September 2011

primarily in math and language arts. Their successes have kept our district at an “Excellent” rating.

In order to keep the academic momen-tum going, we have reorganized our Academic Services Department into the Department of Teaching and Learning. Under the incredibly competent leader-ship of veteran teacher and administra-tor Sharon Jones, the department will go forward to provide staff and curricu-lum development with attention to best practices which are valuable tools in improving student achievement.

Helping us through some difficult times, I cannot say enough about the enormous amount of support that came from parents who encouraged their children to do the very best that they can. They emphasized the impor-tance of preparing them to compete in our 21st Century world.

Finally, I want to thank the taxpayers who were also an important part of our academic team as they came together to allow us to stay out of fiscal emergen-cy. They truly understood our dilemma and were aware that efforts to save the district were both critical and worthwhile.

In the end it was not just our rating that was excellent, but our students, teachers, staff, parents and com-munities stepped up to the plate and knocked this ball out of the park.

For more information about the district scores or the scores of indi-vidual buildings, go to www.parmaci-tyschools.org, click on the Information tab and then select State of Ohio District/Building Report Cards.

It was with a great deal of pride that we announced our “Excellent” rating from the Ohio Department of

Education for the 2010-2011 school year, the second consecutive year we have been rated as “Excellent.”

What does it take to receive such high marks? One of the most impor-tant roads to success was our com-mitment to teamwork with teachers and administrators coming together to examine the test scores. Individual test scores led us to understand the strengths and weaknesses for each student. With this information it was possible to create personalized les-son plans that will guide our teachers in making decisions about teach-ing and learning. They will be able to work as a team to target specific skills known to increase student achievement.

This decision-making model is one that is used for academically gifted students as well as athletes and musi-cians. When the football team watches game films on Saturday morning, they are looking at individual as well as team strengths and weaknesses. With this information, they can practice new techniques as well as focus on basic skills that everyone should know.

The same model of teamwork is valuable for academic and musical learning as a student competes with himself and other students as well.

When watching game films or listen-ing to musical practices or reviewing the day’s lesson, students look at ways they can better their perfor-mance. We know that they did very well because their scores demon-strated that students made more than a year’s worth of academic progress

Dr. Jeffrey Graham

Several local education, business and industry leaders were on hand to accompany Dr. Messier on her tour and to take part in a roundtable discussion about Career and Technical programs within the district. Select graduates of the Biotechnology program were also included to share their experiences regarding college and employment opportunities.

Look for a segment produced by Parma Area Community Television in the coming weeks which documents the tour and includes interviews with Dr. Messier, Valley Forge principal Janine Andrzejewski, and former instructor of the district’s Biotechnology class, Gary Maurer.

Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary of Vocational and Adult Education for the United States

Department of Education, visited Valley Forge High School on Wednesday, September 7.

Dr. Messier came to Valley Forge to tour the Biotechnology Career and Technical program, which is known statewide as an exemplary class due to the rigorous coursework, the amount of knowledge and variety of skills acquired by students, and the wealth of options available to graduates of the program.

Dr. Messier and Superintendent Graham with Biotech student Elizabeth Walker.

A MessAge froM the superintendent

teamwork Leads to success

parma Community education brochure mailing in october

Biotech program Brings national notice

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community service. Dynamic partner-ships are a must.”

The Adult Education Department op-erates classes in 40 different locations throughout the community, some of which are offered in the evening to accommodate adults who work dur-ing the day. People from age 18 to 98 (or older!) can learn how to prepare for the G.E.D., acquire work skills, broaden their vocabulary as English Language Learners, in addition to a variety of other topics that range from cooking to computers to the arts and more.

Mrs. Sheehan praised the staff in her department and the district for their efforts.

“The best part of my job is that I work with dedicated and hard-working people. There is a camaraderie that allows us to collaborate and make connections so that we can help people. We are all constantly looking for ways to make things better.”

Susan Sheehan

Daniel DeanSusan Sheehan Brings Services to Adults

The Parma City School District is not just for kids. It is also a place for parents and adults in the com-

munity who are eager to improve their chances for employment by receiving more training and/or education. Head-ing up this effort is Susan Sheehan, the district’s Supervisor of Adult Edu-cational Services.

The programs supervised by Mrs. Sheehan include ABLE (Adult Basic and Literacy Education), which is grant-funded through the state and federal government), G.E.D. (General Educational Development) Testing which upon completion provides adults with the equivalent of a high school diploma, and Work Place Education. She also co-facilitates the Parma Community Education series and the Community/Business/Schools (C/B/S) Partnership.

