Spring 2016

WORTHINGTON SCHOOLSWorthington City Schools Official Newsletter

www.worthington.k12.oh.us

It’s time to celebrate another successfulyear for Worthington Schools. Our 766high school seniors are about tograduate, and we are confident that

their educational experience has preparedthem for either college or on to a good job. I would like to thankour community,families and staffmembers for

supporting our young people as they begintheir next stage in life.

To continue this path of excellence, we mustalways have an eye on the future, looking forways to grow, excel, and address ongoingchallenges as needed. It’s important that weassess how we are doing to make sure we aredelivering on the goal of excellent schools and a good value for taxpayers.

We have recently discovered some challengesthat involve caring for our aging facilities andmanaging for enrollment fluctuations.

In June of 2015, the Board of Education andadministration determined that it was time to do a review of the organization, and as partof our assessments, the Ohio FacilitiesConstruction Commission (OFCC) providedan analysis on the condition and lifespan of each district buildingand FutureThink provided a new ten-year enrollment report.

The OFCC facilities report shows some of our buildings are in greatshape and are in need of some minor maintenance, while otherscould use extensive renovation or even replacement. That makessense when you consider that some of our newest school buildingsare 25 years old, while several of our schools are 50 years old andwere not built with today’s learning in mind.

We also learned that the school district will see steady growth from2015 – 2024 and will increase in student population by 650 morestudents during that time. Houses are turning over and there issignificant reinvestment in the community. I strongly believe morefamilies are choosing Worthington because of our excellent schoolsand quality of life in this community.

Before any decision is made about the futureof our school buildings, we plan to engageour community with a 12-month, masterfacilities planning process. The district willwork with students, parents, communitymembers and facilities experts to explore alloptions to determine the direction offacilities and enrollment planning forWorthington’s schools.

As we wind down the year, I am thankful or the memories and experiences I havegained in my first year as the superintendentfor Worthington Schools. I am thankful foryour continued support of our students and schools. �

Dr. Trent H. BowersSuperintendent

Celebrating the Past and Looking to the Future

Absolute Excellence | Exponential Impact

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES

Worthington Education Center200 E. Wilson Bridge Rd.

Worthington, Ohio 43085 • 614-450-6000

OUR MISSION• To empower a community oflearners who will change the world.

OUR VISION• We will engage each student withdiverse opportunities to maximizeevery student’s potential.

• We will provide a safe environmentwhere every student can growintellectually, emotionally, socially and physically.

• We will provide consistentcommunication and promote dialoguewith our community.

• We will be responsible and transparentwith our community’s resources.

WORTHINGTON SCHOOLS

Spring 2016

Worthington City Schools Official Newsletter

If you walk into kitchens throughout Worthington,you’re likely to see one similarity from home-to-home. They would all have kitchen refrigeratorscovered in student papers, pictures and report cards.

Celebrating our kids not only gives us joy as parents, butit also rewards their effort. A spot on front of the fridgewill lead to adulation and compliments from friends andrelatives for weeks and months to come. What parenthasn’t mentioned to a guest about theirchild’s great work “which just happens tobe over there on the fridge.”

Worthington Schools doesn’t have arefrigerator door to hang all of ourstudents’ great work, but we do have a way to feature it on our website.

The Student Success page(http://www.worthington.k12.oh.us/success) of our website has beencreated to promote accomplishments andhonors. And, it’s not just for grades.

Worthington students succeed in manyways. The Students Success section featureskids who are named a Student of theMonth at their school. It highlightsmusicians and artists who are selected forspecial performances and competitions. It has students who are honored in scienceand math competitions. And that’s just a few examples.

We hope you visit the Student Successsection on a regular basis to see what greatthings our kids are doing. The best part isthat you don’t need to invite guests over tospread the news. You can just share it to yoursocial media.

If you know of a studentsuccess that should behonored, visit theStudent Success page toshare the informationwith the district. �

Don TaylorCommunicationsSpecialist

Principal of the Year

Angie Adrean, the principal atWorthington Kilbourne HighSchool, was recently announced

as the 2016 Principal of the Year byThe Ohio Association of SecondarySchool Administrators.

Criteria for the selection of this award included exemplary performance in theareas of collaborative leadership, person-alization, and curriculum, instructionand assessment.

The WKHS community of students,staff members and parents planned asurprise celebration for Adrean at school on April 5. �

Worthington City Schools • 614-450-6000

We hope you visit the StudentSuccess section on a regular basisto see what great things our kids

are doing. The best part is that youdon’t need to invite guests over to

spread the news. You can just shareit to your social media.

Student Successes

@wcsdistrict

Worthington City Schools

Worthington City Schools

worthingtonschools

WORTHINGTON SCHOOLSWorthington City Schools Official Newsletter

Spring 2016www.worthington.k12.oh.us

Iam still in disbeliefthat I will be“graduating” (AKA~ RETIRING)

soon from WorthingtonSchools!! Teaching hasbeen such a tremendouspart of my life and myidentity for 27 years! Inthe first few years of mycareer, I rememberwalking into myclassroom and feelingthat I was in the “right”place! Even today, 27

years later, I still feel in my heart that this is where I was meant to be,and this is what I was meant to do with my life ~ TEACH! What awonderful blessing teaching has beento me! I have been blessed by beingable to work with many amazinglyawesome children during the course ofmy tenure. My students have broughtme so much joy over the years andgiven me many wonderful moments,both funny and poignant.

