A review of the 2014-15 school year in Tiffin City Schools

Superintendent Vicki Wheatley The Tiffin City Schools 2014-2015 school year was packed with new and sometimes frustrating mandates. New this year to Tiffin City Schools was the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System that provided valuable insight with the performance of our teachers. Tiffin City Schools made the decision to keep the original framework of 50 percent student growth measures and 50 percent teacher performance. The new evaluation system is thorough and time consuming for all; however, well worth the effort to assure our students are being provided with the very best teachers. Our building principals were evaluated with a similar system, the Ohio Principal Evaluation System, during the 2013-2014 school year, so the format was familiar to them and helped with the guidance for evaluating teachers. Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, schools had to comply with minimum hours of instruction instead of a minimum number of school days. The guidance for the switch was provided by the Ohio Department of Education. The minimums: 455 hours for students in half-day kindergarten. 910 hours for students in full-day kindergarten through grade 6. 1,001 hours for students in grades 7-12. As we know, we had another long and cold winter, and the all-too-familiar calamity makeup changed as well. Districts that changed to an hour-based schedule no longer had calamity days. Instead, schools were permitted to schedule “excess” hours above the minimum number. Hours missed above the minimum did not have to be made up. Tiffin City Schools scheduled hours in excess above the minimum number and therefore, did not have to make up hours. In addition, a public hearing was required before approving the 2015-2016 and beyond school calendars. We held our public hearing and gleaned insight from members of the community. Other challenging changes were the assessment requirements of Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers for mathematics and English and American Institute for Research for science and social studies. But, June 30, Gov. John Kasich banned PARCC and directed Ohio’s superintendent of public instruction, Richard Ross, to determine another vendor to replace PARCC assessments. July 1, Ross announced Ohio would use AIR to replace PARCC for mathematics and English. Another new program initiated by the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Department of Education was the College Credit Plus Program. The program is similar to the known dual enrollment and post-secondary enrollment option; however, it combines the two and expands the program to include seventh- and eighth-grade students. Tiffin City Schools kicked off a wellness program in which monthly activities were scheduled and offered to all employees of the district. Tiffin City Schools committed to be fit and continues with that commitment. Activities included Dancing for Fun and Fitness, circuit training, spinning, Drumming for Fitness, yoga, and a healthy cooking demonstration facilitated by Chef Valerie Zeno from Sentinel along with her students. The end of the year concluded with a biggest loser challenge. We have started the process to update Charting The Course and have invited community members to help us move forward with process. It is important to initiate a process by which the school district and community build ongoing, permanent relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision. Our most rewarding work has been the development of our new pre-kindergarten program and the facility work being completed at the Lincoln building. We have hired our staff, two pre-kindergarten intervention specialists and two aides who have a combined 50 years of experience. The curriculum has been selected and the staff has been trained. We had an open house for our potential students and for those who have committed to attend. We will host an open house for the public in August prior to the opening of the school year. We are pleased to have expanded our partnership with Tiffin YMCA as our Lincoln before- and after-care providers and have started a new partnership with Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center. Both opportunities will benefit the students of Tiffin City Schools. Lincoln pre-kindergarten and Special Education Department Jeremy Koppus The 2014-2015 academic year has come to a close. It has been a time of challenge and celebration for those involved in the special education department. This year brought us a huge change as we launched our use of Progress Book’s special services software. The program will be utilized for the development and organization of our individual education plans and evaluation team reports. We also have taken steps to establish “low incidents” units in our district. These units will function in place of the “multiple disabilities” units that were housed in our buildings in years past. This is a great opportunity for Tiffin City Schools and the students being educated in our buildings. They not only will allow for more movement of students in and out of the units, but it will enhance their involvement with their peers in ways that had been limited in the past. We look forward to working with and involving our students in the community as they develop the skills needed to successfully and independently navigate the world around them. Another change with the closing of the 2014-2015 school year is the much-anticipated opening of the Lincoln pre-kindergarten. The children of Tiffin City Schools will, for the first time, be able to receive their entire education through programs develop, staffed and evaluated by Tiffin City Schools. A solid foundation for educational development is critical, and TCS now can shape this foundation to better enable students to reach the educational milestones as they enter school age. The first special