May 2010
Community Engagement Efforts
Receive Positive Comments
By Rob Walker
Superintendent, Lancaster City Schools
The Lancaster City
Schools began their
Community Engagement
Process in mid-February
with the goal of conducting
40 to 50 Community
Engagement “Coffees” in
people’s homes to groups
of 12 to 15 people. The
purpose is to discuss some
important decisions and
Rob Walker
Superintendent
challenges the district will
face in the future with
the sole expectation of getting feedback from
the community about these issues and any other
concerns.
Information about the Community Engagement
Process was distributed through Chalkmarks,
Lancaster Schools Network – cable access channel,
an article in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette and a
mass mailing to all Lancaster City School residents.
In late March, the mass mailing was delivered to all
residents with a prepaid postcard offering everyone
a choice of option(s) that included ...
1.Host a coffee discussion.
2.Attend a coffee discussion.
3.Talk personally with a School Board Member.
4.Be kept informed about the progress of these
discussions.
The community’s response has been
outstanding. We have had more than 400 postcards
returned with the following results:
1.More than 30 people have indicated a desire to
host a coffee discussion.
2.More than 150 people have stated they would
like to attend a coffee discussion.
3.More than 15 people have requested to be called
personally by a School Board member.
4.Finally, more than 300 people have requested
to be kept informed about the progress of the
discussions.
In addition, by the end of May, we will have
conducted more than 40 Community Engagement
“Coffees” to small groups of 12 to 15 people
throughout the district.
Although we had planned to conclude the
Community Engagement “Coffees” by the end
of May, we have decided to continue the process
in August so we can schedule the additional 30
“Coffees” to meet the requests from our mass
mailing. Therefore, we will not conduct our final
meeting to share the results until November 2010
at the Lancaster High School auditorium so that
everyone who is interested in participating in the
discussion will have that opportunity. We will
also be holding four “Coffees” in four elementary
See COMMUNITY, page 8
What’s
Inside ...
Answers to Your
Most-Often Asked
Questions . . . . . . . . . . .
2
District Wins Award for
Financial Reporting . . . .
3
McCormick Earns Support
Staff Award . . . . . . . . . .
4
How Do We
Compare . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
Tarhe Wins Books to
Donate to Charities . . . .
6
GALES Program Makes
Learning Fun . . . . . . . . .
9
Cosmetology Program
Prepares Students
For a Career . . . . . . . . . 10
2
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
From the Board President
You Have Questions ...
We Have Answers
By Bill Bickham
President, Board of Education
In the last issue of Chalkmarks, I answered
a number of questions I have been asked since
becoming a Board member. Because the article
was well-received, I will answer some additional
questions in this issue.
Is it true that in the future, all missed school days
will have to be made-up?
In the past, if a district was forced to cancel a
regular day, it did not have to schedule a makeup
day until five days had been cancelled. Beginning
next school year, that number drops to three days,
and the following year, all missed days must be
rescheduled. This change is a part of the state’s plan
to move to a longer school year.
For the 2010-2011 school year, the scheduled
makeup days are as follows: April 18, which is the
first scheduled day of Spring break; then April 19,
April 20, April 21 and June 6.
Why do so many districts have new buildings and
Lancaster does not?
Most of these new buildings can be attributed to
the work of the Ohio School Facilities Commission
(OSFC) The OSFC was established more than 10
years ago and provides funding and management
oversight to all of Ohio’s 612 school districts for the
construction of facilities.
All districts are annually ranked from the lowest
to the highest by Average Adjusted Valuation per
Pupil. A district’s valuation is based on a threeyear average of the total value of all property in the
district as assessed for tax purposes. The lower a
district’s ranking, the greater the amount the state
will pay toward a project. Each year, some schools
are offered state financial assistance for a building
project. Once a district is offered funds, it must
pass a bond issue that will pay for its share of the
project before the state will move forward.
