Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District Board of Education has announced that it is seeking community members for a Planning Commission. The commission will assist the board with researching and evaluating a variety of assigned issues and topics relating to the schools.
“We see this as an opportunity to engage our community in a variety of issues affecting our schools on an ongoing basis,” said Board President Dr. Kathryn Lorenz. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to capitalize on residents’ expertise, ideas, and dedication to the success of our schools as it relates to finances, facilities, school improvements, student experience, communications, and community engagement.”
The Planning Commission will have a maximum of 25 participating members. At capacity, it will be composed of seven faculty and staff members and 18 citizens of the school district. The residents, who will be appointed by the Board of Education, will reflect the diversity of the community. Student participation will also be sought, in particular for the committee on school improvement and student experience.
Emersion Design to serve as the Master Planning Architects; District engages Task Force to provide input
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District will begin a year-long process of community engagement under the management of Emersion Design – a master planning architecture firm that will serve the district in the capacity of community engagement around the assessment of current facilities and future facility needs. The Loveland Board of Education approved the contract with Emersion Design at the March 20 Board Business Meeting.
“We look forward to engaging the school community and the community at large to understand the future expectations of the district and how those expectations can be provided,” said Loveland Business Manager John Ames, who worked directly with the Board Facilities Committee on the selection of the firm.
The master planning process will work in three phases:
Phase One: Assessment (Research & Analysis)
Assessment of the condition of all six buildings
Evaluation of enrollment trends and the effect of the trends on the district
Analysis of how the current facilities meet the needs of 21st century education methodologies
Community engagement to provide an overview of the findings of the assessment phase
Phase Two: Translation (Interpretation of Needs)
Evaluation of feedback from Phase One community engagement
Exploration of educational trends to identify how these trends can influence facilities
Development of options with cost implications
Community engagement to present options and solicit feedback
Revise options based upon feedback
Community engagement to present final options and solicit feedback
Evaluation to determine if additional refining is needed
Phase Three: Master Plan Delivery
Provide Final Master Facilities Plan containing rendered floor plans of chosen option(s)
Rendered site plans of chosen option(s)
Budget
Phasing
Dr. Amy Crouse
Additionally, under the leadership of Loveland Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse, the district has engaged a task force comprised of administrators, staff, students, parents, and business and community leaders to work with the master planning firm to help advance the goals of the district.
“Strong schools – strong communities; we believe in this connection and we intend to build the future together,” said Dr. Crouse. “This is the work driven by our Loveland Board of Education that partners the district with our Loveland community in ensuring we support each other in this initiative.”
The task force is led by a steering committee that will meet every two weeks to make sure the group is hitting target dates that will be defined in conjunction with Emersion Design, with three additional committees to focus on the student experience, facilities and finance.
“Everyone will work both separately and also together,” explained Dr. Crouse. “We must ensure that the needs for our student experience match the plans we make for our future facility improvements and that we can fund the projects that we want. Every committee is important; every member is valued – and any Loveland resident who would like to be involved is invited to contact me to join us on this exciting journey.”
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“We see this as an opportunity to engage our community in a variety of issues affecting our schools on an ongoing basis,” said Board President Dr. Kathryn Lorenz. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to capitalize on residents’ expertise, ideas, and dedication to the success of our schools as it relates to finances, facilities, school improvements, student experience, communications, and community engagement.”