For the past 19 years, I have beenhonored and grateful to be able towork in an incredible district and inan amazing school, Bluffsview, withabsolutely the most outstanding staffanyone could ever imagine! This staff, led by our amazing principal,Cindy Fox, is just a “Dream Team!” I have been so fortunate to workwith supportive, caring, compassionate, and masterful teachers overthe years.

The parents in our Worthington community are also unbelievablyhelpful, appreciative, and supportive! I have kept every thank younote from a parent, student, or colleague through the years. I wouldencourage parents and students to write those heartfelt notes to staff.Believe me, they really mean a lot!

One of my biggest regrets in teaching is that I did not write downcute/funny/sad stories that happened each day in teaching. I wouldencourage all young teachers to briefly record some memories eachweek in a teaching journal.

Teaching has been a wonderful vocation for me. I feel blessed, honored,and grateful at this point in time of my career, which I consider to be anhonest gauge of a satisfying and rewarding vocation. Many thanks to allof my students and their parents, Worthington Schools, and my dearcolleagues for giving this gift to me over the years. �

Pam ReikTeacher, Bluffsview Elementary

Reflections on Retirement

For the past 19 years, I havebeen honored and grateful to

be able to work in anincredible district and in anamazing school, Bluffsview,

with absolutely the mostoutstanding staff anyone

could ever imagine!

Summer ProgramsNat King Cole sang about rolling out the Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Daysof summer. While our Ohio winter has seemed to drag on a bitthis year, summertime is right around the corner. The good newsfor Worthington families is that summer doesn’t have to be lazy or boring.

Once again, Worthington Schools has assembled a great lineup ofclasses with a variety of options for students.

Older students can take classes to help them catch up on creditsor get ahead for next year. They can choose from numerousblended learning and credit recovery options.

Students of all ages and grades might want to take part in theSummer Enrichment Program to develop another skill or hobby.Classes cover a wide range of topics. There are two dozen options,and titles include:

• CSI – Crime Scene Investigation for future scientists• Heroes – Learn about mythology and create a hero of your own• Chopped – Culinary concoctions, including a mystery

basket challenge• Wagging & Woofing – A look at jobs special dogs can do

In the Summer Reading Camp, identified students are takingpart in an intensive intervention program. By taking instruction in the summer, they can get on level starting the next school year.

In 2016, more than 800 students are expected to take part inWorthington summer programs. The variety of programs beingoffered this summer is rich. To learn more about summerprograms, go to worthington.k12.oh.us/summerschool. �

Brendan Chave, TWHS senior

Spring 2016

WORTHINGTON SCHOOLS

www.worthington.k12.oh.us

Accountable, Responsible and Transparent

Worthington City Schools Official Newsletter

The school district, along withcommunity members and staff,recently identified four distinct visionstatements to help guide our school

district for the future. Two ofthem will directly impact mywork as the treasurer ofWorthington Schools: We will provide consistentcommunication and promote

dialogue with our community; and we will beresponsible and transparent with our community’s resources.

Worthington Schools has a strong track record ofmeeting these expectations and will always strive tooffer residents great schools in the most fiscallyresponsible manner possible. In fact, we were recently awarded theAuditor of State Award with Distinction for excellent recordkeeping. Auditor David Yost praised the work of the school districtby stating: “The Worthington City School District’s dedication toaccountability is evident.”

Five-Year ForecastAs we look to the future, we will use tools such as the Five-YearFinancial Forecast and the budget document to help us plan andprepare as best we can. This spring, the board of education reviewedthe latest forecast and residents can be pleased in knowing thatWorthington Schools continues on a path of financial stability.

On the revenue side, our school district has received an increase instate funding due to fewer students opting for autism scholarshipsand community school options. This can be directly attributed tothe excellent education our schools offer to students and families.

In addition, the state legislature passed a law last fall thatslowed down the phase out of Tangible Personal Property(TPP) payments to our school district, adding $6 million toour forecasted revenue. We welcome this increase as noother school district in Franklin County is impacted by theloss of the TPP tax more than Worthington Schools.

On the expenditure side, due to increasing studentenrollment, we are projecting a modest increase in staffingwhich increase salaries and benefits costs. Growingenrollment means families are choosing to live inWorthington because of our great school system. However,

utility savings contributed to keeping our expenses for this yearbelow the October estimates.

Planning for the FutureAlthough we continue to be financially sound, looking ahead ourexpenditures will begin to exceed our revenues starting in 2018.Soon, I will begin discussions with the board of education and theTreasurer’s Advisory Committee on how this should be addressed.We will remain vigilant in our goal to maintain great schools at agood value to taxpayers. �

Jeff McCuen, Treasurer jmccuen@wscloud.org

We welcome thisincrease as no other

school district inFranklin County is

impacted by the loss ofthe TPP tax more thanWorthington Schools.