In 1999, the Amanda School District was
funded and the state paid 85% of the cost of its new
facilities. In 2005, the Fairfield Union District was
funded and the state paid 72% of the cost of its new
facilities.
Our district hasn’t been offered OSFC funds
yet. Based on this year’s valuation, the state would
pay 30% toward the cost of a Lancaster District
building project. It is projected that we might
receive an offer from the OSFC within the next
three to five years. When that happens, it will be up
to the voters of our community to decide whether
or not we proceed.
There is much more to this complex issue than
I can cover in this limited amount of space, but I
would be happy to provide more information in
the future if there is an expressed interest.
What does the District plan to do with North
School?
North School has now been closed for more
than 5 years. The facility was deteriorating when it
was closed. As you might suspect, deterioration has
accelerated since the closing.
Your Board recently received a startling report
from Lancaster Police Chief Dave Bailey, that
outlined 85 responses that Lancaster Police Officers
made to the North School site during 2009. These
runs were made because of phone calls reporting
a variety of illegal and questionable activities that
were occurring on the North School property.
Questions and comments about the North
School property have been raised at almost 100%
of the Community Coffees that have been held so
far this year. The overwhelming recommendation
is that North School should be razed as soon as
possible.
No final decision has been made by the Board
concerning the future of North School, but I
believe that the evidence points toward community
support for demolishing the facility.
Lancaster City Schools
345 East Mulberry Street
Lancaster, Ohio 43130
(740) 687-7300
(740) 687-7303 (Fax)
Administration
Rob Walker.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Superintendent
Julie Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Treasurer
Steve Wigton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Human Resources
Jerry Rainey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Business Office
Kevin Snyder. . . Education Information and Technology Services
Donna McCance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Student Services
Jenny O’Hare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Instructional Services
Board of Education
Bill Bickham, President (right) ................................653-0783
Amy Eyman, Vice President (center).......................654-2417
Gary Mauller (left) ......................................................654-0279
Hollie Saunders (second from right)..........................407-9410
Kathy Kittredge (second from left) ...........................681-1997
Our Vision
“A community focused on student achievement”
Our Mission
“To prepare students of all ages to meet academic, social, civic,
cultural, and employment needs of the 21st Century”
No Child Left Behind Notification
Parents may request information regarding the
professional qualifications of their student's classroom
teachers, including:
• If the teacher has met state qualification and licensing
criteria for the grade level and subject areas taught;
• If the teacher is teaching under emergency or
provisional status;
• Baccalaureate degree major, graduate certification,
and field of discipline;
• Whether the student is provided services by
paraprofessionals and if so, their qualifications.
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
3
News From The Schools
District Receives Award for Financial Reporting
The Certificate of Achievement in Financial
Reporting has been awarded to the Lancaster City
School District by the Government Finance Officers
Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA)
for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of
recognition in the area of governmental accounting
and financial reporting, and its attainment represents
a significant accomplishment by a government and its
management.
An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement has
been awarded to the individual, department or agency
designated by the government as primarily responsible
for the preparing the award-winning CAFR, this award
has been presented to Julie Taylor, Treasurer.
The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel
to meet the high standards of the program including
demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure”
to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate
potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.
The FY09 CAFR can be found on our website at
www.lancaster.k12.oh.us under the Treasurer’s link.
LHS Alumni Association
Anounces Gale Pride Event
The Lancaster High School Alumni Association
(LHSAA) will host a special open house on Saturday,
July 3, at the Stanbery Campus between the Fourth of
July parade and the fireworks.
The doors of the Stanbery Campus entrances to the
auditorium and the gymnasium will be opened to LHS
Alumni and their friends and relatives from 12:30 to
5 p.m. Ron Ramey, class of 1953 and former principal
at Stanbery Freshman School, will conduct tours
every half hour starting at 1 p.m., with the last tour
beginning at 4:30. There will be an alumni band and
chorus performing in the auditorium at 2:30 p.m., and
food and beverages will be available for purchase.
