Welcome to the start of the school year in the newly recreated Parma City School District.

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When children walk through the doors on August 28, they will be entering an exciting new chapter in the history of this district.

 

Over the summer every building was turned into a “new” school that will house different students, staff, and grade levels. It was a massive undertaking and yet a very necessary one in order to maintain the fiscal health of our district into the future.

 

After closing four elementary buildings last spring through our consolidation plan, we spent the summer remodeling to ready the buildings for new grade levels and appropriate services for special needs students.

 

Staff members were packing and moving and getting ready to start over in a new building, grade, or room. Teachers and students were reassigned, principals were selected and academic preparations were made so that the best education possible could be delivered in new grade configurations of K-4, 5-7, and 8-12.

 

I am proud of the way our consolidation plan has come together. This was a community effort. Three years ago we were a district in despair. Levies had failed over and over, the state loomed above our heads with the threat of take over, staff and programs were cut to the bone, and children were losing out on the benefits of programs, activities, and advanced classes.

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That is when this wonderful community of teachers, staff, parents, and the public stepped in and said, “Let us begin again. Our kids deserve a quality education.”

 

With focus and determination we began to turn things around. Levies passed, our finances were put in order, programs were reinstated, and students are now offered the skills and course work to make them competitive in the world. It is an exciting time to be in our district.

 

As the Parma City Schools embark on this new path, we know that there will be many changes both educationally and structurally. It is a lot to do all at once, but I believe that we are headed in the right direction.

 

As with any change, there will be challenges and bumps in the road. We have the talent and the pride necessary to overcome these obstacles.

 

As was true in the past, the Parma City Schools is recreating itself and adding another chapter to its history of excellence. We are going to have a great school year now and into the future!