The June installment of the SOESC Connection Newsletter is packed with exciting updates and important announcements, including the celebration of four dedicated employees retiring after years of exceptional service, inspiring stories in our Spotlights section showcasing standout employees and impactful programs, and a reminder to save the date for our Opening Day event to kick off the new school year with enthusiasm and renewed commitment, and more!.

Dear Southern Ohio Educational Service Center Community,

We are pleased to announce several important organizational updates that reflect our ongoing commitment to excellence and innovation.

Mission Statement Update:
Our new mission statement is: "Together, we empower excellence by transforming education through dynamic partnerships for our students and community." This replaces our previous mission statement: "Ensuring Excellence in Performance by: Pioneering high-quality services and learning through shared expertise fostering student, family, and community success by addressing tomorrow’s challenges today."

Website URL Change:
Our website URL has changed to www.soesc.org from www.southernohioesc.org. Please update your bookmarks to reflect this change.

Email Address Update:
All staff email addresses have been updated to the domain @soesc.org, replacing the previous @southernohioesc.org. This change does not affect the 9 State Support Team 14 members whose email addresses remain @sst14.org.

We appreciate your attention to these changes and your continued support as we strive to empower excellence in education through dynamic partnerships. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Southern Ohio Educational Service Center

Southern Ohio Educational Service Center Hosts Four-County Celebration

Wilmington, OH, May 9, 2024 — The Southern Ohio Educational Service Center (SOESC) proudly hosted its annual Four-County School Board Meeting and Celebration on May 9, 2024, at the Laurel Oaks Campus in Wilmington, Ohio. The event highlighted the exceptional achievements of educators, students, and community partners across Adams, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland counties.

The evening began with a Posting of the Colors by the Blanchester Boy Scout Troop 47, setting a patriotic tone for the gathering. The SOESC Governing Board sponsored the dinner meeting, which was catered by McCoy's Catering, with beautiful floral arrangements donated by Griffith Gardens, Raines Farms, and Pickett Run Farm.

Talented local students provided entertainment, including a vibrant performance of Seussical Jr. by Washington Middle School students under the direction of Kristin Preston from Washington Court House City Schools. Additionally, the West Union High School Steel Drum Band, directed by Carl Schneider, Dakota Nehus, & Aaron Van Pelt from Adams County Ohio Valley Schools, delivered a captivating musical performance.

Award Highlights

Friends of Education Awards

• Adams County: Adams Brown Community Action Partnership

• Clinton County: Clinton County Literacy Foundation

• Fayette County: Miami Trace Elementary PTO

• Highland County: Terry's Grocery

2024 SOESC CARES Awards

• Adams County Ohio Valley Schools: Pastor Mike & Talitha Parks, representing Church 180; Mary Zile; Adams County Family and Children First Council

• Blanchester Local Schools: Blanchester Eagles 2222; Jimmy Rowe, President

• Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools: Elaine Williams, Lynchburg Librarian

• Southern Ohio Learning Center: Amanda Haggerty; Ohio Means Jobs

• Wilmington City Schools: Darrian Cole and Eric Guindon, Clinton County Youth Council; Jerry Parker, Tim Wiederhold, & Jessie Wilson, Chairpersons for recent school district levy campaigns; Art Brooks, Co-Chairperson School District Diversity Committee

Purple Star School Honorees

• Clinton-Massie Middle School: Lorinda Ottaway, Principal

• Miami Trace Middle School: Jason Binegar, Principal

• Whiteoak Jr/Sr High School: John Gauche, Principal

• Miami Trace High School: Bryan Sheets, Principal

2023 ODE Momentum Award

• Belle Aire Intermediate School: Brian Cartwright, Principal

• New Vienna Elementary School: Suzanne Arthur, Principal

• Sabina Elementary School: Matthew Willian, Principal

Special District Awards

• Clinton-Massie Local Schools: Exemplary High-Quality Instructional Material Smart Adoption Leadership Award, Jennifer Updike, Teaching & Learning Specialist; Student Success Partnership Award, AJ Avery, Middle School Dean of Students; Aaron Seewer, High School Principal

• Fairfield Local Schools: Next Level Engagement Professional Development, Fairfield Middle School Staff, Deanne Miller, Middle School Principal

• Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools: Exceptional Leadership Award, Linda Hatten, High School Principal

• Miami Trace Local Schools: Ohio Top Performing School District by Business View Magazine, Kylie Lanman

• Washington Court House City Schools: 2023 Turnip the Beet Bronze Award, Tom Bailey, Superintendent

Career Readiness Excellence

• Bright Local Schools: Distinguished College Career Workforce and Military Readiness Award

• Clinton-Massie Local Schools: Career Pathfinders Award

Service and Leadership Awards

• Blanchester Local Schools: Exemplary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO); Outstanding Commitment to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Award, Putman Elementary PBIS Team; Exemplary Integration Award: Bridging the One Plan with Professional Development

• Bright Local Schools: Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame 2024 Inductee, Chris Veidt; Strategic Planning Excellence Award; Exemplary Mentor Program

• Clinton-Massie Local Schools: Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame 2024 Inductee, Dan McSurley

• Fairfield Local Schools: The Culinary Connoisseur Award; Career Pathfinders Excellence Award

• Great Oaks Career Campuses: 2023 Career-Technical Planning District Overall 5-Star Award, Harry Snyder, President/CEO

• Greenfield Exempted Village Schools: Distinguished Workforce Development Program

• Wilmington City Schools: Exemplary Mentor Program; Check and Connect Mentor Program

Team Awards

• Hillsboro City Schools: Readiness Assessment Data Leaders: High School Math Team

Additional Recognitions

• Hillsboro Intermediate School: 2023 Overall 5-Star Building Award, Darci Miles, Principal

• Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools: Outstanding Art Teacher Recipient, Mrs. Buller’s Amazing Artists

Special Recognition

• Mr. G. Elgin Card, Superintendent of Princeton City Schools, is noted for his exceptional dedication to educational excellence and community engagement.

The Southern Ohio Educational Service Center congratulates all award recipients and honorees for their remarkable contributions to education and the community. The evening's success reflects the dedication and hard work of educators, students, and community partners across the region. SOESC extends its gratitude to Great Oaks President/CEO, Harry Snyder, and Dean Andy McCool for hosting the event and to all sponsors and contributors.

Kim K. Adams, Holly Burgess, Grace Eads, Hannah Garen; Directors of Teaching and Learning

Southern Ohio ESC's Teaching & Learning Team led a presentation at the Ohio ESC Association (OESCA) Spring Conference.

We are on a mission to revolutionize science education with free world-class materials for equitable learning through our partnership with OpenSciEd. Southern Ohio ESC is proud to be a Certified Professional Learning Provider of OpenSciEd instructional content.

Southern Ohio Educational Service Center is dedicated to providing member districts with the highest quality of services in a collaborative environment that is cost-effective. This service allows many of our employees to work outside of our main offices and directly in one or multiple member school districts.

SOESC email addresses will all be @soesc.org beginning May 17, 2024.

This change will not affect our SST Team - the SST 14 team members email will remain @sst14.org

Our website url was updated to www.soesc.org

Team members- check and see where you have your email and our website listed to ensure their accuracy.

AMP (Kids And Motivated People) Dovetail is a volunteer run summer camp sponsored by Supplementary Assistance to The Handicapped ( S. A. T. H.) a non-profit organization. The camp is for children with disabilities in Highland and surrounding counties of Ohio.

The camp is held at the Rocky Fork Lake State Park in Highland County, Ohio. Each child who visits our camp is teamed with their very own camp volunteer. You will notice that we used the word volunteer instead of counselor. That is because everyone at our camp is exactly that. A volunteer! None of the individuals at our camp are paid for their time. Each and every person is there solely for the purpose of ensuring that the campers enjoy their week at camp. Our volunteer staff works diligently all year long to secure donations of cash and supplies from area merchants and individuals. This combination of an all volunteer staff and their year long fund-raising campaigns allows us to offer our camp at a fraction of the cost charged by other similar camps. Our camp has been operating in this fashion for over 30 years.

Each year the camp staff selects a theme that the camp will operate under for that year. The 2024 theme will be "KAMP Dovetail-In Motion". The week of KAMP Dovetail starts Monday, June 17, 2024.

For more information: https://www.kampdovetail.com/home.asp