October, 2022

We're very excited to share our electronic newsletter, Cruiser Connections. Our goal is to keep our Cruiser community informed of the happenings, celebrations, and news of the school district, our students, staff, and schools.

October 2022 Edition at a Glance

• Superintendent’s Message
• New Deputy Superintendent
• Administrative Promotions and Appointments
• Student and Staff Safety – Our Top Priority
• New Safety and Security Measures in Place for Large Events
• 2022 State Report Card Results
• Transportation Update
• Moody’s Upgrades District’s Credit Rating to A1 Status
• New SchoolCare App to Improve Communication with Parents
• Refinancing Saves Taxpayers $1.7 million
• Four GMHS Students' Artwork on Display at Kings Art Complex Through Oct. 29
• Asbury ES and Middle School North Recognized by ODE for PBIS Awards
• Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Calendar Items

A Message from Superintendent Jamie Grube

Having taken over as superintendent in August, the past eight weeks have been a whirlwind with getting school started and working out various transportation issues. 

When meeting with the staff to kick off the school year, I shared with them that our focus this year has two primary components: 1) Resetting or restoring a sense of normalcy in our schools and 2) refocusing on our student achievement efforts.

While we thought we'd be able to push the "reset" button last year and things would return to normal, we all realized that students – and many of us – had faced more trauma over the previous year-and-a-half than we'd realized. Many of our students are behind where they need to be – and it's primarily a result of the disruptions caused by COVID. We're not alone in this situation; school districts across the nation are reporting similar findings.

From what I'm seeing this year, we're beginning to get settled in, and we are working to introduce the level of rigorous instruction needed to get students back on track.

Having served as deputy superintendent for the past four years, I’ve seen that our focus on AIM (Academics, Intention, and Mindset) resulted in improved student achievement, student and staff efficacy, and cultural awareness and appreciation in our schools. While we're making some minor tweaks to specific aspects of AIM, I’m plan to continue using this improvement model at this time.

In addition to our efforts in the classroom, we’re currently working to provide additional after-school learning options for students who need more support. We will have more information coming to you in the next few weeks.

Our students can produce high-quality work, and we will continue to do everything we can to create the environment and provide the quality of instruction necessary to ensure they achieve at the highest possible levels.

Thank you for your support of Groveport Madison Schools. We appreciate your partnership in preparing the children of our community for the bright future that lies before them.

Former GMHS Principal, Paul Smathers, Named Deputy Superintendent

Following the Board's promotion of Jamie Grube to take over as superintendent, Grube named Paul Smathers as the District’s deputy superintendent. Smathers had been the principal of GMHS for the past two years and served as the District's director of secondary education and safety and security, as well as the District's director of student services and customer relations.

Administrative Promotions and Appointments

Chris Reed was hired as the District’s director of business services, where he oversees construction, custodial services, energy management, facilities, maintenance, and transportation. He previously held a similar position in the Reynoldsburg City School District.

Nate Saum has been promoted to chief technology officer following the retirement of Scott Sibberson. Nate has been with the District for 15, serving as a technology coordinator, and most recently as the technology supervisor.

Duane Bland has taken over as the interim principal of Groveport Madison H.S. Bland recently retired as principal of Northland High School in the Columbus City School District.

Casey Martin is new to Groveport Madison Schools, coming to us from Whitehall City Schools. He’s serving as an assistant principal at GMHS.

Ronda Stewart joined Middle School South as their new assistant principal. Ronda comes to Groveport Madison Schools from Columbus City Schools.

Brittany Kimbleton takes over for Cody Bryson as assistant principal at Middle School North. It was announced last spring that Cody would become the principal at Middle School South this year.

Nick Sakola was selected for the assistant principal position at Glendening ES following Katie Van Schoyck’s promotion to the principalship at Sedalia ES.

Former Dunloe ES teacher, Lindsay Maltz, has been promoted to assistant principal at the school.

Dr. Britni Poturica was recently hired as high school and middle schools' special education coordinator.

The Safety of our Students and Staff is Our Top Priority!

The safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority. The District works closely with local law enforcement agencies to develop our school safety plans, which are ultimately reviewed/approved by the State of Ohio Department of Homeland Security. 

The District currently contracts with the City of Groveport and Madison Township. Each agency provides one School Resource Officer (SRO) to the school district. Both SROs are based at the high school but spend part of their day visiting the remaining schools within their respective jurisdictions. 

This year, both police agencies completed a Security and Vulnerability Assessment for the District to assist us in applying for federal school safety grants.

In addition, we also have five safety and security staff members based at the high school and one at each of the middle schools. These staff members can be deployed to one or more other schools to provide support as needed.

