The Fairfield City School District was ready and eagerly waiting to open its doors to more than 10,000 students this week, to begin the 2007-08 school year.

We actually kicked off the new school year with a back-to-school parade and festival, the fifth annual this year, on the Saturday before the first day of school. I’d like to thank the Intermediate School and especially teacher Valerie Isaac, who led the group that worked so hard to organize it. That group included Dr. Gayle Niehaus, the Intermediate School principal, along with Lisa Gundler, Debbie Pottenger, Karen Brassfield, Robin Atyeo, and Doug Morgan.

For a superintendent, the days before school opens again, especially in a district of this size, are busy ones. I joined other administrators in a series of working meetings with our new teachers, nearly 50 of them. Many are new to teaching, while others are experienced teachers but new to Fairfield. We cover a lot of material, including curriculum, instructional practices, key district policies and procedures, and a general overview of what they can expect from the Fairfield School District, and what we expect from them. Meanwhile, out at our ten schools, principals, assistant principals, other staff members and teachers were working to ensure they were ready for the first day – and the 177 days to follow.

A very special moment for me is the annual Opening Day meeting, held the day before students begin classes. It’s the only time all year that our nearly 700 teachers are all in one place at one time. It’s held in the Performing Arts Center at the high school, and this year was scheduled to include the professional group Wavelength performing A Funny Thing Happened Leaving No Child Behind. With four actors and a pianist, it’s a presentation that features a humorous but still insightful and thought-provoking look at the No Child Left Behind legislation. It covers subjects like how to keep students enthusiastic about learning amid the series of high-stakes testing that’s part of education today.

At the Opening Day meeting we also name our Teacher of the Year – but that is the subject for the next column.

One part of school resuming is the annual shopping trip for school supplies. For some families in the district, especially those with multiple children in school, it can be a significant financial burden, even though our staff works to make sure that each item on the list is truly necessary.

Coming through for these families in recent years have been two organizations: the Butler County School Supply Coalition, and Ohio Casualty, a major insurance company based right here in Fairfield. Both of these organizations purchased new school supplies worth thousands of dollars. These supplies were then distributed to all ten of our schools the week before they opened, and were ready to distribute to students who needed them. We use the guidelines established under the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program to hand them out appropriately.

Finally, I’d like to commend our district treasurer, Nancy Lane, who was honored by a state organization for her work in managing the district’s $70 million budget. The
Association of School Business Officials cited her excellence in financial reporting for the fiscal year that just ended in June. Being a school district treasurer in Ohio is a daunting job, and requires dealing with a myriad of complex policies, regulations, tax formulas, etc. We’re happy Nancy is here to handle it for us.

Cathy Milligan
Superintendent
Fairfield City School District

Published in the Fairfield Echo, August 30, 2007