Hello all. It is time for another update. We have been fairly busy the past few months. First I will start off with a summary of all the big things from February and March, then I’ll summarize the April meeting.
Before I get into the summary of the last few months I would just like to remind everyone that there is an upcoming Levy on May 2nd. Xenia Schools is issue 7 and it is a renewal levy. This levy generates about 10% of our operating funds and it is extremely important. Since it is a renewal levy, that means that your taxes will not be raised. The funds from this levy go towards things like our AF JROTC program, athletics, teacher salaries, and any other regular program our schools offer. I hope that you will get out and vote and support the schools.
The February and March regular meetings were uneventful besides a few great presentations. We received a presentation on the current metrics from the school health center partnered with Dayton Children’s. The results so far have been incredibly positive. Students have been able to stay or return to classrooms quickly and there has already been an improvement in chronic absenteeism. I am very interested in seeing the actual numbers breakdown at the end of this school year and into the start of the next. As with any program, it is important to see what the impact is on the students and community. We also had a presentation on the curriculum we are adopting. This new curriculum is founded in good fundamentals and is well liked by our teachers. I asked that the books be out on display for the community to review for the past month at the Board office. They will also be added to our database online so they can be reviewed at any time. It is important that to me to continue to uphold my promise of transparency to the community. During this time the board also received the resignations of both Dr. Callahan, a fellow board member, and Mrs. Huber, the Treasurer. They both were excellent and served this district well for many years. They will be missed. What that meant though was that the Board now had to start a search for a new board member as well as a new Treasurer.
Throughout March the Board conducted a search for a new member. We received letters of interest from many great candidates, conducted interviews, and selected a new member. There were many factors that went through my mind while selecting who to interview and ultimately select. I had to consider the diversity of our community, the needs of our students and district, the direction the district needs to go, experience, and the ability of the board to work together. We ultimately selected Joshua Smith to fill the seat and I am excited to work with him.
Now for April. This month the agenda was again pretty light on anything new or exciting. We officially adopted the curriculum that I mentioned previously. We also officially swore in Josh Smith as a new board member. We had a great presentation on the high school alumni project. Our students throughout the month of February and for Black history month, interviewed black alumni from Xenia High School. They made an edited videos of the interviews and showed them every Friday. The interviews were fantastic and showed the kids what someone like them was able to achieve. The students have interviews already set up with a more diverse group of alumni throughout the rest of the year and hope to continue the interviews as a permanent thing. Here is a link to these awesome videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg2ho-MTWUaAvnqKFXMuV1rbA84xlrNT4. The Board also selected four candidates to interview this month for the Treasurer position.
Some other general updates for you. Warner Middle School is moving along at a rapid pace! It is on schedule and on budget and looking great. The Board is looking into naming something at Warner after the beloved principal, Mr. Golden, who recently passed. Later this month the demolition of the stands at the Doug Adams football stadium will take place and they will start building the new stands. Our athletics are doing great and we recently had some students win major competitions in the model UN and poetry. Also make sure you get out to see the Spring Musical at the high school the 13th through the 22nd!
As a short note for the future. Once we get past this hurdle of finding a new treasurer, I plan on beginning the process of updating our strategic plan for the district. A strategic plan is very important as it helps guide the district into the future with set goals with feedback and input from the community. We have a strategic plan that was put in place nearly 10 years ago. Last year the Board reviewed the plan and updated it some for near term goals. The strategic plan has a good foundation to build from, but it is time to reach out again to our stakeholders to build up our path into the future of Xenia Schools. Be on the lookout for events later this summer to get involved and provide input to our strategic plan.
Please send me any comments, concerns, feedback, or questions you may have. I serve you and I am here to represent you to the best of my abilities.
-Joshua Day
Joshua Day for Xenia School Board 