education retreat for TCS was June 23-25. These three days were geared toward the development of the special education department and the many individuals who play a role in it. We hope this event will grow in the coming years. It also was during the 2014-2015 school year that TCS hosted its first informational fair. This event brought together many community agencies and supports for families, it also allowed for the sharing of information related to the individual educational plan process. Another positive first for the district. Washington K-1 Kelly Stahl Washington K-1 had a very successful year! Our new kindergarteners learned the daily routines of the classroom, lunchroom and dismissal, and mastered the academic expectations of Common Core. Our first-graders became the leaders in the school, modeling how to behave in the hallways and in the lunchroom, as well as developing their skills in making connections, asking questions and processing new information. We are very proud of the growth that all students have made! Washington students also learned about giving generously. Students donated 12 boxes of food to The Salvation Army at Christmastime and filled 80 stockings for the soldiers. In March, they participated in Hoops for Heart and raised over $5,000, a $2,000 increase over the previous year. In May, the students donated almost $1,000 to Pennies for Patients and they brought in four bags of shoes for the local shoe drive sponsored by Heidelberg University. Our students are young, but they are learning a great deal about the Six Pillars of Character and how to be good citizens and care about others. Our students also made many special memories during the past year. They frosted cookies at the Washington Winter Wonderland celebration and shared hands-on activities during COSI on Wheels. Everyone celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday by eating green eggs and ham, as well as dressing as their favorite Seuss character. The year came to an end with a wonderful ocean-themed field day, complete with two jumping houses. We hope that all of the boys and girls will look back on their time at Washington with fondness and appreciate the strong educational foundation that was build during those years. Krout 2-3 Doug Hartenstein At Krout 2-3 Elementary, we conducted a successful reading incentive program called the “Battle of the Krout Reading Stars.” Students earned “stars” for successfully completing various reading activities. Our students earned over 9,000 stars during the program. Through donations from the Tiffin Columbian Alumni Association and the Altrusa Club of Tiffin, each student at the end of the program received their own book to take home. Krout implemented a successful before-school walking program. We challenged our students to walk enough miles to cover the distance from Tiffin to Hollywood, California, and back over the course of the school year. Despite the harsh winter months, our students persevered to walk approximately 2,400 miles! I would like to congratulate and thank our Krout students, staff and families on another outstanding school year. Great job! Noble 4-5 Mike Newlove The Noble 4-5 staff and students continued to build on many of the great things that have been implemented over the past couple of years, as well as had many exciting firsts. Our fifth-grade end-of-year assembly showcased many students who earned the academic and attendance rewards they had worked hard to achieve over the past two years. Our K-kids service organization and choir grew in student participation. The end-of-year PTO-sponsored field trip for fifth-graders to COSI was once again a successful, final highlight for the fifth-graders. The field day was a huge hit for students as the rain held off once again! Last, numerous new initiatives in curriculum and assessments were put into effect and worked through. The staff and students were very thankful for parent and community help this year and look forward to a successful 2015-16. Tiffin Middle School Bob Boes Throughout the school year, our TMS Student Ambassadors, a student leadership program that fosters a positive school climate, plans and promotes many activities for our student body to participate in. May 20, the Ambassadors created a “Challenge Day” for the entire student body. The theme of the day was centered around overcoming our obstacles in life … to take the challenges we experience and use them to grow. The Student Ambassadors planned team-building activities for all of the students, focusing on the topic as well as watching a movie titled “Front of the Class.” In addition, Mike Hallett, head football coach of Heidelberg University, came and spoke with the students about obstacles and being a great leader in life. The day was a great experience for everyone involved and provided our students additional tools to become successful young adults. Tiffin Columbian High School Larry Kisabeth May 14, we had recognition night. Many students received A’s as they were recognized for Achievements in Academics, the Arts and Athletics. At that point in time, the Class of 2015 had $4,437,614 offered in scholarship money for furthering their education. Of that total, $2,138,189 was going to be used by our graduating class. Senior exams were May 22, 26 and 27. Underclassmen exams were May 29, June 1 and June 3. The Class of 2015 graduated June 6 on a bright, sunlit football field as part of the 151st commencement exercises of Columbian High School. The commencement audience was welcomed by seniors Erika Shultz, Nathaniel Gilmer and Susan Wagner. Senior class member Julianne Peacock delivered the commencement address. Vice president of the class, Anthony Currier, presented the class to the Tiffin City Board of Education for their acceptance for graduation. Class President Trenton Thacker presided over the turning of the tassel ceremony. Grant Reinbolt, Katherine Repp and Elena Penhos gave the