The alumni association along with the Lancaster
Public Education Foundation, the Lancaster High
School Distinguished Hall of Fame and the Lancaster
City Schools will have personnel at various tables set
up in the hallways between the auditorium and the
gymnasium. Memorabilia, souvenirs and applications
will be available.
Class of 2010 Graduation
Ceremony Set for June 6
The Lancaster High School 2010 Commencement
Ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June
6, at Fulton Field.
In the event of inclement weather, commencement will be held in the LHS gymnasium. Each
senior will receive four tickets at rehearsal for
family and friends to use should the ceremony be
moved indoors. If the ceremony is held indoors,
there will be overflow seating in the auditorium,
where graduation can be viewed via closed circuit
television.
If it is necessary to move the ceremony indoors,
it will be announced through the District’s Penn
Alert system, the District’s website and on LSN
starting at 10 a.m. on June 6. Family and friends of
graduates who need handicapped-accessible seating
may call 681-7560 to obtain a ticket to enter the area.
Handicapped seating will be on the track, and each
ticket will admit the bearer and one guest to the
handicapped seating area.
Bowdish Throws Out Final
Pitch as Athletic Director
Lancaster baseball coach Cory Miller and the
LHS baseball team honored Merwyn Bowdish as he
prepares to end his stint as athletic director. Prior to
the May 4 game between the Gales and Zanesville, Mr.
Bowdish threw out the first pitch. The ceremony was
held in recognition of Mr. Bowdish’s years of service as
a teacher, coach and athletic director.
4
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
News From The Schools
McCormick Recognized for Dedication
By John Paul Anders and Betsy Noll
LHS Journalism Students
Carolyn “Sue”
McCormick has
just recently been
recognized by the
Lancaster City
Schools for her
outstanding service
as a managing cook
at East Elementary.
Her concern for
each child and
her display of
dedication to her
job has made her a
prime candidate for
this recognition.
Sue has been
running the kitchen
at East for more than 20 years.
“The hours, the accompanying staff and all the kids
here are great. I love my job as much today just as I did
20 years ago,” she said as she helped students balance
their lunch accounts.
During her years at East, McCormick has battled
breast cancer. She said that she got a great deal of
support from the students and the staff, but there was
one person who stood out to her the most.
“Mrs. Cowles was there for me through it all,” she
said.
It is very evident that she has a true passion for her
job as she didn’t miss a beat in her work throughout
the entire interview. How can she stop to talk
when there are so many mouths to feed? Hers is an
important job at East.
“Sue is one of the hardest working individuals I have
ever met. Her caring attitude towards the students at
East Elementary is amazing and shows in her smile
each day. She is one of the true role models for our
kids and they understand how important she is to the
school,” Principal Nathan Hale concluded.
LHS Teacher Earns Community
Craftsman Award from Minwax
By Clay Messner and Derek Bycofski
LHS Journalism Students
Once a year, Minwax selects a winner of their
Community Craftsman Award. This honor is given to
organizations and individuals who give back to their
community through woodworking. The 2010 Minwax
award was presented to Lancaster’s own Andy Phillips,
carpentry teacher at Lancaster High School.
Phillips was selected from more than 100 applicants
to receive the $5,000 grant. It has taken five years of
hard work to finally win the award.
“It’s good to use our time during school to help
out in the community any way we can,” senior Matt
Redman said.
Mr. Phillips’ class has done many things for the
community. Within the last two years they have
finished a house
for Habitat for
Humanity and
also built dog
houses for the
animal shelter.
During the
holiday season,
the carpentry
class gives time
to Toys for
Tots and builds
rocking horses
and toys for needy
children.
“Giving back
to the community
is a rewarding
experience,” says Phillips.
The official ceremony of the award was held May
13 at Lancaster High School. Bruce Johnson, Vice
President of Minwax, was on hand to present the award
to Mr. Phillips.
