At the June 20 Louisville Board of Education meeting, we shared the annual update of the district's 5-year Strategic Plan, highlighting the progress toward the goals and objectives.

Despite setbacks our world has experienced over the last two years due to the pandemic, Louisville Schools has continued to work toward the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan, which makes a commitment to advance learning for all students so they perform at their highest potential. As a district, we continue to follow this plan as it puts students at the center of our work and prepares them for further education, the workplace or the military. 

Goal one: Provide environments to meet individual students’ futures. This goal reflects the area curriculum and six initiatives: 

• Promote innovative and active learning environments

• Foster innovative and active academic best practices

• Explore flexible career pathways

• Coordinate multi-tiered social/emotional support systems

• Nurture programming that develops soft skills

• Facilitate awareness of the world beyond yourself

Our teachers continue to research and study best practices in education and evaluate resources. They have a deeper focus on content rigor and on using student data to guide instruction. District, building and grade-level teams meet throughout the school year to create functional and purposeful communities and ensure all students are supported. Our staff continued to grow with a specific emphasis on literacy and math. 

We continued to build partnerships and collaborate with local colleges, including Stark State, Walsh and Mount Union. We began exploring the opportunities at Walsh University for our students to earn certificates in Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and IOT Fundamentals. In addition, a group toured the Massillon Gateway Center to explore internships for our students interested in mechanics and fabrication. 

Children with strong relationships with caring adults are more likely to be engaged at school and more motivated to succeed. Programs such as Character Strong, Legacy Project of Stark County, Leopard Lair and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) bring additional caring adults and create a space where students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.  Along with building relationships, we continue to look for ways to introduce our students to career exploration so they may gain insight into potential careers. 

Goal two: promote successful relationships and opportunities. This goal reflects the area of partnerships in our district and has four initiatives:

• Build awareness of all student opportunities leading to their future options.

• Explore opportunities for students and staff to provide community service.

• Publicize student and staff successes.

• Ensure parents know how and why to support their children academically. 

We celebrated relationships and promoted success with some new additions to our district, including Esports, Dance Club and the Good Morning Crew volunteer before school greeter program. 

We continued our partnership with the 2nd & 7 Foundation, which is part of The Ohio State University Outreach program in cooperation with Walsh University. We made connections in our community with hours of volunteer work and visits to local senior housing developments to share the talent of our students. We also began the process of establishing a Louisville Alumni Association.

We held parent cafes to provide an opportunity for parents and caregivers to be informed and engaged in conversations about what it means to keep their children safe and families strong.

We started the Louisville Community Academy, providing  opportunities for parents and caregivers, along with their children, to engage our families in experiences outside of what might be available in the home.  Thanks to a grant from the GPD Employees’ Foundation, activities were provided free or at a minimal cost to our families.

We continued to explore ways to show our appreciation to our staff for the work they do daily and the impact they make on our students. They build relationships and look for ways to motivate each student so that they reach their fullest potential in a world that is ever-changing.

Goal three: equip students for lifelong success. This goal reflects the area of budget and four initiatives.

• Broaden the districts’ funding sources

• Develop and formalize a capital plan

• Execute and monitor our capital plan

• Explore partnering with other districts to enhance professional development

The central office administration attended a grant writing class to enhance their skills. Every grant secured serves a purpose and provides opportunities that enhance the life of a student, a classroom, a program or the district.

This year, the district was awarded numerous local and state grants equaling over $55,000.

Our full belly, backpack program and Leopards Helping Leopards programs continued to receive private donations which help our students.

We were able to accomplish these, and many other goals, due to the work of our passionate and dedicated staff.   We are committed to creating an environment that encourages students to strive for excellence while embracing their strengths and uniqueness while maintaining the highest standards of academics, behavior, and honesty with ourselves and others.

(To see the full presentation, click here.)