Contact: Yvonne Mathis, Communications Director
Office: 330.744.7871 Cell: 330.716.5165
Youngstown City School District
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
YCSD HOLDS SPECIAL EVENT TO RECOGNIZE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AT TWO
EARLY COLLEGE SCHOOLS
October 23, 2014: The Youngstown City School District is pleased to announce that it will
hold a special recognition event to publicly celebrate outstanding academic achievements
at Youngstown Early College and Rayen Early College Middle School.
The recognition event will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2014, at the Choffin Career
and Technical Center, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Parents, guardians, and students at both
schools are invited to attend this event.
Speakers will include Dr. Connie Hathorn, Superintendent, Mayor John McNally, Jim
Tressel, President, Youngstown State University, and Christina Wanat, Dean of Student
Learning, Eastern Gateway Community College.
Youngstown Early College was recently named one of America’s top high schools by
Newsweek as part of its 2014 “America’s Top High Schools”, ranking 251 out of 500 on
the list “Beating The Odds 2014 – Top Schools For Low-Income Students”. In addition, it
has achieved high academic performance on the state report card resulting in several
honors that include the Bronze Award from the U.S. News and Report, and being
designated by the Ohio Department of Education as a High Progress School of Honor in
2012, and High Performing School of Honor in 2012 and 2013.
Launched in 2004, Youngstown Early College is a partnership between the Youngstown
City School District, Youngstown State University, and Eastern Gateway Community
College. At no cost to the family, students can earn both a high school diploma and an
Associate’s Degree or a minimum of 30 hours of college credit toward a Baccalaureate
Degree. This year, 217 students in grades 9-12 are enrolled at Youngstown Early College.
Youngstown Early College is located on the campus of Youngstown State University in
Fedor Hall, 644 Elm Street, Youngstown, Ohio 44502. Monica Jones is the dean at
Youngstown Early College.
Rayen Early College Middle School was recently honored for its outstanding academic
achievements at the Making Middle Grades Work Conference for scoring the highest in the
categories of improved English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science curriculum, and
meeting or exceeding all middle school sites nationally on 9 of 12 intensity indicators.
Launched in 2008, Rayen Early College Middle School is the feeder school to Youngstown
Early College. This year, 162 students in grades 6-8 are enrolled at the school. All students
participate in a rigorous academic curriculum and the Quaglia Program.
Rayen Early College Middle School is located at 731 S. Hazelwood Avenue, Youngstown,
Ohio 44509. Dr. Deborah DiFrancesco is the principal at Rayen Early College Middle
School.
For additional information, please contact Yvonne Mathis, Director, Communications
and Public Relations, at 330.744.7871 or [email protected].
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