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
News From The Schools
How Do We Compare?
Lancaster City Schools proud of Ohio Graduation Test results
Reading
1. Gahanna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.4
2. Pickerington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.4
3. Bloom-Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.1
4. Fairfield Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90.9
5. Westerville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90.7
6. Canal Winchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.8
7. Marysville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.6
8. Reynoldsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.3
9. LANCASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.0
10. Logan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.5
11. Liberty Union-Thurston . . . . . . . . . 87.5
12. Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.2
13. Amanda-Clearcreek . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.7
14. Walnut Township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.5
15. Berne Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.2
16. Newark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.5
17. Zanesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.7
18. Columbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69.8
Writing
1. Gahanna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95.8
2. Westerville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94.8
3. LANCASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.6
4. Reynoldsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.4
5. Marysville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.9
6. Pickerington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.5
7. Canal Winchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.4
8. Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91.8
9. Fairfield Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90.9
10. Bloom-Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90.8
11. Newark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.9
12. Logan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.6
13. Zanesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.7
14. Liberty Union-Thurston . . . . . . . . . 86.5
15. Columbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.0
16. Amanda-Clearcreek . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.0
17. Walnut Township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.6
18. Berne Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.7
Science
1. Pickerington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.9
2. Fairfield Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.7
3. Bloom-Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.1
4. Gahanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.0
5. LANCASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.3
6. Westerville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.9
7. Canal Winchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.7
8. Marysville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.9
9. Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.8
10. Berne Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.8
11. Reynoldsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.3
12. Amanda-Clearcreek . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.9
13. Walnut Township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76.8
14. Logan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.5
15. Liberty Union-Thurston . . . . . . . . . 75.0
16. Newark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.0
17. Zanesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.8
18. Columbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.7
Math
1. Pickerington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97.9
2. Fairfield Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97.4
3. Bloom-Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.1
4. Liberty Union-Thurston . . . . . . . . 90.5
5. Gahanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90.3
6. Westerville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.9
7. Marysville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.4
8. Berne Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.4
9. LANCASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.7
10. Logan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.5
11. Amanda-Clearcreek . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.4
12. Reynoldsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.1
13. Canal Winchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.9
14. Newark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.9
15. Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.7
16. Walnut Township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.1
17. Zanesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.8
18. Columbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.9
Social Studies
1. Pickerington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.9
2. Fairfield Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.2
3. Westerville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.9
4. Gahanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.9
5. Bloom-Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89.4
6. LANCASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.7
7. Canal Winchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.8
8. Marysville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.0
9. Reynoldsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.4
10. Logan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.2
11. Newark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.6
12. Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.2
13. Amanda-Clearcreek . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.1
14. Liberty Union-Thurston . . . . . . . . . 81.3
15. Walnut Township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.7
16. Berne Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.7
17. Zanesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.6
18. Columbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.7
5
6
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
News From The Schools
Tarhe Fifth-Graders Win Books to Donate
Mrs. Sines at Tarhe Elementary and her
fifth grade class recently won the “Care Where
You Are” Sweepstakes, a national sweepstakes
sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs and soon
will be donating their prize – 500 books from
Scholastic . The students chose to donate the
books to the following:
• Shepherd’s house in McArthur
• Homeless Shelter in Lancaster
• Children’s Hospital in Memory of Paige
Weaver
• Foster Agency for Fairfield Co.
The prizewinners were participants in
Scholastic Book Clubs’ ClassroomsCare program
– a philanthropic literacy initiative that encourages
reading by asking classrooms across the country
to read 100 books and, in turn, Scholastic Book
Clubs will donate up to one million books to kids
in need.
Out of more than 12,000 classes that entered the
sweepstakes, Mrs. Sines’ class was one of only 200
across the nation to win the prize, including the
opportunity to help determine where the donated
books would do the most good in their own
community.
