LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: Director of Student Services

  • Great Oaks launches virtual tours of high school career labs

    Great Oaks launches virtual tours of high school career labs

    Image above is from one of the many virtual tours that Great Oaks now offers to students that cannot visit the campus

    Choosing classes to take during high school can be a challenge. Sophomores at area high schools typically get the chance to visit the career labs at Great Oaks campuses before making such a decision, but with current pandemic restrictions many sophomores may not have that opportunity.

    “Seeing the professional equipment and technology that our students use in their programs is important for those considering a career program,” said Great Oaks Director of Student Services Nancy Mulvey. “We want them to get to know the instructor, hear from other students and graduates, and walk through the labs.” Mulvey said that because most of Great Oaks’ 36 school districts aren’t able to send groups of sophomores to tour the nearest campus, Great Oaks has created virtual tours.

    The virtual tours, posted on greatoaks.com, include 360-degree views of each lab at each campus, along with profiles of the instructors, conversations with alumni, pictures of students at work, and information about future careers.

    “Thousands of students each year apply for these hands-on, experiential learning programs that lead to professional certifications,” said Mulvey.  “We want to make sure that they have a chance to explore and ask questions.”

    To virtually visit a Great Oaks campus, go to www.greatoaks.com/virtualtours.

  • Symmes Township’s Nancy Mulvey honored by national school organization

    Symmes Township’s Nancy Mulvey honored by national school organization

    Symmes Township resident and Great Oaks Director of Student Services Nancy Mulvey was honored this month with the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of Local Administrators NCLA, a national association for career and technical administrators.  She was recognized for her service to career-technical education and for her professional accomplishments.

    Mulvey has served the students of Great Oaks Career Campuses for more than 30 years as a math teacher, counselor, career specialist, campus dean, and district administrator. In her current role as Director of Student Services, she has strengthened both physical health and mental health services for students, led the effort to rewrite Board policies, began a summer camp program for younger students, and helped guide the district to record levels of high school enrollment.

    The nomination read in part, “Nancy recognizes best practices in the field, and shares, adapts, and improves those practices to benefit current and future students as well as the organizations she serves. She freely shares her own ideas and innovations and champions those practices that others have developed, for the benefit of career-technical education as a whole.”

    The award was presented virtually during the NCLA Best Practices Conference, which was held online this year.

  • Loveland District Teaching and Learning team unveil the Portrait of a Tiger

    Loveland District Teaching and Learning team unveil the Portrait of a Tiger

    The community’s collective vision for the student experience at Loveland

    by Andrea Conner (Director of Teaching and Learning), Eric Dool (Director of Student Services) and David Knapp (Director of Technology and Innovation).

    What skills do children and young people need in today’s rapidly changing, interconnected and diverse world? Over the past school year, the Teaching and Learning team at Loveland City Schools has met with more than 800 students, staff and community members to pose the question of what skills and experiences we want our children to possess as they graduate from Loveland High School. From these meetings, the Portrait of a Tiger has evolved, identifying the collective vision that expresses the community’s aspirations for all our students.

    Andrea Conner

    We have systematically collected the feedback we received and diligently taken notes as we’ve shadowed our youngest students through their days at school. We’ve spoken to hundreds of elementary, intermediate, middle and high school students about what matters to them and how school can become more relevant in their lives.

    The Portrait of a Tiger encourages us to strive beyond the focus on high-stakes testing and grades, and comprehensively look at the skills students need to develop early to be successful in society and the workforce later. It is based on the “Portrait of a Graduate” – a concept developed by 21st century leader in education, Battelle for Kids – and is a first step toward transforming our school system so that it creates an all-embracing experience for students that allows them to develop the competencies that will make them thrive as effective, life-long learners.

    David Knapp

    The Portrait of a Tiger is a commitment to our students and will serve as a compass for the Loveland City School District, providing strategic direction for everyone involved in the education of our Tigers. It will continue to steer us in the right direction through professional learning for staff, our guaranteed and viable curriculum, and through Innovative Instructional Grants that will be awarded to trailblazing educators who embrace the challenge of change.

