March '25 Newsletter

Scott Reeves, Assistant Superintendent, Teaching & Learning

Final Push

We are now into the 4th grading period. Wow, where has the time gone? My recent schedule has been stuffed with reading to elementary classrooms. I absolutely love it! Many of you have culminating projects this spring. Please continue to invite me to your classes and your events! It's my favorite thing to do and keeps me grounded that numbers on spreadsheets aren't just FTE and student data numbers but real teachers and students full of hope, wonderment and excitement! I hope the warmth and extended daylight energizes you for the final weeks of the year!

MTSS Framework Continues to Move

Hopefully everyone had the opportunity to read the email I sent regarding the progress of our MTSS Framework. I am excited that we will have an MTSS Coach in every building to support this important work!! The posting is up, so if you are interested, please apply!

Guerdie Glass, Executive Director, Specialized Learning Programs

Adam Flugge, Director, Special Education

Suzanne Kile, Director, Preschool Services

Jennifer Winters, Coordinator, Office of English Learners

Valarie Jasinski, Coordinator, Gifted Education

Elizabeth Jelkin, Civil Rights Coordinator

To support academic excellence and deeper learning, below are strategies to help students develop essential critical thinking skills:

• Think-Pair-Share – Promote reflection and idea refinement through peer discussion.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy – Design activities that build higher-order thinking skills.
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) – Engage students in real-world problem-solving.
• Debate & Role-Playing – Strengthen argumentation and analysis skills.
• Digital Tools – Platforms like Google Classroom, Padlet, CommonLit, and Newsela foster evaluation and discussion.
• Metacognition Exercises – Journaling and self-assessments enhance awareness of thinking processes.
• Socratic Seminars – Encourage open-ended discussions, multiple viewpoints, and deeper understanding.

Integrating these strategies will help develop well-rounded, critical thinkers. Thank you for your dedication to student success!

Special Education PreK-12

The Ohio Alternate Assessment (AA), a modified test for students with significant cognitive disabilities, is now underway. It aligns with a modified curriculum and measures student progress in reading, math, social studies, and science, depending on the grade level. Testing began on February 24 and will continue through April 15. We sincerely appreciate everyone's contributions across the district toward supporting the AA during this period.

Preschool Services

Our preschool team has been busy making plans for our students to successfully transition to kindergarten! As invitations to All Day Kindergarten are sent to families, we look forward to connecting with the elementary staff who will serve our students next year.

Office of English Learners

Newsletter –The next edition of our newsletter, Multilingual Message, is now available. Check out the amazing things our EL teachers and paras are doing to support students. You can also learn tips for how you can best support English Learners in the general education classroom. To correlate with the POG critical thinking competency, the newsletter includes an article for designing innovative opportunities for students to acquire English proficiency while becoming more critical thinkers.

A big thank you to everyone who facilitated, administered and supported the administration of the OELPA testing this year!! Our testing window closes prior to spring break. We know how much effort it takes to support our students through this process and we appreciate all of your efforts.

Gifted Education

The gifted education department is currently accepting referrals for gifted identification testing and acceleration requests. If you have a student that you feel would benefit from acceleration, please refer them now, during the spring window. We would like to reduce the number of students who are accelerated last minute in the fall since this leads to missed content as well as transportation issues. Thank you!

Anne Baldwin, Executive Director, Secondary Schools

Dr. Jennifer Knapp, Director, Secondary Curriculum & Instruction

Matt Misener, Director, Career and College Pathways

Becca Yanni, Coordinator, Extra and Co-Curricular Activities

Secondary Schools

As we head into a well-deserved Spring Break, our team wants to express gratitude for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment to our students. Whether you’re traveling, spending time with loved ones, or simply relaxing, we hope you take full advantage of this well-deserved break. Step away, unwind, and come back refreshed—we have an exciting finish to the school year ahead!

Secondary Curriculum & Instruction

While state assessments are on all of our radars this spring, the fourth quarter is full of opportunities to leverage your knowledge of your students and continue to build their critical thinking skills! One resource that can support designing learning experiences that require critical thinking is Harvard’s Project Zero Thinking Routines Toolbox (https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines).

Career and College Pathways

Did you know that Westerville City Schools offers three pre-apprenticeship programs for rising Seniors? These opportunities allow students to learn valuable industry specific skills and two of them are PAID! The three programs include:

• Automotive Maintenance (Performance Automotive)
• Electric Construction (Westerville Division of Electric)
• HVAC Installation (G Mechanical, Inc.)

To learn more about these opportunities, please click HERE. In order to participate, students must (1) be on track to graduate and (2) attend an open house session for the program for which they are interested. If you have a student interested, they can sign up for one or more open houses using this FORM.

Extra and Co-Curricular Activities

5th Graders are entering their music choices for 6th grade music following a MS Choir Director chat and instrument fittings. We thank our teachers for helping out with a demo video (we had participation from all grade levels!) They demonstrated choices and an overview of instruments and the classes. 1,156 Fifth graders trying 8 different instruments each = 9,248 opportunities!

