Dr. Giancola’s Blog

Dear Kent Parents, Guardians, and Citizens,

 First, before I announce an important invitation for you to consider, I want to compliment the Portage County Health District for its excellent work in our schools on December 8th and 9th. If you scroll down to the bottom of this Web site’s home page, you will find my detailed report on how exceptionally well our school vaccination clinics were conducted by County personnel. We truly are blessed in Portage County to have such an excellent resource for public health issues.

Second, I want to invite you to offer me feedback on the following question related to winter school closings:

“Would a two-hour delayed start instead of a full-day of a snow day work with your busy home and work schedules?”

I ask this question because there are many times that the roads are not clear enough at 6:30 AM when our school busses start rolling. Yet, within about two hours, the city and township road crews often have cleared the roads sufficiently such that we are able to operate our transportation system and regular school schedule.

If you would like to provide me feedback on this question, please e-mail me at the following address:ke_jgiancola@kentschools.net  

Happy Holidays!

Dr. Joe Giancola

Superintendent

Dear Kent Community Members,

 As we move from fall to winter, we recognize a brief interruption of normal educational activities by hosting the Portage County Health District and its H1N1 school vaccination clinics on December 8 and 9. The unofficial numbers indicate that about 1,360 students received vaccinations in our eight school buildings.

 I must compliment the County’s Dr. Angela DeJulius, MD, and Kelly Englehart, RN, and all of the County staff on their excellent work with the school vaccination clinic in Kent Schools. I also thank Annette Petranic, the County’s organizer, who created all of the schedules for our clinics. I also acknowledge the work of Kent City Health Commissioner, John Ferlito, who helped with every clinic. I finally thank Jim Soyars, our Director of Business Services, who assisted with each clinic’s set-up, logistics, and so on.

 

We are blessed in both Kent Schools and Portage County to have the wonderful services of the Portage County Health District. This group of professionals truly should be considered the pride of our County. Each and every one deserves our thanks and our support.

On a different note, this month we say “farewell” to one of our esteemed board members, Mr. John Flynn. As a board member for the last 20 years, John always has guided the district with the best interests of students in mind. I have been privileged to know John for the last 17 of those 20 years, and I thank him and acknowledge his commitment, work, and time devoted to the Kent Schools.

Born and raised in the Kent community, John is a 1967 graduate of Roosevelt High School. Later, he graduated in 1971 from Mount Union, where he met his wife of 35 years, Connie Flynn. A graduate of The Ohio State University Law School, he has been practicing law in Kent ever since his graduation in 1974. No stranger to community service, he has committed many, many hours to valuable volunteer positions other than the Kent Board of Education, such as the Robinson Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, the Rotary Club of Kent, and the City of Kent. Besides Connie, John has nine immediate family members in his life: three sons (all Roosevelt graduates), two daughters-in-law, and four grand sons. With his retirement from the board, John will be spending more time with all of them.

At the same time that we say “farewell” to John, we welcome Dr. Marlene Dorsey to the Kent Board of Education. Like John Flynn, she has children who are Roosevelt High School graduates. Her involvement as a parent will now take a new form as a representative of the people of Kent. Dr. Dorsey has been and continues to be an outstanding educator at Kent State University, and her insights will be appreciated.

The above reflections are not meant to ignore the holidays. I wish you all in the Kent Schools community a blessed holiday and a prosperous new year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Joe Giancola
Superintendent

October, 2009

Dear Kent Parents, Guardians, Students, and Friends,

In Kent Schools, we care about your children’s safety and their growth as young citizens. To meet student needs in these two areas, we are focusing our efforts this fall on a variety of advising and counseling efforts to educate students on our expectations about school safety. High standards of safety will ensure a better learning environment for all.

On our opening day for staff, our convocation speaker, Dr. Cathy Hamilton, shared her expertise on three levels of connecting with our students: their safety, their emotional needs, and critical thinking. To engage in critical thinking, our students’ other needs must be met. I want you to be sure that all three levels will receive our attention in 2009-2010.

