Category: News

Around 500 student-athletes at Darby High School participated in the district’s first program explicitly geared toward our athletes.  Our district has partnered with The Ohio State University Life Sports Program to work with our athletes on building wellness skills such as better time management, taking care of themselves, and helping build their teams’ overall wellness.

The first guest speaker was Brian Peters, a former high school, college, and professional football player.  He talked to the players about dealing with the pressure of maintaining a positive public image while playing sports; he gave tips on how to be successful on and off the playing field and how to build your wellness routine.

The program began at Darby but will be rolled out to all three high schools this year.  All student-athletes are highly encouraged to attend the after-school sessions.  The coaching staff for all sports is also involved in this training.   The Hilliard School District has an unparalleled commitment to the wellness of all our students. Incorporating these programs into athletics is one more way to reach our students.

Leaders from the Amazon Web Services Inclusion and Outreach Global Team spent the day in Hilliard Schools at the Innovation Campus learning from our students and staff.

AWS InCommunities has helped build and support 17 AWS Think Big Spaces, where students can cultivate their interest in science, technology, engineering, and math outside of a classroom environment, within the Hilliard City Schools district. AWS has also collaborated with Hilliard City Schools on STEAM curriculum and events such as Girls Tech Day, AWS Tech Week, and Young STEM Initiative, as well as on professional development initiatives. AWS has also provided access to STEAM experts and members of AWS’ workforce for various STEM workshops, career conversations, and events.

As a part of our continued partnership, hosting the Inclusion and Outreach Global Team members was essential so their team could hear from our students and teachers directly.  They heard how the support from AWS impacts our students in all grades, from kindergarten to seniors, every day on their journey to be Ready for Tomorrow.

We are excited to begin the 2022 – 2023 school year. As a parent of three students in the district, I know this time can be filled with many activities, from finding teacher assignments to organizing bus pick-up times. Yet, in all of the excitement, there are other items on our minds, including the safety of our schools.

This past school board meeting, we had a presentation from the HCSD Joint Safety Team. In addition, representatives from the Hilliard Division of Police and Norwich Township Fire Department joined us. We received an overview of how we partner as a community; School Resource Officers in our secondary buildings, emergency radios in each school, tabletop training with building staff, fire prevention week activities, student lock-down simulations, etc. This partnership is unique and has been strong for over a decade.

There are many examples of this partnership and how it has grown over the years. There is a strong commitment from each member of the team. I want to acknowledge the hard work of this team and thank each member for their dedication.

Seeing this team in action brings me back to preparing to go back to school. As parents and community members, I ask you to think about how you can support this critical work. It could be discussing safety protocols with your child following a simulation in the classroom and encouraging your student to learn more about HOPE Squads, and sharing the excitement with your child when a police officer comes to read a book in the classroom.

I challenge you to put one more thing on your list of having a conversation with your student about safety. If this conversation brings concerns, please know we are here to support you. Reach out. Similar to the message that will be shared from Student Resource Officers in the schools to our students, “See Something, Say Something.” As parents and community members, we are asked the same.

I wish you the best 2022 – 2023 school year.

Sincerely,

Nadia Long

HCSD Board of Education, president

On August 8th, the Board of Education celebrated the expansion of the Hilliard Preschool. The expansion includes 8 new classrooms allowing 64 new spots for our youngest students.

Hilliard Teachers Amanda Schaeffer and Beth Boza are participating in an amazing opportunity abroad, investigating how Lisbon & Madrid street art reflects the voices of the community. Thanks to the grants they received through the Fund For Teachers and Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, they’re able to spend their time investigating, partaking in workshops and guided tours, and interviewing artists to create an interactive street art map that inspires a student-led street art project focusing on making marginalized voices heard in our very own community!