Each school has a building safety team that regularly reviews its plans and participates in tabletop and real-life safety drills. This year, we're also adding a layer of school safety with Threat Assessment Teams in every school. Although this will be required by law in March of 2023, the District will have Threat Assessment Teams in every building by the end of December.

For more information on school safety and security, visit our website.

New Safety and Security Measures in Place for Large Events

Ensuring the safety of our students, staff, community, and guests attending extra-curricular and athletic events is one of our top priorities. As discussed at our August 24 safety update to the Board of Education, the following safety measures will be taken at varsity football games and other large events:

1. Guests should remain seated in the bleachers for the entirety of the game unless using the restroom or briefly getting a snack from the concession stand. 
2. There will be zero tolerance for students loitering around the concession stand or on school property. Those violating this safety measure will be escorted from the property or arrested for trespassing.
3. Students cannot bring backpacks or other bags into the stadium. Parents and guests may bring purses or diaper bags, but all bags are subject to search or inspection.
4. Entry into the stadium will be prohibited after the second quarter of play (immediately before halftime).
5. No re-entry into the stadium will be permitted. If you leave the stadium, you must immediately leave the school district property.
6. Students misbehaving at Groveport Madison athletic events may be suspended from attending all future games or events and may face other student disciplinary consequences as outlined in the student handbook.
7. A parent/guardian must accompany all elementary and middle school students entering a high school athletic venue.
8. The parent/guardian is not permitted to accompany students other than those for which they are legally responsible.

• Once in the stadium, elementary and middle school students are expected to remain in the bleachers with their parent/guardian.
• Elementary and middle school students must be accompanied by their  parent/guardian when going to the concession stand or the restrooms. 
• No refunds will be issued to anyone asked to leave or removed from an event.

We encourage spectators to arrive early to the stadium for parking priorities. The gates will open at 6:00 p.m., and the kickoff for varsity football games is 7:00 p.m.

GM Students Continue to Make More Than a Year’s Academic Growth on State Report Card

On September 15, the Ohio Department of Education released its newest version of the State Report Card this year – moving to a five-star rating system to represent various aspects of student performance measures in the following components: Achievement, Progress, Early Literacy, Gap Closing, Graduation, and College/Career Workforce, and Military Readiness.

The new star-ranking system generally equates to earning three stars as meeting state standards, with five stars representing significantly exceeding state standards and one star as needing significant improvement. Unlike in previous years, there is no "A to F" scale, nor is there an overall grade or score issued for the school or school district.

Groveport Madison’s 2021-2022 State Report Card results are listed below:

Achievement – Two Stars

Progress – Five Stars

Gap Closing – Four Stars

Graduation – One Star

Early Literacy – Two Stars

College, Career Workforce, and Military Readiness – Not rated until next year

The District continues to do exceptionally well in the area of student progress (value added), where students are achieving more than a year's worth of academic growth for the year. We also have made significant improvements in closing the learning gap between various subgroup populations in the areas of English language arts and mathematics.

The District has struggled with getting students caught up to grade level for early childhood reading/literacy. The District has implemented new programs and increased the amount and quality of professional development provided to its elementary teachers to help address this issue. Based on the "Kindergarten Readiness Assessment -Revised" (KRA-R), approximately 79% of the District's kindergarteners are behind before their first day of school.

Another area of focus for the District is increasing graduation rates, which have dropped more than two points since the onset of COVID-19. The District is retooling its high school pathways program, and GMHS counselors have created graduation plans for each student. The plans closely monitor each student’s progress toward graduation. Efforts are also being made to allow students to obtain apprenticeships in various skilled trades, which also count toward meeting state graduation requirements.

“The past two-and-a-half years have been hard on students and staff alike," said superintendent Jamie Grube. "Our goal for this year is to recreate the sense of stability and normalcy that were present in our classrooms pre-COVID. I'm confident that once we have accomplished that, we will have the right ingredients in place to drive our student achievement goals.”

Transportation Update

Community Bus Service (CBS) is the new busing contractor for the district. The company has been working hard to improve its service and support level to meet the District's and our stakeholders' expectations.

On September 28, the Board of Education approved the hiring of Theresa Ritchie as transportation director, and Diana Colliver as the transportation supervisor. These two individuals have considerable experience managing transportation services for a public school district. They will begin with the District on Oct. 17. Groveport Madison Schools will employ both, but CBS will cover all costs associated with their employment.

The District is also implementing a new bus tracking app so parents can monitor their child's bus in real-time. The new app, Zonar MyView, is currently being tested. It’s expected to be available within the next few weeks.

