math 32.1% 52%

6th Grade ELA 50.0% 55%

7th Grade Math 39.3% 50%

7th Grade ELA 50% 63%

8th Grade Math 41.7% 48%

8th Grade ELA 48% 55%

8th Grade Science 60% 63%

Algebra I 100% 54%

FY26 RSAA Prof. State Prof.

6th Grade Math 27.5% 57.0%

6th Grade ELA 45.0% 56.0%

7th Grade Math 28.6% 49.0%

7th Grade ELA 65.7% 63.0%

8th Grade Math 26.3% 52.0%

8th Grade ELA 66.7% 59.0%

8th Grade Science 52.4% 62.0 %

Algebra I 100% 58.0 %

Celebrations and Improvements

Celebrations

1. Our ELA scores continue to be strong.
2. We are seeing some increases in math. (Year four of new math curriculum)
3. We continue to implement intervention programming to fit our student needs.
4. We have good school attendance overall.
5. Evaluations of our programming and intervention support is continuous.

Focus Areas

1. Math scores need to grow. We will be adding Math Title Specifically in the coming year.
2. We will continue to see more students with disabilities enroll in our school and we have to look at how we can improve services/inclusionary practices.
3. We need parents to understand how important twenty minutes a night on school focused activities can impact education for their child now and in the future.
4. We will be implementing a new benchmarking/intervention system with NWEA Map Growth.
5. Early Literacy and Chronic Absenteeism rate lowering has to be a focus point heading into 2026-2027.