GEVS State of the District highlights programs, projects – The Highland County Press

By Angela ShepherdGEVS

Last week, the Greenfield Exempted Village School District presented its inaugural State of the District address, which highlighted district details, ongoing programs, how data and information are shared, and projects the district will move forward on.

Superintendent Quincey Gray opened the virtual presentation, beginning with some district details: it covers 164 square miles, includes two outlying elementaries in addition to the main campus located in Greenfield, and there are currently 1,950 students enrolled in the district with 13 percent having disabilities and 59 percent considered economically disadvantaged.

Later, Gray discussed a couple projects that are planned to begin soon and a couple other projects that are on the horizon, but as yet have no set start time.

A project that was initially slated for last spring, but was held up due to the pandemic, is the locker room expansion and new gym lobby renovation. This project is now set to begin this spring.

It will consist of extending the east side of the new gym facade out into the courtyard, allowing more room on the first floor to add ticketing and a concession area, and more space on the second floor for additional locker room space in both the girls and boys areas.

The additional locker room space will provide more appropriate changing areas for not only home and visiting athletes, but also for student members of the drama department during productions. The plans also include renovation of the restrooms in the new gym lobby.

Another project that has been in the works is also set to begin this spring, and that is the development of the practice field, which is a block from McClain High School.

The plans show that the west end of the property by Eighth Street is where the new bus garage, capable of housing 20 buses and containing three maintenance bays, will be built. The building will also include storage for athletics, band, and district maintenance.

Moving east on the property there will be a full-size football field with a 70-yard football field next to it. Parking will remain along most of the McClain Street side of the property. And two new paved basketball courts will be placed on the northeast corner. There are currently two basketball courts at the southwest corner of the property that see much community use. It is important to the school district to be able to keep that aspect. Shaded elements will also be a part of the development.

There are two other projects that were discussed, but neither have a timeline as yet.

The first is the development of the schools property off of north Fifth Street to include soccer, softball, and baseball fields. The second is the renovation and remodeling of the current bus garage into an athletic facility.

Greenfield Elementary Principal Bob Schumm presented information about leadership teams across the district. Those are a District Leadership Team (DLT); a Building Leadership Team (BLT) in each of the elementaries, the middle school, and the high school; and Teacher-based teams (TBT).

The DLT is composed of administrators, teachers and certified staff who meet monthly to review data, listen to input from building leaders, and make decisions for the district. Information from the DLT goes to the BLTs where it is reviewed with building-specific needs. Then TBTs receive the information, which then goes to all teachers.

Schumm said the district has worked many years to have a clear path in idea-sharing and information from the top of the district to the individual teachers.

Next up, McClain Principal Matt Shelton gave an overview of the districts Visible Learning Plan, which was implemented this year.

The plan is multi-year, and its during this first year that the focus is on learner dispositions and clarity in teaching and learning, which are foundational blocks in building visible learners. The initiative is district-wide and across all grade levels.

Clarity is setting clearly defined steps for learning, and through the process employing the learner dispositions: taking ownership, embracing challenges, persevering, continually growing, and being engaged.

Special programs director Heather Dratwa spoke about the responsibilities of her office. Among those are assisting students with special needs to get the needed support and the resources to achieve and be successful. Additionally, the pre-school program is through this office. The National Network of Partnership School grant, which focuses on parental involvement and fostering home/school relationships, is also administered through this office.

More information on the Special Programs office can be found on the district website at http://www.greenfield.k12.oh.us. Scroll over the Our District tab, and in the drop-down menu choose Special Programs.

Transportation supervisor Bradley George provided an overview of district transportation, which on a daily basis consists of 18 buses and two vehicles covering a total of 2,152 miles and carrying 1,084 students to and from school. He commended the drivers for their excellent job, especially with this years added tasks of temperature checking all students and cleaning and sanitizing the buses after students are unloaded.

If anyone has any questions, the transportation office can be reached (937) 981-2620.

Gray provided a COVID-19 update in the presentation, which included infection rates since August 2020. Those are: 1.2-percent of students have tested positive for the virus, which is 23 students out of 1,950 total students; 8 percent of staff members have tested positive for the virus, which is 20 out of 250 total staff.

She also spoke about recent research on COVID-19 spread in schools and this leading to the state announcing that if students are masked and distanced in a traditional classroom setting or on a school bus, then the students near a student who tested positive do not have to be quarantined. These new guidelines, however, do not apply to things like lunch, recess, and extracurriculars.

As a reminder, there is a COVID-19 tracker available on the districts website. Go to http://www.greenfield.k12.oh.us, then scroll over the Our District in the banner. The tracker is in the drop-down menu.

To watch the State of the District address, find it on the districts Facebook page or on the website.

District information and updates can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on the district website. Information is also routinely communicated through the districts all-call system, Remind messaging, FinalForms, and the district newsletter, which is distributed following the conclusion of each quarter. Additionally, the superintendent offers Coffee and Crumbs sessions where the public is invited to ask questions. The next one, which will be a Facebook live session, is scheduled for Jan. 22 at noon and can be accessed on the districts Facebook page.

We strive to communicate information and to be as transparent as possible, Gray said, encouraging all those who have questions, to ask.

For district information and updates, go to the district website at greenfield.k12.oh.us, go to the districts Facebook page, or Instagram and Twitter. The individual buildings also have Facebook pages. The districts central office may be reached by calling (937) 981-2152.

I greatly appreciate the daily hard work of our staff members, and it was nice for some of our team to share about the wonderful things going on in the district, Gray said later. We look forward to holding a public event next year during which guests can attend and ask questions.

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GEVS State of the District highlights programs, projects - The Highland County Press