ClassroomsCare is designed to empower
students around the country to make a difference
in the world. The program distributes more
than one million books each year. And with
an additional 100,000 books being donated
to countless organizations by the winners
of the “Care Where You Are” Sweepstakes,
ClassroomsCare is extending its reach even
further.
“My students and I were so excited when we
found out we won this sweepstakes!” said Mrs.
Sines. “We love ClassroomsCare, and it’s even
better that we were able to donate the books we
won to local charities. My students have been
reading a lot this year, and now they’re learning
how special it is to give, especially to those less
fortunate.”
“The ‘Care Where You Are’ Sweepstakes is a
very important part of ClassroomsCare because
kids really see what they’ve accomplished,” said
Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book
Clubs. “The ClassroomsCare program has been
enormously successful in distributing more than
nine million books since 2001 to kids in need
through national organizations such as Reach
Out and Read and Save the Children. With ‘Care
Where You Are,’ we can make students our charity
partners too.”
ClassroomsCare is an annual challenge to the
1 million classrooms that use Scholastic Book
Clubs. Participating classes read 100 books,
triggering a donation of books from Scholastic
Book Clubs to ClassroomsCare’s charity partners.
The books are then donated throughout the year
to kids in preschool to middle school who in many
cases would not otherwise have books of their
own.
Classrooms keep track of books read on posters
and online and then tell Scholastic when they’ve
finished. Any books kids read in the classroom,
with their parents or on their own count toward
the goal. Teachers also can use lesson plans and
activities available at http://classroomscare.
scholastic.com to incorporate this program into
their curriculum.
By the numbers:
Scholastic Book Clubs ClassroomsCare by the
numbers = literacy all around:
• 27,114,500* kids have read for
ClassroomsCare since 2001
• 9,000,000 - books donated to charities
through ClassroomsCare
• 1,084,580 - classrooms have participated in
ClassroomsCare
• 117,458,000 – Total Books Read because of
ClassroomsCare
*The number of kids who have read for
ClassroomsCare was calculated by multiplying the
number of participating classrooms by 25.
Scholastic Book Clubs is a division of Scholastic
(NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s
publishing, education and media company.
For more information, visit Scholastic on the
web at our online media room
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
7
News From The Schools
West Third-Grader Wins State Poster Contest
Tallmadge Students Create Unique Mother’s Day Gifts
Grace Holbrook, a third grade student at West Elementary, was chosen as a state
poster contest winner by the State Fire Marshal’s Department. Earlier in the year,
Grace’s fire safety poster was chosen by the Lancaster City Fire Department as
one of two winners for the city. Her poster was then submitted at the state level.
In front of the students and staff at West Elementary, Grace received a plaque, a
certificate, a laminated copy of her poster and a fire dog. This is quite an honor,
as only 12 posters were chosen from thousands of submissions across the state.
Congratulations, Grace! Her poster can be seen by going to
www.com.ohio.gov/fire/FireSafetyPoster2009.aspx
Students in Mrs. Summers’ fourth grade class created unique Mother’s Day gifts with
recycled materials. Students learned about reusing materials that are found around
the house and then created their projects using “trash.” Students created their
purple hyacinths with old water bottles and plastic six pack rings.
8
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
East Elementary School
to Host Zane Trace Event
Lancaster City Schools
Elementary Schools
Cedar Heights 687-7334
Jeromey Sheets, Ed.D., Principal East 687-7338
Nathan Hale, Principal
Medill 687-7352
Sandra Svoboda, Ed.D., Principal
Sanderson 687-7354
Carol Spires, Principal
South 687-7340
Robin Cathers, Principal
Tallmadge 687-7336
Brian Lawson, Principal
Chief Tarhe 687-7330
Dustin Knight, Principal
West 687-7332
Terri Garrett, Principal
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
General Sherman 687-7344
Dennis Leone, Ph.D., Interim Principal
Thomas Ewing 687-7347
Steve Poston, Principal
LANCASTER HIGH SCHOOL
681-7500
Jack Greathouse, Principal
Nathan Conrad, Assistant Principal
Anthony Knickerbocker,
Assistant Principal/Career-Technical Director
Merwyn Bowdish, Athletic Director
On Tuesday, June 1, East Elementary School will host a ceremony to unveil an Ohio Historical Marker
recognizing the crossing of the original “Zane’s Trace” on the grounds of the current playground.
