Rootstown Local

Rootstown Local in Ohio serves about 917 students across three schools spanning kindergarten through 12th grade: one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school, with no alternative school in the district. Overall, the district ranks 319 of 773 in Ohio, placing it at the 59th percentile with 3 stars, a solidly mid-to-upper-middle position statewide.

Rootstown Elementary School is the district’s clear bright spot, ranking 514 of 1,560 (67th percentile) in 2025–26 after a 4-star, 71st-percentile year in 2024–25. Its strengths are English language arts and science, including 4th-grade ELA at 80.0 versus the state’s 61.8, 5th-grade ELA at 81.9 versus 70.4, and 5th-grade science at 80.3 versus 62.7 — notable given it has the district’s highest poverty indicator and largest student-teacher ratio, 18.8. Rootstown/Mabel Schnee Bldg Middle School ranks 453 of 1,046 (57th percentile) and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 15.3%, below the district’s 18.5%. Its reported Algebra I proficiency of 100% in both years far exceeds the district’s 58.5 and the state’s 61.6, but this likely reflects a small advanced cohort rather than typical middle-school math performance. Rootstown/Ward Davis Bldg High School ranks 363 of 795 (54th percentile), down from the 70th percentile and 4 stars a year earlier. It posts a 97.8% graduation rate and strong Biology (87.5 vs. state 67.0) and American History (87.7 vs. state 73.2) results, but Algebra I is a clear weakness at 46.9 versus the state’s 61.6, and chronic absenteeism is the district’s highest at 24.2% despite the lowest free/reduced lunch rate at 31.21%.

Looking across the district, attendance and math tell the most important stories: the high school has the highest absenteeism and the weakest Algebra I results, while the elementary and middle schools have higher poverty indicators but lower absenteeism. Elementary math also softened year over year, with 3rd-grade math falling from 77.1 to 65.7 and 5th-grade math from 70.6 to 61.1. Middle-school results are volatile, including 8th-grade science dropping from 81.7 to 65.7 and 8th-grade ELA from 66.7 to 56.1, while 6th-grade math rose from 48.8 to 61.1. Spending patterns are dated but notable, with the middle school highest at $10,066 per student in 2018–19.