    Eric Dool

    To learn more about the Portrait of a Tiger, feel free to contact the Loveland City School District Teaching and Learning team. Email or phone (513) 683-5600 Phone.

    Andrea Conner, Director of Teaching and Learning
    Eric Dool, Director of Student Services
    David Knapp, Director of Technology and Innovation

     

  • Loveland Schools celebrate the launch of Hope Squad

    Loveland Schools celebrate the launch of Hope Squad

    Students at Loveland High School signed post-it notes of hope at the official launch of Hope Squad on Monday, February 4.

    Hope Squad members greeted their peers with life saver candies as they arrived at Loveland Middle School on Monday morning.

    Loveland, Ohio – Monday, February 4, was a day of celebrating the official launch of Hope Squad at Loveland High School (LHS), Loveland Middle School (LMS), and Loveland Intermediate School (LIS). Over the past several months, approximately 140 students, staff members and external experts have worked to prepare for the implementation of the program, which is a model using faculty advisors and trusted peers to identify students at risk for suicidal ideation and behavior, and ultimately, to save lives.

    “We are very excited that our partnership with Grant Us Hope has led to this new initiative of student CARE at Loveland,” said Eric Dool, Loveland City School District director of student services. “Our Hope Squad student representatives were all nominated by their peers. They have been training and learning about Hope Squad and how to connect fellow students at risk with the critical resources they need.”

    Students at Loveland Intermediate School signed banners of hope during Hope Squad activities at lunch.

    Hope Squad members greeted other students with life saver candy, wallet resource cards and words of inspiration as they arrived to school on Monday morning. At both LIS and LHS, videos made by Hope Squad members were shown during Tiger Time and news announcements. At LIS, students worked on “compliment” activity sheets, passing them out to each other. At lunch, they played their Hope Squad theme song and shared messages of hope on banners.

    “It is a wonderful experience to work with these students – they are an amazing group of kids,” said LHS Counselor Jamie Gordon. “We will continue to train and work through the Hope Squad curriculum over the course of the year. This launch event was an opportunity to create awareness about the program throughout our schools and underscore that we are here to support one another.”

    About Grant Us Hope

    Grant Us Hope is a Cincinnati nonprofit focused on creating communities of leadership and advocacy that enhance mental wellness, safety and prevention in schools. The organization has developed a school-based, peer-to-peer suicide prevention program for students with a three-year curriculum that emphasizes suicide prevention fundamentals, self-care and anti-bullying. During the 2018-19 school year, Grant Us Hope has assisted more than 25 schools in Cincinnati and Columbus with the implementation of Hope Squad. Loveland Intermediate School is the first school in Ohio to put in place a “Jr.” Hope Squad program for fifth and sixth graders.

  • #TigerCare: Summer support for students

    #TigerCare: Summer support for students

    There are many students who require summer support.

    By Eric Dool,

    How will my student’s mental-health needs be met when school is not is session?

    As summer vacation has arrived, thoughts for most naturally turn to rest, time with friends and family, travel, summer projects, professional development and so forth. For some, however, an extended break from school can lead to significant anxiety. Will my son or daughter retain the knowledge and skills needed to be successful at the start of next year? What can I do to better prepare my child for the increasing rigor faced as they progress from grade to grade?  How will my student’s mental-health needs be met when school is not is session? As has become quite clear through research and practical application, there are many students who require summer supports in order to continue to access, participate and progress at school, year to year. That being said, Tiger Care is not something that can end in May and begin in September – it MUST be on-going.

    Tiger Care is not something that can end in May and begin in September – it MUST be on-going.

    For Loveland City Schools, targeted Care supports are an essential part of how we do business. It is an extension of our practices throughout the school year. As such, in addition to the multitude of athletic, art, and enrichment opportunities we make available to students, Loveland offers more-intensive intervention supports for smaller groups of students, frequently in collaboration with well-known community providers. Three examples include: mental-health services through The Children’s Home of Cincinnati (CHOC); an ADHD Summer Treatment Program through the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC); and Extended School Year (ESY) services for identified students with educational disabilities.

    Loveland offers more-intensive intervention supports for smaller groups of students.

