Fairview Fast 5

We are so excited to bring you the first edition of the Fairview Park City Schools Fast Five Newsletter for the 2022-2023 school year.

We hope you and your families have been enjoying a safe and healthy start to the school year. We began the year with Convocation on August 16. Our keynote speaker, Mr. Kelly Croy, helped us kick off the year with an inspiring message about personal and professional leadership. He described how every staff member plays an important role in creating a positive learning environment for students. Every staff member got a copy of his book, Along Came a Leader. The book contains stories and research about the six keys to leadership success: Attitude, Wisdom, Tenacity, Communication, Vision, and Authenticity.

We then welcomed students back to school on August 18. I had the opportunity to walk the hallways in each school building on the first day of school and it was wonderful seeing students and teachers in the classroom learning and growing together. The start of a new school year brings opportunities for growth, development, and personal leadership.

We hope that students set challenging goals for themselves and take advantage of all the opportunities our schools have to offer. We are committed to helping students find their passion in life and to grow as individuals and as leaders.

Please enjoy the September Fast Five newsletter which includes stories of the exceptional accomplishments of our students and staff.

Sincerely,

Keith Ahearn

Superintendent, Fairview Park City Schools

On November 8, 2022, the Fairview Park City Schools will ask voters to renew an operating levy. This is not a tax increase. Money from this levy is critical for the district's operating budget, and will ensure students will continue to receive the same amount of support and resources for individual student learning needs.

1. Renewing the levy is critical for our operating budget, providing key educational and extracurricular opportunities for our students.
2. This levy generates $2,690,000 in revenue each year for the district’s general fund. This levy amount represents over 10% of the total general fund budget.
3. The general fund operating budget includes instructional supplies and materials, student extracurricular activities, maintenance, fuel, utilities, and staff salaries and benefits.
4. The term of this levy will increase from five to ten years. This will help with future financial planning and reduce the number of times the district appears on the ballot.
5. Strong schools make strong communities. We are grateful for the continued support from our stakeholders.

During the last school year, children and families benefitted from no-cost school meals for all students, made possible by special permission from the United States Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately, these permissions have expired. The Fairview Park City School District and the Ohio Department of Education cannot extend the permissions for no-cost meals for all students.

School meals will still be available to all students; however, they will not be free to all students. Households may apply for free or reduced-price meal benefits by October 1, 2022. Applications are available at https://www.fairviewparkschools.org/Page/106 as was done before the pandemic.

Eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch is based on federal income guidelines or participation in other programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Ohio Works First. Please see the U.S. Department of Agriculture school lunch question and answer webpage for additional information concerning the National School Lunch Program.

For questions and concerns, please contact Food Services Coordinator Diana Hill at (440) 331-3525 or by email at dhill@fairview.k12.oh.us.

Navigating the college and financial aid application process can be overwhelming for high school students and their families. Even mentioning it can bring anxiety.

One of the first steps to ease that anxiety is by attending the College and Financial Aid night on September 13 at Fairview High School at 6:30 PM. Although typically most relevant to high school seniors, the event is open to all high school students and families.

“This event is especially important for first-time parents of seniors who are going through this process,” Jennifer Parente, a counselor at Fairview High School explained. “We have some parents who never went to college, and this is their first kid going to college. So it’s really important for them.”

The deadline for students to apply for early decision to colleges is fast approaching, with some dates in early November and December. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, opens on October 1.

“We’re trying to get in front of all of this as soon as possible,” Parente added. “I would say that most of our kids apply early action because they’re anxious and want to know.”

Last year, during his first year as superintendent, Keith Ahearn looked to create connections with Fairview Park City School District students, staff and families. During his second year as superintendent, Ahearn wants to strengthen those connections by once again hosting online Superintendent Town Hall meetings.

“Our response last year from the online Town Hall meetings was very positive,” Ahearn explained. “I believe stakeholders like regular updates about what’s happening in our schools in a format that also provides flexibility to get that information when it’s convenient for them.”

Ahearn has planned four online Town Hall meetings this school year, beginning on Monday, October 24. Other meetings will be held in 2023 on January 9, March 20 and May 18.

The meetings will be held on Facebook Live, allowing stakeholders to interact during the meeting. You do not need to have a Facebook account to access the meeting. However, if you do not have a Facebook account and you have a question for the superintendent, it needs to be submitted in advance on the district website.

Some Fairview High School students are taking an opportunity to make their community just a little bit brighter.

Thanks to a partnership with the city of Fairview Park, art students in Ryan Graff and Chris Kaminski’s classrooms recently designed and painted two crossing guard booths on display in the city. One of the newly painted booths is on Lorain Road, near W. 214th St. near Fairview High School. The other is on West 220th St., near Gilles-Sweet Elementary.

“Councilwoman Bridget King contacted me a couple of years ago about bringing public art into the community and involving our students from the school to do that,” Graff explained.

The first project Fairview High School students completed was the designing and painting of colorful murals at Bohlken Park, specifically around some permanent bike racks. In January 2022, King and Mayor Patrick Cooney returned to meet with Graff about additional school/community public art projects.

“One of the things the mayor was proposing was if we could do something with these school crossing guard booths, to jazz them up and revitalize them,” Graff added.