Tuesday, May 31, 2016

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE - Doug Fries, Superintendent, Greenville City Schools

Spring 2016

With the close of the 2015-16 school year, it is time to congratulate another group of outstanding seniors who formally will become graduates on June 4, 2016. Two hundred and twenty graduates are scheduled to receive their diploma representing the Greenville Schools Class of 2016. The class has had many academic and extra-curricular accomplishments while at Greenville and we commend each and every graduate. We wish all graduates much success and happiness in their future endeavors. Graduates are now welcomed as our alumni.

Our district now turns its attention to the preparation for next year. Instructionally we continue to focus on teaching twenty first century learning skills to all of our students. We also continue to center our curriculum on national and state required learning standards and ongoing preparation for online assessments including the American Institute for Research (AIR), and End of Course Exams. We are confident the students and staff will become more adjusted to online assessments as we move forward.

At the high school next year, we will continue to implement the College Credit Plus courses for the second year. As you know, this replaced the former Post-Secondary Enrollment Option Program. The district works with both Edison State and Sinclair Community College on the College Credit Plus coursework. Many of our students took advantage of the C.C.P. program last year and we anticipate the same next year.

At the elementary level we are moving forward with our one to one initiative with technology at Woodland Primary School even further. We expect to have all students at Woodland using iPads next year. We also have supplemented our learning curriculum at Woodland with the E/Spark Learning. Four hundred twenty-six (426) students at Woodland participated in the E/Spark curriculum. This online instruction provides differentiated instruction beneficial to all students at their present reading and mathematics levels. Both kindergarten and first grade students saw great instructional percentile gains this year. Next year this program will expand to all students at the primary level, grades K-2, and perhaps even further. The E/Spark program mixed with our Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) online testing assessment are assisting us with reading level gains of our younger population of students.



Across the district, other curriculum plans for next year include the purchase of textbooks and supplemental material in the discipline of language arts and reading. We continue to incorporate a five-year cycle to upgrade our curriculum material by content area.

At the Career Tech Building, we plan to incorporate more use of our Advanced Manufacturing Lab for both high school students and the adult learning population. We are also striving to make continued improvement in our end of year career course Web Xam’s in both participation and skill attainment.

Summer school will again be offered at Greenville High School and East Elementary. The high school offers makeup courses through the virtual academy along with a blended health and physical education class. There is also Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) tutoring available to students who still need to pass a part of the test. At East, summer reading intervention is available for students who are behind in reading. Feel free to contact the buildings or district office if you need registration information.

Next year at the high school lunch will be closed to our 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students. We have a wonderful newly remodeled cafeteria and kitchen that is working out very well. Closing lunch will promote more academic instruction time which we are hopeful will continue to improve our district progress going forward.

Major permanent improvement projects at the high school this summer will be a parking lot improvement project, as well as, the cleaning and resealing of the terrazzo floors. We are also hopeful to complete new trophy cases at the front entrance and improvement to the wireless access points to enhance the technology delivery.

An update of the new K-8 construction project includes the following. Bruns Construction is working on Ohio Street improvements including access lanes and sidewalks and curbs, as well as courtyard development and perimeter downspout tile. Metcon is working on courtyard and playground sidewalk and hard surface play. Spencer Landscaping has mobilized and put in pipe tunnels in the courtyard and are preparing to do many miscellaneous site items. Chapel Electric is continuing to work with the masonry contractor, installing branch conduit and wire, installing fire alarm cable and devices and lighting installation throughout the building. Chapel subcontractor CRT is on site installing cable tray and pulling cable. Slagle Mechanical and Plumbing is continuing in wall rough ins and above ceiling piping and pipe insulation. They are also installing equipment, setting fixtures and testing systems. Hagerman Masons are continuing with interior non load bearing walls and putting veneer brick on the back of the building. They will soon be moving to the front. K and T Construction is putting wood blocking ahead of the roof installation and also completing interior wood blocking. TP Mechanical is piping rough ins for sprinkling lines and continuing with inspections. Precision Concrete will soon return for the pouring of courtyard pass through on both ends of the building. Kerkan Roofing continues to do roofing and metal wall panel installation working on the South end of the building. Greenville Glass in on site installing windows and translucent panels and they are also coordinating and building storefront doors. McKee Doors is installing coiling doors and overhead door at the dock in the near future. Valley Interiors continues with metal stud work and drywall hanging. McBride Brothers Painting is completing block fill, caulking and 1st coat of paint per schedule. F & M Tile and Terrazzo is on site installing terrazzo floor on the South end of the building. Farnham has begun to install cabinets and C & T Design has installed the walk in cooler/freezer. Thyssen Krupp will be installing the two elevators beginning in June. T & D Interiors will begin ceramic tile work in the near future, as well.

A listing of our final package of contractors for the project for technology, furnishings and playground equipment is as follows:

  • Classroom Equipment – Zimmerman
  • Office Equipment – IOS
  • Site Furnishings – Playworld
  • Technology Equipment – VEC
  • Cameras – SecurCom
  • Phones – NuWave

The district has also chosen to take an alternate of playground rubber poured in place safety surfacing for the K-4 playground area. The district would like to thank the Woodland Heights PTA for their donation to go toward this enhanced alternate on the playground.

I know the community, as well as the school district, look forward to continued progression of the new K-8 school. The district has also employed Lewis and Michael Moving and Storage to help with the move next December.

Thank you to all the parents and students from preschool through second grade who came out to the Family Reading Night event on May 12th. This summer reading program called “Kids Read Now” is an excellent reading initiative to offer and promote summer months reading. This is another initiative to promote our district reading improvement in our primary age students.

Congratulations to our thirteen students the Career Tech programs will be sending to national competition from FCCLA, HOSA and Skills USA. Six students from Careers with Children qualified for National FCCLA in San Diego, CA. In Med Tech’s first year of competition in HOSA, three students qualified for the national competition in Nashville, Tennessee. The Auto Tech program will send four students to the Skills USA National competition in Louisville, Kentucky. Three students will be sent with their alternative fuel project and one student qualified as an individual in diagnostics. Jondalar Apple is the first individual to qualify for National’s in Auto Tech.

Also congratulations to the Supply Chain Management Program who sent two students to the BPA National Leadership Conference in Boston, Massachusetts earlier in May. These students were both elected as Business Professionals of America State Officers this year. Adison Hart was the Parliamentarian and Haylee Haynes was the Secretary.

Finally, congratulations to Jeremy Eshbaugh, a junior at Greenville High School, who this year received National Merit Scholarship recognition by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for his high PSAT test score. He is now in further consideration for National Merit Scholarship.

The close of the 2015-16 school year will mark the retirement of some of our employees. Staff members retiring at the end of the year include Keith Denman, Reed Mikesell and Randy Swisher at the High School, and Deb Mendenhall at Memorial Hall. We wish all our retiring employees the very best in their future endeavors. Please join me in thanking each of these retiring employees for their dedication to Greenville Schools and our students.

We wish all of our students an enjoyable and safe summer vacation full of relaxing time with family and friends. The Superintendent’s Office is open all summer. As always, feel free to contact me by phone at 937-548-3185 or email at dfries@greenville.k12.oh.us with any questions you have about our district.

To all of our students, parents, staff and community members, have an enjoyable summer. We look forward to working with everyone again next Fall. Greenville Schools is a great place for students to learn and teachers to teach.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Featured Posts

/* Track outbound links in Google Analytics */