The ABLE Program has been recog-nized as the top program of its kind in Ohio for five consecutive years, and the award-winning C/B/S Partnership is dedicated to developing programs that help students to realize opportu-nities for future success.

A fifteen-year district employee, Mrs. Sheehan says that one of the most rewarding parts of her job is changing people’s lives by making them more employable and better prepared to be successful in college, post-secondary education, and the working world.

“I am glad that we are able to offer benefits to the citizens in the cities we serve by helping people to get jobs, register to vote, and get involved in

Daniel Dean Makes a Difference

Daniel Dean, school psychologist serving John Glenn Elementary and Valley Forge High School,

was honored last year as the Ohio Psychologist of the Year by the Ohio School Psychologist Association. Such recognition is well deserved as Mr. Dean is not often in the public eye, working quietly behind the scenes providing crisis support and working with at-risk students in the classroom.

Mr. Dean has played a large role in developing the district’s Crisis Plan by writing policies and procedures in tandem with a district-based team of psychologists and guidance counsel-ors. The team deals with emotional and psychological issues that arise in the wake of matters such as the death of a student or staff member. Along with community agencies and building staff, the team formulates a specific plan to help both children and adults cope with the situation. Thanks to the Crisis Plan and the associated training, everyone knows what to do and where to go for help.

Even though the issues are very serious, Mr. Dean is not afraid of the challenge.

“When I am working with this pro-gram, I lose myself in what I am do-ing. I totally love it,” said Dean.

Mr. Dean is also heavily involved in the RTI (Response to Intervention) process, an initiative for assisting students who have difficulty in school. A team of educators brings students together in such a way that interven-tions can be suggested, academic and behavioral plans can be de-signed, and differentiated instruction can be employed.

According to Mr. Dean, the impor-tant part of this process is using only evidence-based intervention and asking these questions: How well are students reading? Is this interfering with their ability to learn? What do test results say? Are students making a year’s worth of growth in a year or are they falling behind? By analyzing data gathered for each child, the team can make suggestions that will increase the chances for success. The goal is for all students to be able to realize their potential while addressing each learner’s unique needs using an ef-ficient and preventive approach.

The RTI process has resulted in less students being referred for testing and lowering the number of students iden-tified for special education instruction.

Mr. Dean is an inspiring educator, but he finds himself duly inspired by staff members like former John Glenn Prin-cipal Ava Yeager, whom he cites as an example of the excellence found in our district.

“Ava has a passion for excellence,” ex-plained Dean. “With her Spartan work ethic, she does extra to make things happen. She brings an intensity that energizes people. Never discount one individual’s ability to create change.”

“When I am working with this program,

I lose myself in what I am doing. I totally love it.”

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Race to the Top is a name that many people have heard of but may not ful-ly understand. That’s largely because

each participating school district has been granted the freedom to define how Race to the Top grant money should be utilized, ac-cording to broad guidelines. Along with this freedom comes the responsibility to make our work transparent to the community. We intend to communicate our progress to you on a regular basis via this newsletter, the district website, board meeting updates, and other communication channels.During the 2011-12 school year, the dis-trict’s Race to the Top team intends to ac-complish the following:

1. Continue the work of transitioning the school district and its teachers to the new Ohio Department of Education curricu-lum standards

2. Begin the roll-out of an Instruction Infor-mation System software package that compiles student data and presents it to

teachers in a user-friendly fashion so that they can better determine where their students are and where they need to go

3. Determine a system for recognizing and rewarding outstanding teachers and pro-viding assistance to teachers who strug-gle to meet performance expectations

4. Assist in the process of introducing teach-er professional learning communities

5. Promote new state-wide initiatives includ-ing the Ohio Performance Assessment Pi-lot which looks at more real-world oriented alternatives to pencil and paper tests

6. Ensure that our district meets the re-quirements of all new state mandates for school districts.

Our full four-year plan for the district can be found on the Ohio Department of Educa-tion’s Race to the Top website.

Please contact the district’s Race to the Top facilitator, Jeff Heller, at hellerj@parmaci-tyschoools.org with any questions.

Race to the Top Update

What’s Up?TALK OF THE TOWN COMMUNITY MEETINGSThe October meeting will be held on the 12th at the Parma Heights Library, located at 6206 Pearl Road, from 7-8:30 p.m. In November, the meeting will take place at the Parma Heights Baptist Church, 8971 West Ridge-wood Drive, from 7-8:30 p.m.

OHIO ACHIEVEMENT ASSESSMENTAll third-grade students will be tak-ing the reading portion of the Ohio Achievement Assessment on Tuesday, October 4. Please do not schedule medical or other appointments for your child that day.

NEOEA DAY There will be no school for students on Friday, October 14. Teachers will be engaged in a variety of profes-sional development programs through the North Eastern Ohio Education Association.

