Click Here for 2018-19 Back to School Information

When I express concerns to school leaders, I demand confidentiality.  What is my expectation of privacy when communicating with district leaders? This is fairly simple.  When you talk to school employees about your child you have a reasonable expectation of privacy.  Emails and letters about a student’s educational experience are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  If your communications involved the health and safety of your child, or of other children, district employees are mandatory reporters and may require communications with appropriate law enforcement or support agencies. If you raise the level of communications to the Board of Education, there is no expectation of privacy.  When you email or share information with members of the Board of Education, you are knowingly and willingly sharing information with elected officials - with policy makers.  Simply by emailing or writing to the Board of Education Members you are creating a public record, which does not receive the same privacy protections. Per Board of Education Policy, concerns should be directed to the source of the issue before escalating concerns.  While people often say, “I’m going straight to the top” when they call my office, our staff is required to refer concerns and/or complaints back to building administration.  On our web page we have a page dedicated to letting you know Who to Contact. Since the district is eliminating class rank, who is going to speak at graduation? While traditionally the speakers at commencement exercises have been the valedictorian and salutatorian, with the district no longer calculating class ranks beginning with the Class of 2022 each high school will hold auditions to be graduation speakers. While the process and qualifications to audition have not been finalized, our plan is to phase in this process over the next three years.  At the same time, we will begin recognizing students who earn Latin Honors over the next three years as well.  Students will be recognized with Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Cum Laude accolades beginning as early as the spring of 2019.  These honors will be phased in concurrently with the phasing out of class rank.  We will be intentional in our actions and clear with our plans. Why is Hilliard starting later than neighboring districts in the fall? First, we intentionally planned to start a little later this year due to construction projects.  With the opening of Memorial Middle School, shift of Station Sixth Grade Building, and creation of the Innovative Learning Hub we have a lot going on this summer.  We have built flexibility into the calendar to ensure everything is ready when students are scheduled to return to school.  Please note . . . we have no control over road construction projects. School calendars for 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 are all available and easy to find on the district’s website.  These calendars take into account both projects for this summer and graduation dates coordinated with Ohio State University.    

Darby Class of 2018 from Hilliard City Schools on Vimeo.

In the Hilliard School District we work to provide our students an education based on academic and social-emotional successes through personalized learning with an emphasis on interests, mindset, and rigorous academics.  Listening to our students, with open ears, brought us to the conclusion that we should investigate our current class ranking practices.  This spring I had the opportunity to facilitate a Class Rank Task Force comprised of Board of Education members, staff and parents. Our group reviewed research, examined nearby school district practices, learned what college admission officers are saying, and surveyed our own beliefs. When we were finished, we presented our findings to the Board of Education. Overwhelmingly, our committee found it best for all students to eliminate class rank.  Director of Secondary Curriculum and College Partnerships John Bandow said, “High School courses should be a time for students to explore their interests.   Allowing students to take a course or two in an area of personal interest even if it is only on a 4-point scale should not be a detriment to their GPA.  It was bothersome when I’d hear students say they can’t take that class because of its GPA.  The courses that may see an uptick in student enrollment will be in the arts, music and business departments.” After reviewing our findings the District Administration has announced that beginning with the Class of 2022, our current 8^th grade students, we will no longer calculate Class Rank.  Our school profile, most often used by college admission officers, will contain decile ranking.  This will place students into a 10% category based on their GPA.  We will also move to using Latin Honors at graduation. Hilliard College Counselor Tom Woodford added, “As students are viewed holistically through the college admissions process, taking rank out of the scenario will help many of our students.  We have so many students who have performed well, with over a 4.0 GPA, but their rank hasn’t been helpful.  I feel this decision to not rank our students will benefit our students in the long-run.” “In Hilliard we model our passion for growth through our actions,” Superintendent John Marschhausen said.  “The current class rank system is antiquated; it no longer is in alignment with the culture required to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. We continue to adapt and adjust our practices, to be intentional in our decisions, and to remain focused on preparing students for success in the future.”

Three Darby digital artists created winning designs for the "WHAT MAKES MY SCHOOL GREAT" cover contest sponsored by Ohio Schools. Samantha Conners was named the Grand prize winner and will have her design featured on the June 2018 Ohio Schools cover. Malia Evans & Connor Stewart also placed and will have their work featured within the publication. Both artists also received cash prizes. [caption id="attachment_11393" align="alignnone" width="690"] Samantha Conners Design[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11394" align="alignnone" width="686"] Malia Evans Design[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11395" align="alignnone" width="681"] Connor Stewart Design[/caption]

Our district’s mission is to prepare each student to be “Ready for Tomorrow.”  To get the best possible education we know that means we need our students to be in our schools. In December 2016 the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 410 to support a preventative approach to excessive absences and truancy.  All districts were given until the beginning of this school year to adopt the new guidelines and have procedures in place to address interventions for students who are excessively absent from school. 40