By Chad Hilliker, Loveland City School District superintendent
“Good is the enemy of great.” – James C. Collins
It is a powerful thought, isn’t it? It’s the kind of idea that wakes you up a little and really makes you think. “Good” is being comfortable with status quo; “good” is when “best practice” is practiced by all; to be honest – then “good” becomes mediocre at best, and, as Mr. Collins so eloquently framed for us, it will hold you back from greatness at worst.
At the Loveland City School District – “good” just isn’t good enough.
We are looking for something uniquely Tiger – a student experience unlike any other.
We’ve called it Destination Loveland, and it really all began with three big goals.
During this 2016-17 school year, our teachers, staff, administrators and Board put laser focus on three key areas: academic growth, classroom innovation and Tiger care. This is how we are making strides right now in Preparing Our Students for Tomorrow, Today. It’s through equipping students with new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) offerings in middle and high school. It’s with the establishment of seven additional AP courses at Loveland High School (LHS). It’s by the implementation of a 1:1 device plan for LHS and LMS, and by making available 2,800 plus Chromebooks and Android tablets for our students district-wide. And, it’s by further strengthening opportunities for our youngest Tigers by offering a tuition-based, full-day kindergarten for the 2017-18 school year.
We’re not finished.
Now – as first announced at the State of Schools presentation – we are fully engaged in bringing in a group of dedicated Loveland parents, community members and business leaders to join our educators and staff members in developing our future goals. Called the Destination Loveland Task Force, this group is working to develop what the Loveland student experience should look like, the future needs of our facilities and a financial plan to achieve our goals. The timeline includes three main phases.
PHASE ONE: ASSESS
Now through the fall of 2017 task force members will examine the current student experience and existing facilities to determine future needs.
PHASE TWO: OPTIONS/SOLUTIONS
Fall of 2017 the task force will present potential options/solutions to the Loveland Board of Education for consideration.
PHASE THREE: DECISION TIME
The district will present the recommendation from the Board of Education to the Loveland community.
You can stay up to date on the work the task force is engaged in by visiting the Destination Loveland Task Force website (http://www.lovelandschools.org/DestinationLoveland.aspx) which can be accessed by visiting the “About” section of the district website.
Make no mistake – we are going for “great” – the future of our students depends on the work we accomplish today. As always, I thank you for your continued support.
Dedicated to the future of our students,
Chad Hilliker
Loveland City School District
Superintendent
Days like today call for ice cream; Bonnie agrees. Come cool down with a cone in Historic Downtown Loveland, Ohio 
? & grab a dog ice cream for your pooch 
Loveland Sweets – Fine Candies
