Priority Board Notes
May 2010
Dayton has more Gates Scholars than any Ohio School District!
It’s official. According to information released by the Gates Millennium Scholarship program, Dayton Public Schools has four scholars of the state’s 14—more than any other single school district in Ohio. They are Sheldon Brown, Megan Edmonds and Victoria Whorton from Stivers School for the Arts and Jordan Davis from Dayton Early College Academy, a DPS Sponsored community school developed in partnership with UD.
The students will be recognized by the Dayton Board of Education and the Dayton City Commission and are scheduled to appear on WDTN TV2’s noon news program this month. Since the program began in 1999, DPS has produced 19 Gates Millennium Scholars.
The GatesMillennium Scholars Program (GMS), awarded good-through-graduation college scholarships to 1,000 students in 45 states, District of Columbia and three US territories this year. Established in 1999 with the goal of developing the next generation of America’s leaders, UNCF’s Gates Millennium Scholars Program is funded by a $1.6 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition to financial assistance, Gates Millennium Scholars receive academic support, mentoring and leadership training.
Deirdre Neto named 2010 Teacher of the Year
Deirdre Neto, a K-4 intervention specialist Wogaman PK-8 School, was named 2010 DPS Teacher of the Year at the district’s annual teacher recognition reception May 3. She has accomplished a lot in her seven years as a teacher with DPS, including finalizing her master’s degree in education and securing the honor of being National Board Certified Teacher, a prestigious national honor. Neto was selected by a panel of district and community judges from a field of 25 nominees. First and second runners-up are Andrea Hirtle, Meadowdale PK-8 School, and Becky Stroh, Ruskin PK-8 School, respectively. This was the district’s seventh annual Teacher of the Year recognition event. Teachers are nominated at the building level by staff, colleagues and community members and must submit a detailed entry form and documentation of their work in the classroom. May 2 through 8 is Teacher Appreciation Week.
Board approves over $6 million in cuts
The Dayton Board of Education voted to cut $6.3 million from the district’s budget, including a reduction of approximately 92 positions, to keep the district fiscally on track through 2011 with the least impact on the district’s academic momentum. The cuts, recommended by Superintendent Kurt Stanic at the April 20 board meeting, are the result of months of meetings with his senior staff to examine district options in the face of declining tax revenue and cuts in state aid.
The continued economic downturn and high local home foreclosure rate have canceled any benefit DPS had hoped to see from the operating levy approved by voters in November 2008. Local tax revenue, which makes up nearly half the district’s general fund operating budget, has declined by $12 million since 2007—even with the passage of the district’s 4.9-mill levy.
The ending cash balance at the close of fiscal year 2011 is estimated to be just over $2 million, which is less than the amount needed to operate the district for one week.
The district estimates part of the $6.3 million ($914,000) would be saved by moving to the state minimum standard of transporting students who live two miles or more from their school, instead of the current 1.5 miles. Plans also are under way to establish a satellite bus garage in East Dayton to reduce the number of miles buses must travel to deliver children to schools in their East Dayton neighborhoods. The move will reduce fuel costs and the number of bus routes.
Seventy positions were abolished at the May 4 meeting, 30 of them through attrition. The remaining positions will be addressed at the board’s May 18 meeting.
Vets sought
Sophomore history students at Stivers are seeking local veterans for interviews that will be included in the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Veterans must have served in the following wars to be eligible; however, they do not have to have been in combat: World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. For more information, contact Bridget Federspiel at 542-7380.
Student projects displayed at Dayton Art Institute
Fifth- through eighth-grade students at Patterson/Kennedy PreK-8 School have been working on various projects, such as mobiles and clay tiles, that blend art with mathematics lessons. The projects are coordinated with the Dayton Art Institute and the STEM program, and will be exhibited at the DAI for the next year.
WDPS FM live online
Get your jazz fix 24 hours a day, with the launch of WDPS FM streaming online! The station, “Dayton’s home for jazz,” can be found at wdpsfm.com; click on the “listen live” logo to stream directly. Want to hear a special request? Call the studio at 542-7189.
Bus Driver Appreciation Day
In celebration of Bus Driver Appreciation Day, Dayton Public Schools bus drivers received brunch May 3, courtesy of Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions and OAPSE 627.
Take me out to the ballgame
The World of Wonder choir will perform the National Anthem during the Dayton Dragons’ May 10 game against the Ft. Wayne TinCaps. School supporters are invited to come out to cheer the singers on, and sit in the special WOW section.
Ponitz student honored
Ponitz CTC senior Ashley Swope received an honorable mention award in the 2010 Art in Architecture Student Design Competition.
Marshall student wins contest
Thurgood Marshall sophomore Chloe Mayfield-Brown was chosen as an award winner for her entry in the 2010 Keep Montgomery County Beautiful poetry contest.
Students honored at National History Day
During the recent state National History Day competition, three projects were honored. “Innovation: The War to End All Wars,” a senior group exhibit by Belmont High students Steven Miller, Damaris Plata, Brooke Todd, Willie Hatton and Morgan Twiddy, received an honorable mention, as did “Magnanimous America: The Innovation of Benevolent Government,” a senior Web site by Taylor Kingston of Stivers. Kingston also won the American Founding Award, presented by the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, for the site.
Calendar
May 1Space Day – 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Kiser CLC
May 1All-City Music Concert – 11 a.m., Stivers
May 3Teacher of the Year – 6 p.m.
May 4Volunteer Recognition Reception, SCC
May 10Superintendent’s Scholars, Convention Ctr. – 7 p.m.
Commencements
May 21Ponitz CTC, Masonic Center – 7 p.m.
May 22Meadowdale HS, Masonic Center – 9 a.m.
May 22Stivers School for the Arts, Masonic Center – 1:30 p.m.
May 24Thurgood Marshall HS, Masonic Center – 7 p.m.
May 25Dunbar High School, Masonic Center – 7 p.m.
May 26Belmont HS, Masonic Center – 7 p.m.
May 27GED, Masonic Center – 7 p.m.
June 1DECA, Sinclair Ponitz Center – 6 p.m.
June 3Dayton Technology Design Sch., Dayton Convention Ctr. – 6:30 p.m.
May 31Memorial Day Holiday
June 2Last day for students
June 6Ballroom Dancing Competition, Crown Plaza – 2:45 p.m.
June 17DPS Scholarship Golf Outing
# # #
Public Information Office – 542-3054
1