Moody’s Upgrades District’s Credit Rating to A1 Status

With the District's continued strong financial position, commendable audit results, and generally positive regional economic indicators, Groveport Madison Schools Treasurer Felicia Drummey believed she had sound reasoning for the District to pursue a credit rating upgrade with the major ratings service.

Drummey and the District's investment advisors spent several weeks gathering data, numerous documents, and preparing a presentation to pitch to Moody's Investors Service. Moody's agreed with her argument, and they determined it was justified to upgrade the District's credit rating from A2 to A1 on voted general obligation bonds.

The rating reflects the District's ability to repay debt and debt-like obligations without consideration of requiring collateral. The upgrade to an A1 rating further reflects the District's steady bolstering of operating fund balance and liquidity over the past several years, along with its positive economic and tax base trends. The rating incorporates the District's positive population trends and its moderate overall leverage of unfunded retiree-benefit liabilities and debt, which may increase in coming years to accommodate the expectation of future enrollment growth.

“We’ve been working very hard to implement strong financial controls and to manage the resources we’ve been provided as efficiently and effectively as possible,” said Drummey.

New SchoolCare App to Improve Communication with Parents

Groveport Madison Schools has partnered with SchoolCare to manage student health information. SchoolCare, a digital health platform, communicates directly with parents to ensure they know all about their student’s healthcare while at school. Parents will receive immediate alerts when their child visits the school nurse when their child's medication is running low, or when immunization deadlines are approaching. SchoolCare information is both HIPAA and FERPA-compliant. If you haven’t already signed up for the app, you can do so from our GoCruisers website.

Refinancing Bonds to Save Taxpayers $1.7 Million

District Treasurer Felicia Drummey has refinanced a portion of the District's 2014 School Facilities Construction and Improvement Bonds. The $9.2 million refinancing will save taxpayers approximately $1,700,628 in gross debt service over the life of the issue by reducing interest costs from 4.55% to about 2.78%.

The concept is very similar to refinancing your home mortgage. Since the bonds are repaid by a voted bond levy, initially approved in May 2014, the $1,700,628 in interest savings over the remaining term of the bonds will flow back to the taxpayers in the form of a bond millage reduction. The County Auditor will determine the exact bond millage reduction, but based on the current assessed valuation, the estimated reduction is 0.10 Mills. 

Four GMHS Students’ Artwork on Display at the Kings Art Complex Through Oct 29

The Ohio Art Education Association announced that GMHS students, Reagan Hodge, Carlie Roach, Olivia Chaney, and Brooklyn Moses  have artwork accepted in the annual Emerging Artist Exhibition. The works are displayed at The King Arts Complex, 835 Mt Vernon Ave, Columbus, OH 43203, through October 29. The exhibition is sponsored by the Ohio Art Education Association (the professional organization for art teachers in Ohio).

This show is designed to help motivate and inspire new artists to excel in drawing, painting, sculpture, crafts, computer art, photography, and printing. One hundred and ninety-five pieces of artwork were selected for this juried show from the eight OAEA regions in the state. Everyone involved should be proud of the students and teachers who inspire creative thinking, problem-solving, and skillful techniques.   

A reception will be held to honor the students and their teachers on October 29 at The King Arts Complex. The students will be awarded certificates and prizes, and some works will be selected in different categories for special rewards.

Asbury ES and Middle School North Recognized by ODE for PBIS Awards

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) recognized Asbury ES (Silver Award Winner) and Middle School North (Bronze Award Winner) for their integration and implementation of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system. PBIS aims to establish and implement social, emotional, and behavioral supports and expectations to improve academic outcomes for all students.

Parent/Teacher Conferences Play an Important Role in Students' Overall Success

A parent/teacher conference helps to communicate areas where students excel and how to improve upon the student’s performance in school. It's also an opportunity to learn about how your student interacts with school staff and peers and a place to discuss shared goals for your child's success and happiness in school. Get a list of conference dates at https://www.gocruisers.org/Parent-TeacherConferences.aspx.

Important Dates to Remember

• Wed., Oct. 12 – Board of Education Mtg., 7 p.m., District Service Ctr.
• Thur., Oct. 13 – NO SCHOOL – Teacher Release Day
• Fri., Oct. 14 – NO SCHOOL – Fall Break
• Mon., Oct. 17 – NO SCHOOL – PD Day for Staff
• Wed., Oct. 26 – Board of Education Mtg., 7 p.m., District Service Ctr.
• Wed., Nov. 9 – Board of Education Mtg., 7 p.m., District Service Ctr.
• Fri., Nov. 11 – NO SCHOOL/OFFICES CLOSED – Veterans Day
• Tue., Nov. 22 – Two-hour Early Release Day
• Wed., Nov. 23 – NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break
• Thur., Nov. 24 – NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break
• Fri., Nov. 25 – NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break