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Greenville City School District
Greenville City Schools Update January 2018
Superintendent Doug Fries

Greenville City Schools has had a great first semester of the 2017-18 school year, both academically and with extracurricular activities.  Thanks to the hard work of our students and staff and the support of our parents and community, the first semester is nearing the end and has been very educational and productive.  Our enrollment is up between 65 and 70 students this year.

Students returned from Winter Break this year on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.  There will be no school on Martin Luther King Day, January 15, 2018 and the first semester ends on Friday, January 19, 2018.  There will also be a staff workday on Monday, January 22, 2018 with no school for students. 

It has been wonderful to have our students and staff in the new K-8 facility for the first full year.  The community can continue to be proud of providing this state of the art facility for staff to educate our young elementary and middle school students for decades to come.  The new building is truly allowing for twenty first century learning and instruction to take place.  We are also fortunate this year to have most punch list items completed on the building.  The building has been functioning and performing as designed.

The K-8 complex continues to function with all bus drop off and pickups from the rear of the building and all parent drop off and pick ups from the front of the building.   We continue to appreciate everyone slowing down on Ohio Street and Main Street in the school zone to allow for a safe traffic flow.  The City of Greenville may soon add some pedestrian crossing lights on our two Ohio Street crossings which will assist our crossing guards.  The district would like to thank the City of Greenville for this anticipated new feature.

We have completed the demolition at the Jr. High and soon will be done at the former Woodland Heights building.  The asphalt parking lot will have to hold off until next Spring at Memorial Hall.  Storm drainage and grading work is complete.  Some curb and sidewalk work may take place over the Winter.  The fence will stay up around the perimeter of the parking lot until work is complete.

Our track and field complex is complete, short of the scoreboard, the Jennings Complex signage, a review of the light pole coverage and a few punch list items.  The additional parking lot between the high school gym and the new track and field complex consisting of over 70 spaces has been helpful.  Please use this additional parking for all Winter and Spring events.  Reminder, please do not park in the new entrance next to the tennis courts on Green Wave Way so the back three rows can be utilized at student events. 

We have been fortunate, thus far this school year, to have used few calamity days.  We are again operating on days, not hours, for our school year requirements.  Thus, we have five calamity days available to use before implementing any make-up days.  The established make up days for this school year, if needed, are February 19th, May 30th and 31st and June 1st and 4th.  February 19th would only be used if six days were missed before that day.  As we enter the coldest of the winter season, I encourage everyone to dress for the weather, particularly at bus stops, with heavy coats, hats, scarves and gloves.  We try hard to arrive on scheduled times at bus stops, but weather conditions sometimes dictate being a little behind to maintain safety.  I encourage all student drivers to take their time driving to and from school and in and around parking lots of the school throughout the winter season.

We will try to communicate school delays and cancellations by One call, on our Facebook page, Dayton television stations, the local Tiger radio station, as well as, putting on our website.

For the third straight year, our district has successfully implemented the College Credit Plus Program at the High School.  This program continues to benefit our students by allowing them to receive college credit while in high school.  We have more than one hundred students taking advantage of this program.  Next year our college Credit Program will expand to include Urbana, who is featuring an Education Major Program.  We will continue our programs with Edison State and Sinclair, as well.  Also at the High School, we have implemented for the second year MAP testing in grades nine and ten.  This is testing done three times during the year to measure student progress and help assist us in where students will perform on their end of course assessments.  The High School is working hard to meet required curriculum standards to prepare students for these end of course exams.

At the elementary level, we have advanced our one to one iPad technology program through the sixth grade.  All students K-6 are working with one to one technology initiative, as well as, the ESpark curriculum.  The district continues to use the Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) testing in the K-8.  Again, the MAP test is a close measure on our student performance for end of year required state assessments.

The Fall Third Grade Reading Guarantee results are back and this year we had 42% of our third graders pass the test in the Fall.  This is the highest percentage for the first-round test we have had.  This is a great sign for how our elementary curriculum, one to one iPad initiative, and ESpark programs are advancing.  A big salute to our elementary students and staff for this first round success and we hope for the same results in the Spring.

I’m very pleased to announce that Ohio’s State Board of Education has granted Greenville Junior High School a 2016-2017 Momentum Award.  Now in its third year, the Momentum Award program is the State Board’s way of recognizing schools that have received A’s on each Value-Added measure included on Ohio’s school and district report card.  Congratulations to the staff and students for keeping the learning momentum high!

The School’s report card for the 2016-2017 school year shows the pupils enjoyed greater than expected growth in reading and mathematics.  The school’s accomplishments make it a part of an elite group of schools that are ensuring the academic growth of students from every background and ability level.

Members of the State Board of Education congratulated the administration on their vision and on equipping our staff with the tools they needed to ensure academic growth for every child.  The State Board of Education wishes to convey their thanks to our teachers, support staff and parents for believing that every child can achieve.  They also commented that Greenville is a wonderful example for all Ohio Schools.

Special congratulations to our thirty-six high school juniors and seniors who were inducted into National Honor Society at Greenville High School on November 21, 2017.  This was a wonderful Tap Assembly coordinated by Advisors, Amber Warner and Lisa Beasecker.  I salute all our new inductees for their commitment to scholarship, leadership, service and character.  I also thank their parents and grandparents for the guidance they provide these students.

Other outstanding highlights from the first semester include the Greenville High School NJROTC Program and instructors, Captain Scott Eberwine and Chief Stephen Eldred, conducting successful Pass-In-Reviews on November 6, 2017.  They have also been selected as one of three units to represent Area 3 at the 2018 NJROTC National Orienteering Championship in Apopka, Florida.

Julie Brewer, our middle school art teacher, was honored for being the 2017 recipient of the Western Region’s Outstanding Art Teacher Award.  She has demonstrated a long-term commitment to supporting the visual arts and has impacted arts education in Ohio in a positive way.  Julie was nominated for this distinction from the membership of almost 2000 art educators statewide.  Congratulations, Julie, we are honored to have you as part of our teaching staff.

The Girls Tennis Team and Coaches Jim Koontz and Matthew Haupt broke the school record for most wins in a season.  We wish to thank the entire team for this achievement and their commitment to excellence.  Congratulations.  Natalie Milligan, Abby Swensen and Adie Haupt all advanced to the District Tournament.

Isabelle Rammel from Greenville’s Cross Country Team was a Regional Qualifier.  Congratulations to Isabelle, as well.

We again had some wonderful school performances by our band, orchestra, jazz scene and choirs of many grade levels before leaving for our Winter break.  I commend our students and directors and their assistants for their dedication to these performances.  The programs were each well done.  Thank you also to the community for your outstanding support and attendance at these events.

Our high school remains open to the community for walking in the evening through March 29, 2018.  It is open Monday through Thursday from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on days we have school.  Adult community members should sign in and out at the front doors.

Our latchkey program started this year at the K-8 complex is open to anyone who would like to register students for before or after school care.  Please contact Tiffany Labig at the K-8 building if you are interested in registration and fee information for the second semester.  We also plan to have a summer program available as an extension to the program.

In closing, let me again thank our entire community for your ongoing support of the Greenville School District.  I invite all community members, parents, grandparents to continue to be an active part of our school district.  Please feel free to attend as many student activities as your schedule allows.  The students, staff and administration appreciate your support.

Everyone is always welcome to call me at 937-548-3185 or email me at dfries@gcswave.com if you have any questions about our school district or school activities.  I hope you all had a wonderful Winter break.  Best wishes in the New Year and good luck to our students in the second semester.


 
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