Students in Lisa Schisler’s fourth grade class made the discovery earlier this year while researching
a unit for her Ohio History class. After contacting the Ohio Historical Society, the students held a
coin drive to help raise funds for the marker. Rob Libbee, Joe Carson, the Lancaster Kiwanis and
the East Elementary PTO also made donations to help purchase the marker. The ceremony will take
place at 10:00 a.m. in front of the school.
COMMUNITY, from page 1
buildings this September that will be able to
accommodate more than 100 people in each
meeting for those who want to attend but were not
invited to a small group “Coffee”. The schedule for
the four “coffees” is listed below:
• September 2 – Tallmadge Elementary, 6:30 p.m.
• September 13 – Tarhe Elementary, 6:30 p.m.
• September 21 – Medill Elementary, 6:30 p.m.
• September 30 – West Elementary, 6:30 p.m.
We are very happy and pleased with the
community participation to this point and
look forward to sharing the feedback from the
engagement process in November!
If you have not been contacted and would like to
participate, please contact Gabrielle Ronan in the
Central Office at 687.7300 or via e-mail at
[email protected]
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
9
News From The Schools
GALES Program Makes Learning Fun for Students
By Marna Roselle
Gifted Services Coordinator
Can you imagine ... world without energy? You
would not be able to play video games, watch television
or read at night. Cars and trucks would be stranded on
the side of the road.
What does energy have to do with Earth’s natural
events? Plants wouldn’t even grow. Without energy,
life as we know it simply would not happen! Energy
is all around us. These are the kinds of questions
being explored by students through the Renzulli
Learning System. These students are part of the Giving
Accelerated Learning to Enrich Students program,
more commonly known as GALES.
During the 2008-2009 school year, Lancaster City
Schools adopted the Renzulli Learning System. Using
this system, the GALES students are able to facilitate
safe research on the internet. It provides engaging,
individualized activities for students that are based
on personal interests and learning styles. This system
allows GALES students to receive differentiated
enrichment and instruction, while completing
independent projects. A Grade 4 GALES student
recently shared, “I get to do fun projects that teach me
a lot about the topic. It improves my writing skills. I can
think of things in new ways.”
At the beginning of the year, students completed
an interest profile, which included their learning
styles and product preferences. Using these profiles,
the system gave the students safe research websites
that have been checked by educational experts. The
Renzulli Learning System is designed so students can
access their activities from their homes or classrooms.
This enhances their learning, and their enjoyment
of learning. Two Grade 5 GALES students made
the following comments, “I like Gales because we
get an accelerated learning experience, we get to do
independent studies, and we get to do projects that we
are interested in.” The other Grade 5 GALES student
added, “I like GALES because we get to do all the
advanced things, like Renzulli.”
After student interest profiles were developed,
the students started their research by investigating
energy in its many forms. By using the next part of the
program called the Renzulli Project Maker unit, their
research became a logical inquiry into their chosen
energy topic. This study culminated with individual
projects on various aspects of energy. These projects
demonstrated their knowledge and reflected their
GALES Program participants Madison Fette, Kamryn Peters and Alyssa Tobin take a break from their computer work to
smile for the camera.
individual learning styles. They presented reports,
constructed models, wrote magazine and newspaper
articles and performed plays! A Grade 5 student made
the following insightful comment, “I like the fact that
we get to do a lot of research and spend time on the
computers. I also like the projects that we do and that
the people in GALES all understand the same thing.”
The final research project of the year is a self-selected
topic of study. Students began their topic of research
study by exploring their areas of interest and again
using their Renzulli Profile. Using this information,
students have selected a topic of research.
