SHS Weekly Update

This week, at the school board meeting, our curriculum directors presented the school report card for the district. While I've spoken about the high schools' success I wanted to focus on a specific data point that represents just how well SHS has done since the end of the pandemic.

This year the state released growth data for the past three years. This represents how much students improved on state testing from year to year. Student data is compared to the same student so the data tells you how much the student grew during a school year. The State's 3 year measurement represents how much students have grown for the 3 years directly after the pandemic.

For 3 year growth Strongsville High School finished 3rd out of 3025 schools in the state of Ohio. To be considered average growth is a index score of -2 to 2. SHS' score was 31.89. This means we exceeded what is considered above average growth by 15x. This data point demonstrates how excellent the school is doing at growing students, this is due to the hard work of our students, teachers, and parents. The support of parents to have a high achieving school is paramount to the past three years success.

Congratulations to Christian Zaripheh for receiving the "Extra Mile" award from our school board. Christian is the model of a student who gets engaged at SHS. He is president of the student council, a member of the principal's advisory group, a member of the National Honor Society, and a starter on the football team. Christian also worked with Mrs. Drake to bring the parade back as well as start lunch with an athlete at the elementary schools.

Issue 53 will be on the November 5th ballot. Issue 53 replaces the previous 5.9 mill renewal levy for our District. Since Issue 53 is a 4.9 mill continuous levy, it will lower the tax rate for Strongsville residents, while still investing and offering more to students and families, as well as keeping the District financially stable through the 2028-29 school year.

Have additional questions about Issue 53? Click HERE to submit your question.

Running with the Mustangs’ is a new video series to celebrate the “heartbeat of Strongsville High School.” This new series highlights students, staff, and programs that make SHS a special and unique place. Click HERE for this week’s episode - featuring interviews with Zoey, Peyton, Gianna, and Joelle - senior members of the Varsity Football Cheerleading Team.

Stream and watch SHS athletic events from Pat Catan Stadium and the SHS Main Gym on the new HUDL TV. Simply search for Strongsville High School at fan.hudl.com or download the HUDL Fan app in your app store. Gameday passes are $12.50 and grant access to all HUDL TV streams for that day. For example, if you purchase a pass to stream a JV volleyball game, you’ll also have access to the freshmen and varsity games, as they are held consecutively at the same location. Season passes are available for $195, offering access to all events on all streams throughout the season. Coming soon, we will also be streaming games from the SMS Main Gym and SMS Serpentini Field on HUDL TV. Need help purchasing a live feed of Strongsville Athletics? Click HERE for a HUDL tutorial.

Our focus on bringing positive supports to our school, in conjunction with still having consequences for student behavior, has led to reductions in behavioral referrals across the school. The bathrooms are clearer for all students to use, cell phone issues have been reduced, and students are learning in a safe environment.

The last real major issue is skipping classes and being on time. In digging deeper into the data there are a core group of students who make up a large percentage of the skipping rates. Neither discipline nor positive interventions have persuaded these students to stop skipping. In order to better support students who skip class we will be implementing tougher discipline standards including corrective learning, Saturday schools, and parents will be coming in to meet with administration.

We would also like to remind our students that it is never acceptable for more than one student to be in a stall in the restrooms. Students who are in a stall with another student will receive a suspension for 3 days.

The PTA is having multiple fundraisers. I am attaching the links to each one of them.

Perfect Parking Spot Raffle - https://app.givebacks.gives/612ed7
Dairy Queen Cakes - https://strongsvillehspta.givebacks.com/store/items/1086653
OSU v Michigan Squares - https://strongsvillehspta.givebacks.com/store/items/1116538
Clothing Donation Drive - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4CAEA622A1FE3-50635440-shspta#/

The Strongsville City Schools annual “Greet & Treat” event will be held at Strongsville High School’s Pat Catan Stadium on Monday, October 28 from 5:30pm - 7:00pm. Dress up in your best Halloween costume and collect candy and treats in an outdoor, family-friendly atmosphere. We will also be accepting donations of non-perishable items, especially cereal, canned fruits, canned vegetables, and Macaroni & Cheese, for the Strongsville Food Bank and other local food pantries that evening. We hope to see lots of families at this year’s “Greet & Treat” on October 28!

Strongsville City Schools encourages students, teachers, staff, parents, and other members of our community to report any instances of potential violence, bullying, self-harm or any other issue where students may be at risk. Click HERE for additional Stay Safe. Speak Up! Information on the District’s website. Reporting incidents can be made anonymously online or through a toll free number (​1-866-listen2me / 1-866-547-8362).