The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in Science. The lowest is 48% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Daw Elementary School
Daw Elementary serves grades three through six in Wellsville, a small Ohio River village in Columbiana County. The school sits within the historic downtown grid, a compact residential community with a long working-class history and a low median home value. The neighborhood itself has not grown in recent years; population has declined and housing vacancy is substantial, though the village's role as a regional intermodal and logistics hub provides some economic foundation.
Daw's enrollment is small, drawn almost entirely from the surrounding village. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of students identifying as multiracial or Black. Free-and-reduced-price lunch data and special education enrollment counts were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how many students qualify for meal assistance or receive special education services.
On state proficiency assessments, Daw shows a mixed picture. In math, roughly half of tested students in grades three through six meet proficiency. English language arts proficiency is somewhat lower, running below that threshold. Science, assessed among a smaller group, showed stronger proficiency in the most recent year. Most recent social studies results, from 2016-17, showed a split: fourth graders performed quite well, while sixth graders scored considerably lower. The school maintains strong participation rates on tests, indicating consistent attendance on assessment days. Relative to other districts in Columbiana County, Daw's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint, suggesting its students' performance trails the county median.
The Wellsville Local School District has committed to new literacy curricula across all grades to address reading and writing gaps. The district adopted Kendore Learning for earlier grades and The Writing Revolution for grades four through twelve, a shift intended to close achievement gaps and comply with Ohio's dyslexia mandate. The district has set a four-year improvement plan running through the 2024-2025 school year, signaling that growth is the explicit focus. For families considering Daw, this curriculum change is substantive and shapes how every child in the school is taught to read and write.
The school itself is small enough that most staff and families likely know one another. There are no alternative programs, magnet designation, or charter options within the building. Daw is a straightforward traditional elementary school, and the kinds of instruction and daily rhythm will reflect that conventional structure. Program offerings, staffing, attendance data, and discipline records were not available, so a parent interested in those specifics should contact the school or district directly.
Housing in Wellsville is affordable by state and national standards, and the village's compact layout means the school is walkable for families living nearby. The surrounding economy is modest, with no boom underway and no signs of rapid residential growth. For a family already living in the village or relocating there for other reasons, Daw offers a neighborhood school with active improvement efforts underway. For a family specifically choosing where to live based primarily on school strength, the proficiency data and the county-level position suggest looking at other options within the county.
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