“I like the GALES program because the teachers
make us think bigger and better. They let us use our
imagination,” Grade 5 student said. Another Grade
5 student continued that thought by adding “What I
like best is doing the many projects and the GALES
teachers pushing me to my greatest ability of learning.”
The GALES students are currently busy developing
essential questions, and gathering and evaluating
factual information. All of their hard work will help
them design a presentation using their research.
“I like the way we do our projects. We get to work
together. I also really like how, at the end of class, we
can have time to talk about our projects and research.”
Grade 4 student said. A Grade 5 student speaks directly,
“I like the independent projects. We get to pick our own
subjects. It gives us time to explore what we love.” These
final projects were shared with their families during an
open house last week.
Lancaster City Schools created the “GALES”
program 30 years ago to challenge the District’s
gifted elementary students. “What I like best about
the GALES program is how much, and how fast I
learn,” noted a fourth-grade student. Another Grade 4
student remarked that, “GALES helps me reach my full
potential.” GALES services are provided to elementary
students in Grades 4 and 5 this year and will include
Grades 3, 4 and 5 next year. These students are
identified as gifted in the Superior Cognitive area.
Currently, GALES is housed at Medill Elementary.
Students who chose to attend GALES are scheduled
to attend GALES one day a week. The schedule is
determined by building location and size. These
identified gifted students work on activities that
develop 21st century skills such as problem solving,
critical thinking, communications, research and
technology. But, the base of any good program is
the quality and dedication of the classroom teacher.
Lancaster City Schools is fortunate to have two such
Gifted Intervention Specialists (GIS). As a Grade 4
student remarked, “I like everything. Everything in
GALES gets an A plus average! But, the thing that
stands out the most is the high quality teachers. The
teachers are the best!”
The GALES program is not subject specific, but uses
all subjects in an interdisciplinary manner to emphasize
the students’ many interests. A fourth-grade student
made the following observation, “What I like best about
the GALES program is that our great teachers help us
learn by pushing us to ask questions.”
The GALES program strives to challenge gifted
students to critically evaluate information in a
world where information increases exponentially. In
summary, a fifth-grade student made this remark, “In
GALES, there is a challenge waiting around the corner
for us every week!”
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Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
News From The Schools
Lancaster City Schools
Recognize Retiring Employees
Lancaster City Schools would like to recognize the following employees who will retire at
the end of the school year, as of April 26, 2010:
Neil Abel
Merwyn Bowdish
Denise Callihan, Ph.D
Sue Calvert
Sue Christian
Marva Cowles
Kathleen Duffy
Shirlee Estell
Jeff Faulkner
Terri Green
Jerry Grizzell
Marilynn Hough
Leslie Lehn
Rebecca Martin
Judy Mast
Patsy McCabe
Chuck Miller
Bradd Molk
Janice Phillips
Mary Price
Arlene Ramsey
Kathy Rexford
Lise Ricketts
James Sanders
Steven Scott
Connie Stuart
Marcia Todd
Debbie Uhl
Sherry Underwood
John Wagonseller
Lori Wharton
Delores Wolfinger
Cosmetology Program Allows
Students to Prepare for a Career
The Cosmetology Program at Lancaster High
School allows students to prepare for their future.
Part of the Career and Technical Education program,
Cosmetology gives students the skills they will need
to excel upon graduation.
During the students’ junior year, the focus is
on theory and non-chemical practice. During the
senior year, students practice on clients all services
encompassed by the license.
The students will learn how to style hair, how to
cut and color the hair and how to permanently curl
and straighten the hair. They also will learn massage
therapy and application and will be able to safely give
a facial and apply makeup and give a manicure and
pedicure.
Prior to applying to get into this program, it is
important to pass the Sophomore O.G.T. and attend
classes regularly. Grades also are important, and a
basic understanding of Art Theory is always helpful.