8th Graders transitioning to HS have the opportunity to find out more about Marching Band and Athletics!

Cheryl Relford, Executive Director of Elementary Schools

Kate Thoma, Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction

Elementary Schools

Spring Break is right around the corner and you all deserve a week full of fun, family and laughter. Thank you for all you do for students each and every day. As I’ve been out in buildings, I have really enjoyed talking with you and learning more about the work you do every day in your classrooms. As you see me out and about, let’s connect! Feel free to ask questions, tell me about your students, or give me ideas that help us all be the best educators we can be.

Elementary Curriculum & Instruction

Have you given your feedback about this year's Data Wall? In the last C and I Smore we provided a link to our Data Wall Feedback survey. Click here to access the survey directly. Thank you for completing the Consumable materials survey in a timely manner. We are excited to streamline this process and be as cost effective as possible with our curriculum materials purchases.

Thank you to the staff who were able to attend our February Collaborative Problem Solving Meeting around the topic of MTSS at the Elementary Level. We had around 25 staff members join us for a rich conversation around what the design of MTSS is supposed to look like this year and where we are headed next year. We can’t wait to tell you more about Social Emotional and Behavioral Supports that will be provided for all K-5 teachers next year…stay tuned! We have another problem solving meeting planned for discussing PD planning for the 25-26 school year on Wednesday, April 2nd. We do not have enough interest currently to hold this meeting, so RSVP today by emailing Kate if you want to attend.

Tami Santa, Executive Director, Student Services

Jessie Martin, Director, Student Well-Being

Ja'Niece McAlpine, Director, Educational Equity

Megan Orlowski, TOSA, Educational Equity

Rachel Pinto, District Nurse Coordinator

Happy March! As the sun shines longer at the end of our school days and the temps rise, this team hopes you can find time for yourself and your circle. Thanks for making it this far in the newsletter. Please reach out anytime if you have questions, feedback or have an idea for our team to consider.

~Tami

Educational Equity

Promoting and creating learning opportunities that increase independent learning includes having strong learning partnerships between instructor and student. Quality feedback has distinct characteristics.

• Feedback in instructive rather than evaluative
• It is specific and in the right dose
• It is timely
• It is delivered in a low stress, supportive environment

Critically think about how you provide feedback to students in the classroom and how it impacts their learning.

Clinics & Health Services

School health services support critical thinking in education by promoting student well-being and teaching decision-making skills.

How can teachers help?

Try guiding students in problem-solving minor health concerns in the classroom, encouraging them to evaluate their symptoms, consider solutions like hydration or rest, and determine when a clinic visit is necessary.

You can also continue including self-care and preventive strategies in your classroom culture.

These strategies help students reduce out of class time while also empowering students to make informed decisions about their health and well being.

To further promote student independence, health and safety, and instructional time, please collaborate with your school nurse to understand the best process for your building(s).

Student Well Being

Promoting SEL in your classroom can assist in developing critical thinking skills in your students.

1. Self-Awareness and Reflection: SEL activities encourage students to reflect on their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. This self-awareness helps them analyze situations more objectively, recognize biases, and consider how emotions influence their decisions.
2. Perspective-Taking: Understanding others’ feelings and viewpoints promotes empathy and critical thinking. Students learn to consider multiple perspectives, assess situations from different angles, and think beyond their immediate experiences.
3. Social Awareness and Ethical Reasoning: Providing opportunities for students to work in pairs or groups helps students think critically about social norms in a safe environment. It encourages them to question assumptions, understand diverse cultures, and engage in thoughtful discussions about community and global issues.
4. Problem-Solving Skills: SEL activities often involve working through conflicts, brainstorming solutions, and evaluating the outcomes of different approaches. This process strengthens analytical and reasoning skills.

By providing opportunities for students to engage in social emotional learning activities, students can develop the cognitive and emotional tools needed for thoughtful, reasoned decision-making and problem-solving in real world contexts.

Nick McIlwain, Director of Alternative Education & Assessments

OST’s are just around the corner!!! 😬 We begin testing in our HS’s, MS’s and Elementary buildings on April 8th. Thank you to all of our teachers and staff members that have been preparing our students for these upcoming assessments. A BIG THANK YOU to all of the WCS staff members that have been trying the Readiness Assessments in the State Testing Portal to prepare and introduce our students to the types of questions they will see on the April tests. To date, our numbers have grown exponentially compared to last year in the use of the Readiness Assessments to prepare our students for the April OST’s. In WCS, we have given over 8500 benchmark/checkpoint/authored assessments to prepare our students. Last year, we gave 4200 checkpoints/benchmarks/authored assessments. If any help is needed as we lead up to testing, please reach out to Nick McIlwain at ext. 56105. I hope everyone enjoys their spring break. Please take some much needed rest and relaxation before the final 2 month sprint to the end of the year. ☀️🏖️