With the beginning of a new school year come the privilege and responsibility of announcing “what’s new” in Kent Schools. At our teacher convocation on August 24, we introduced 17 new teachers to staff. Today I introduce our new administrators to the community.

I welcome the following new administrators to Kent. John Schwartzhoff joined the board office staff in August as my assistant and Interim Personnel Director. Brian Bachtel is our new Director of Career and Technical Education at Roosevelt. Julie Troman, who has served as both a classroom teacher and Stanton Assistant Principal, is the new Principal at Holden Elementary. Sandi Goodrich, who has taught at Walls Elementary for many years, is now the Principal there. Finally, two long-time Kent teachers have just begun their careers in administration with appointments as Dean of Students: Kathy Scott at Stanton Middle School and Mary Lynn Bush at Roosevelt High School. I heartily congratulate all of these fine educators!

On a different note, at our convocation for all staff on August 24, we acknowledged Paul Sellman, our 2009 recipient of the Dr. Emilio D. Ferrara Community Service Award. A graduate of the Kent City Schools, Paul has served 30 years with the Boy Scouts of America in Kent, including serving as Cubmaster of Pack 3253, Scoutmaster and treasurer of Troop 253. Previously, Paul was honored by the Kent Board of Education at its May regular meeting. Congratulations to this proud Kent community member and employee!

I hope you enjoy all of our fall activities. As always, I am open to your suggestions. I am here to serve you and the Kent community as a whole. You may call me at 330-676-7610.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joe Giancola

Superintendent

 

August 17, 2009

 

Dear Kent Parents, Students, and Community,

 

A new school year gives rise to new opportunities for students, parents, and school district staff. For a third year, we will be communicating with the Kent school community in a monthly column in the Record-Courier, called “Kent School Talk,” on the third Sunday of the month. To begin Kent School Talk’s monthly tour of Kent’s school buildings, we visit the Depeyster Board Office in August.

 

The Depeyster staff has been busy all summer with planning for the 2009-2010 school year. New staff members have been hired. Buildings have been repaired and cleaned. Supplies and materials have been ordered.

 

Permanent Improvements to our Schools

Some special permanent improvement projects include re-roofing Roosevelt, re-surfacing Roosevelt Drive and Walls School entry, and mounting new Smart Boards and other technologies in many of our classrooms. Also, the roof at Holden School has been replaced, and the new sidewalks at Walls School are finished. We have been very careful to spend the public’s money wisely in order to get the most out of your support.

 

New Administrators in our School Buildings

We welcome to our administrative team four new administrators. Julie Troman, new Holden Principal, most recently served as an assistant principal at Stanton, while Kathy Scott, new Dean of Students at Stanton, most recently served as an a teacher at Longcoy Elementary. At Roosevelt, two other administrative positions were replaced: Brian Bachtel, in Career-Technical and Community Education, and Mary Lynn Bush, Roosevelt Dean of Students. Brian joins us from Mentor Public Schools, while Mary Lynn simply has left the Roosevelt math department to become a Dean of Students.

 

“Meet the Teacher” Night on August 24 and 25: Grades K through 6

Families with students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade will be able to start the school year on Monday and Tuesday evenings, August 24 and 25, with a “Meet the Teacher” format, where students may find their classrooms, bring in school supplies, and meet their teacher. The elementary buildings will host the event on Tuesday evening, August 25, and the middle school will host the event for sixth-grade parents only on Monday evening, August 24. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to “Meet the Teacher” night. 

 

This new format applies only to grades K through 6. Grades 9 through 12 and 7 through 8 will have their open houses on September 16 at Roosevelt and September 17 at Stanton, respectively. Please call me if you have questions about this or other programs in the Kent City Schools.

 

Free Athletic Passes for Senior Citizens

Finally, I want to remind our senior citizens that free passes for admission to Roosevelt athletic events are available from our Athletic Director Ernie Rutzky’s office. Call him at 330-676-8770. If you go directly to the athletics office, be sure to bring your driver’s license or some other form of identity.

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Joe Giancola

Superintendent