Thank you to the more than 400 individuals who participated in this year's Fall Family Fun Night and Superintendent Meet-and-Greet on September 6, 2019. The evening was characterized by great weather, bounce house fun, food and an overall sense of Bulldog Pride. Special thank you to Board President Gary Wolske, and Members Joe Juby and Joan Chamberlin for their attendance. We also thank the City of Garfield Heights for providing public safety vehicles for the students to tour, the dedicated staff members for volunteering this evening, and our team of hot dog cookers. Citizens for Garfield Heights raised approximately $1,400 with this event. Thank you all, once again, for your support. 
The Garfield Heights City Schools will be launching an effort to update its Strategic Plan over the next 12 months. Organizations that invest time in planning prepare for success. Over the next several months, administrators will be developing a community-oriented process that is likely to kick-off in early 2020. As the District looks to this process of updating its mission, vision, core beliefs and goals, we will desire community input along the way. We will keep the Board of Education apprised of developments and the community informed of ways to participate.
On Thursday, September 19th, the Garfield Heights City Schools participated in the 14th Annual Father's Walk, as part of the Cuyahoga County Fatherhood Initiative, where fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles, brothers and other father-figure individuals walked their children to school. This was a great way for our fathers to show their children that they care about their respective school endeavors. The District encourages fathers and father-figures' involvement. Visit your child's school page for more details.
The state report cards for every public school district were released last week. The District maintained its overall "D" rating. While a "D" is nothing to celebrate, one of the areas that the district demonstrated success is the progress indicator. Our 4th grade language arts, and high school math and English performed above expected growth. As we move through the strategic planning process, the instructional data will be a major focus of our efforts.
Finally, we'd like to give an official Bulldog SHOUT OUT to Jason Osborne for winning his first varsity football game on September 6, 2019... we expect big things from the Bulldogs on the gridiron this year, and we're happy that Coach Osborne did capitalized for his first victory as a head coach so early in the season. Congratulations coach and let's keep up the good work.
Thank you for your continued support, and GO BULLDOGS!