FLYER CENTRALPlease visit the district homepage and look under the “Information” tab for a new feature called “Flyer Central.” This was created as a place for you to find out about happenings in our 18 schools buildings and also to promote events sponsored by our school partners.

The intent is to minimize the amount of paper flyers sent home with students and to help the district promote a more environmentally-friendly method of conveying information.

Please contact your student’s building principal with any questions.

BAND SPECTACULARThe annual Band Spectacular will be held at Byers Field on Saturday, Octo-ber 8. Join us at 7 p.m. for an evening of marching and music with the Nor-mandy, Parma and Valley Forge High School bands. Also participating will be the bands from Brooklyn, Brook-side, Cuyahoga Falls, Holy Name, Saint Ignatius and Strongsville High Schools as well as a special visit from the Kent State University Marching Golden Flashes. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. The event will take place rain or shine.

Look for the next Monitor on October 27

Established in 1853

Board of Education Leo Palaibis, President

Kathleen Petro, Vice-President Karen S. Dendorfer Rosemary C. Gulick

Sean R. Nicklos

Superintendent of SchoolsDr. Jeffrey Graham

Treasurer/CFODaniel Bowman

To contact The MonitorMonitor@parmacityschools.org

440-885-8305

SEVEN HILLS EARLY CHILDHOOD PTA RESALE EVENTLooking for some great bargains on gently used baby items, kids clothing and toys? The VII Hills Early Childhood PTA Kids Resale and Vendor Event is the place to find all of that and more.The fun takes place on Saturday, October 1 at Hillside Middle School, located at 1 Educational Parkway off Hillside Road in Seven Hills. Early Bird sales begin at 8 a.m. with a $5 admis-sion price and the general sale starts at 9 a.m. with a $1 entry cost.The cost is $25.00 per table with no fees. Money made from all sales is yours to keep. Vendors are welcome.There will also be a bake sale with lots of goodies as well as a free area to display larger items such as strollers, big toys, etc.Reserve your table now by visiting www.freewebs.com/viihillsecpta to download a contract, e-mailing beckybryda@hotmail.com or calling 216-328-8032.

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Cox Charities, a division of Cox Communications, recently donat-ed $1,000 to the Anthony Zielinski

Leadership for Tomorrow Program.

A former Parma City Councilman and City Treasurer, Zielinski helped to found the Leadership for Tomorrow Program six years ago along with State Representative Tim DeGeeter and current City of Parma Treasurer Tom Mastroianni. The program en-

ables fifth grade students, as a part of their social studies classes, to visit Parma City Hall to meet local officials, learn about city government and take part in a mock council meeting.

Following his death in March 2011, a scholarship was established in Zie-linski’s name and the social studies program was renamed in his honor as well. Shown here are students from Pleasant Valley Elementary.

Dean DePiero and the presentation of colors by American Legion Post 572.

Six high school students from Norman-dy, Parma Senior and Valley Forge, under the direction of multi-talented district instructor Jared Plasterer, deliv-ered a beautiful vocal rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. The sextet in-cluded Arden Anastasi, William Burke, Natalie Eberhardt, Andrew Fowler, James Gross, and Jacklyn Murphy.

The “Hometown Heroes” tribute is available for viewing each day during normal business hours and will be updated twice annually. Please visit the City of Parma’s website at cityof-parma-oh.gov to learn how local active service personnel can become a part of the Military Wall of Honor. HELP US to HELP YOU!

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s speech, language, cognitive, motor or social development, it

would be wise to have them screened.

A preschool screening is used as a tool to learn whether there are any concerns regarding a child’s development.

If you suspect your child may have a problem, talk with your pediatrician or preschool teacher.

Remember, the earlier parents recognize that their child needs support, the greater the chance of

overcoming developmental issues.

Parma City Schools offer a FREE screening for children between the ages of three through five.

If you have any questions or concerns and wish to schedule a screening, please call

Parkview First Step Preschool440-885-8645

Parma Area Community Television (PACT-TV) on Cox Digital Chan-nel 74 and our three high schools

were privileged to be a part of the City of Parma’s recent Military Wall of Honor dedication ceremony.

The PACT-TV crew worked with Parma Councilwoman Mary Galinas and the Wall of Honor Committee to create a “Hometown Heroes” video tribute to the men and women of Parma current-ly serving our country both at home and abroad.

The video, featuring over 30 service members, and a wall displaying vintage military memorabilia were unveiled on September 12 at Parma City Hall as part of a celebration that included a ribbon-cutting by Mayor

Honoring LocaL MiLitary PersonneL

Helping tomorrow’s Leaders