farewell. Graduating from Columbian High School were 174 students who successfully fulfilled all of the requirements set forth by the Tiffin City Board of Education and the state of Ohio. Columbian Athletic Department Derek Lewis It was another busy, successful year for the athletic department at Columbian High School in 2014-2015. Due to the many generous people in our community, we were able complete the stadium renovation project. The updates to our facility again have put us on the map as having one of the best high school stadiums in all of northwest Ohio. Our student-athletes continue to do great things on the playing field as well as in the classroom. Many student-athletes received league and state honors for their athletic performances. Our students also excelled in the classroom and several were honored on the state level being named Academic All-Ohio in their respective sports. Columbian High School and the city of Tiffin continue to be a desired destination for state-level tournaments. In the past school year, Columbian High School again hosted many tournaments. Starting in the fall, the Tiffin Cross Country Carnival was another huge success. Last year, we had over 6,000 runners take part in this amazing event. Columbian High School also hosted OHSAA state football playoffs, regional cross country, district and regional soccer, sectional basketball and district and regional track. Gifted Department Paula Zirm Gifted and talented students had a banner year in 2014-2015, celebrating many academic and arts successes. Our Tiffin Middle School Quiz Bowl team remained undefeated throughout all nine matches at the Academic Challenge at Heidelberg University in May. The Columbian High School Quiz Bowl team also won their NOL Academic Challenge in February. The National Geographic Geography Bee in December saw its first female winner when sixth-grader Calista Morrison bested her competitors. The countywide 24 Math Game Tournament at Tiffin University in May had our fifth-graders sweeping the medals, with Bryce Burns taking third, Tyler Yandura second and Andrew Shawberry placing first. Logan Beason took second among area fourth-graders and Mia Ingalls walked away with first place in grade 6. Fourth- and fifth-grade gifted students participated in the NOETIC Learning math contest this spring, with over half of them receiving national honorable mention for their performance. Fourth-grader Aadi Bhavsar and fifth-grader Cole Newlove received top honors among their respective teams. Many of our gifted musicians received superior ratings at OMEA Solo & Ensemble Contest this year. Our gifted artists at Columbian who took Senior Portfolio and Advanced Art classes competed in the 2015 Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition regional competition at Willard High School and received 25 of the 85 awards given that day in February. Columbian students Sagan Kahler, Madison Auble and Shayla Thomas received superior ratings at the State Science Fair this spring. The district is pleased to support students in achieving success at their full learning potential, including those who are gifted and talented. Congratulations to these students and the many others who achieved personal academic successes this year. Technology Department Marisa Brown The technology department had a busy year at TCS. Our first year with online testing brought many challenges and successes, as we were able to test grades 4-12 completely online. The increased number of new computers purchased last summer proved helpful in implementing these tests. Technology upgrades this year also include updated interactive boards throughout the district and new computers for faculty and staff. The upcoming summer looks to bring us more new equipment to replace outdated technologies for our teachers. Transportation Department Randy Conger The average number of students transported to school was 683 per day. The average miles driven to transport those students were 933 miles per day. This was accomplished with 21 morning and afternoon routes along with four mid-day routes. In May, the transportation department took possession of two new 48-passenger school buses. These buses were put into service prior to the end of the school year. We are proud of our safe driving record this past year, as we had no accidents that were reportable. We have two new substitute bus drivers who will complete their training over the summer. The transportation department is working on the 2015-2016 school year routes. The eligibility for next year remains the same as last year. Grade K-5 is eligible if their residence is more than one-half mile from the building the child will be attending. Grade 6-8 is eligible if their residence is more than two miles from Tiffin Middle School. We sent home eligibility letters in May to those students who will be eligible for transportation next year. If you need to register for transportation or check your eligibility, you can refer to the website or call the transportation office. We are open daily 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at (419) 447-8729 Maintenance Department Scott Daniel As the 2014-2015 fall sports season started last fall, athletes and fans enjoyed the changes to the Frost-Kalnow stadium. The renovations included new turf on the field, improved lighting and a new scoreboard with a giant video display. This was all possible because of the generous donations of our donors. During winter break, the old wooden doors that led to the serving lines at Columbian High School were replaced with roll-up steel garage doors. The change in doors brought better security for the kitchen inventory. Starting early spring, the Lincoln pre-kindergarten building renovations began. Maintenance crews have spent countless hours cleaning, adding air conditioning and making the building meet preschool standards. The Lincoln pre-kindergarten is slated to open in August.