By Dr. Linda Naylor,
Superintendent of RULH Schools –
Welcome back to students and staff as the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year at Ripley Union Lewis Huntington Schools gets underway in a few short days!
The time has flown by and it is time to go back to school with Open House for RULH Students on Monday, August 15, 2016 from 4 – 7 PM at all three buildings, and the first day of school for students on Wednesday, August 17.
The district will be putting two new buses into service as the school year begins, which again marks an important update to the bus fleet, thanks to the permanent improvement levy.
We have also been able to update the video security system at the High School. Additional updates to the computer and technology systems have been made over the summer, which should not only improve what occurs in the classroom, but also in other systems across the district, such as the cafeteria, offices, and maintenance.
The HB 264 project is drawing to a close, which has resulted in some significant improvement to lighting and HVAC, as well as energy savings in those areas.
Finally, we have updated the flooring in several areas of the high school, which we believe will have a very positive environmental impact to the building.
Earlier this year, Congress completed the reauthorization of the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) law, which is now the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. States, including Ohio, are working on the implementation of ESSA, which is expected to begin in 2017-2018.
The 2016-2017 school year is considered a transition school year for many state tests and measurements that go into the Local Report Card, which will be released in a few weeks.
Although we often think of Congress as far away, the ramifications of ESSA will be felt in every classroom in the RULH School District. From funding for teachers and programs, to teacher licensure, to state testing, ESSA impacts many things that we do. From reviews of last year’s preliminary testing data, it appears that test scores in nearly all areas dropped this year with the changes last year to academic standards and testing.
It seems certain that these tests and measurements will change yet again this year as ESSA is rolled out. Throughout all of these changes, the staff at RULH will continue working hard to meet the new requirements while providing a quality education to each and every student.
We look forward to the start of the 2016-2017 school year on Wednesday, August 17. We are excited to welcome students back to another great year of learning with us at RULH Schools!
As always, if you have any questions about the information in the newsletter, please contact me at (937) 392-4396.