If the student is considering moving on to college,
it’s helpful to study a foreign language and/or take
accelerated math.
Studens wanting more information about this
program should contact a guidance counselor,
instructor Leah Morgan or Career-Technical
Director Anthony Knickerbocker .
Lancaster City Schools Transportation department was well represented at the annual School Bus Road-e-o. There
were a total of 15 drivers that competed, nine of whom competed last year and seven who were competing for the first
time. Those competing were: Back row – Jeanne Gregg, Linda Kilbarger, Dan Binner, Mark Wilson, Rob Specht, Shawn
Venrick, Greg Kelley, Kye Ross, Jerry Rainey, Joe Seymour and Dave Snoke. Middle row – Donna Griffith, Margie
Stevens, Brenda Kincaid, Diane Wilson, Ken Heston and Paula Seymour. Front row – Angie Hobbs, Kim Sullivan, Jodi
Swick and Linda Holt. Jerry McDowell also competed but is not in this picture.
Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement
11
News From The Schools
Cedar Heights Wraps Up Busy School Year
Students in Mrs. Gerkin’s fifth
grade class participate in the DARE
graduation program.
Third grade students receive
dictionaries courtesy of the Lancaster
Rotary.
Tarhe Fourth, Fifth-Graders
Take Part in School’s
Annual Spelling Bee
Tarhe Elementary fourth- and fifth-grade
students participated in the school’s annual
spelling bee.
Those taking part were Casey Palmer, Joe
Blaisdell, Kallan Imhoff, Grace Dowdy, Gina
Falvo, Owen Myers, Alexandra McDuffee,
Brendan Scarberry, Kaitlyn Jones, Justin
Harris, Carli Davis, Korbyn Newman, Brianne
Wireman, Conner Buckley, Kyleigh Casey,
Brendan Harris, Noah Harrington, Brandon
McGee, and Chris Carpenter.
The winner was fifth-grader Conner Buckley,
the first runner-up was fourth-grader Casey
Palmer and the second runner-up was fourthgrader Noah Harrington. Congratulations to all
participants who made it to the spelling bee!
Public Notice of Meetings
We Asked ... You Responded
The Lancaster City Schools surveyed the
community during the months of February
and March, 2010. The web-based survey had
responses from 226 community members. The
survey results are summarized below.
What is the best method for the distribution of
the Chalkmarks publication:
Include in The Advertiser
(current method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.6%
Direct mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.9%
Post on the Lancaster City
Schools website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.7%
E-mail to subcribers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.9%
Send home with students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.8%
From your feedback, we will make extra
editions of Chalkmarks available in the school
buildings. We have also been posting it on our
website, emailing it to subscribers and posting
a message on facebook. We do not have enough
extra copies to send it home with all students.
Direct mailing is cost-prohibitive at this time
considering that twice as many respondents like
the Advertiser bag for the distribution method.
In addition, we have taken a close look at the
content of the newsletter. Most respondents
liked the current content. However, many
respondents indicated that they would like
to see more information focusing on student
achievements, activities, and how our district
compares to others in the area and state. We
will work to accommodate your requests in our
articles and thank you for your input.
Lancaster City Schools’ Board
Standing Committee Meetings
Communication - Amy Eyman/Hollie Saunders
Generally meets the first Tuesday of each month
Finance - Amy Eyman/Bill bickham
Generally meets the third Thursday of each month
Personnel - bill bickham/kathy kittredge
Generally meets the third Monday every other month
Policy - kathy kittredge/gary mauller
Generally meets once a quarter on the second
Program - gary mauller/hollie saunders
Generally meets the first Monday of each month
Support Services - Bill Bickham/gary mauller
Generally meets the second Wednesday of each month
All meetings are held at the Lancaster City Schools’
Administrative Offices (Second Floor Conference Room)
345 East Mulberry Street, Lancaster, Ohio
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Lancaster City Schools: A Community Focused on Student Achievement