    In March, I noted the on-going relationship Loveland has had with The Children’s Home of Cincinnati in providing mental-health services to students, inclusive of individual and family therapy, case management, and medication management services. For students involved, CHOC services will continue on-site throughout the summer – with little to no disruption in service. Arrangements for services are being handled through CHOC.

    In exchange for hosting the program in Loveland, a handful of Loveland students will be able to attend for free, or at a reduced cost for families.

    Loveland additionally will for the first time be partnering with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to host their annual ADHD Summer Treatment Program. This intensive, seven-week-long program has proven to be highly effective in meeting the needs of some students with ADHD, and has been offered through CCHMC for several years at Xavier University through parent payment and minimal scholarship assistance. In exchange for hosting the program in Loveland, a handful of Loveland students will be able to attend for free, or at a reduced cost for families. School teams have worked to identify possible candidates for this program.

    And finally, approximately 120 students with educational disabilities will receive varied Extended School Year (ESY) summer services to prevent excessive loss of knowledge and skills during the summer months, loss typically taking excessively long periods of time to recoup in the fall. These services have been offered through Loveland for several years in a summer-school-like fashion, focused on intensive reading, mathematics, functional living, communication and sensory needs. For a few students, more individualized supports are provided.

    Eric Dool (dooler@lovelandschools.org) is Director of Student Services for the Loveland City School District

    In summary, Loveland recognizes its role in continuing to provide Care during extended absences from school. To that end, we recognize that it is our responsibility to work with families and community resources to ensure that all Tigers return to school in August ready to learn.

  • #TigerCare: Hope Squad comes to Loveland Schools

    #TigerCare: Hope Squad comes to Loveland Schools

    By Eric Dool, Loveland Director of Student Services

    It is built into our district goals: Tiger Care. When considering all that Care could embody for our students, resilience – the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness, and self-efficacy – one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task, stand out as being of paramount importance in preparing our children for life’s challenges. Unfortunately, for some students, a lack of resilience and self-efficacy, combined with episodic and/or long-term mental-health needs, results in suicidal ideation. The reality is frightening, and has touched every single school throughout the nation. However, we are not without hope.

    Loveland is truly blessed with a wealth of caring staff and mental-health supports to meet the ongoing needs of our students. Yet, when considering the danger posed by suicidal thought, even those supports do not feel like enough.

    Loveland is truly blessed with a wealth of caring staff and mental-health supports to meet the ongoing needs of our students. Yet, when considering the danger posed by suicidal thought, even those supports do not feel like enough. We must do more. We will do more. To that end, over the next several months, Loveland will be embarking upon a partnership with Grant Us Hope (https://www.grantushope.org/) and Hope Squad (https://hopesquad.com/) to provide our students with the tools needed to join us on the front line in doing all that we can to identify and intervene with suicidal thought and behavior.

    Hope Squads – are trained to identify suicide warning signs in their peers, and to alert adults to those signs.

    Grant Us Hope, the official Hope Squad Founding Agency of Ohio, has partnered with Hope Squad’s founder, Dr. Greg Hudnall, to bring the model to the Greater Cincinnati region, and eventually the entire state. Building upon a researched-based model, student groups – or Hope Squads – are trained to identify suicide warning signs in their peers, and to alert adults to those signs. District staff are also trained in the model, and serve in the capacity of organizing and guiding as advisors. To be clear, Hope Squad members are empowered to seek help and save a life; Hope Squad members are not taught to act as counselors. This group of students will be educated on how to recognize signs of suicide contemplation, and how to properly and respectfully report this to an adult.

    This group of students will be educated on how to recognize signs of suicide contemplation, and how to properly and respectfully report this to an adult.

    In May, school counselors from Loveland Intermediate School, Loveland Middle School, and Loveland High School will receive training to equip them with the skills to serve as advisors. Staff training, parent meetings, and student selection and training will follow in the late fall of 2018. Hope Squad will then launch as an official Tiger Care program in January 2019.

    If you have any questions about Loveland’s participation in this program, I invite you to contact me directly.

    Eric Dool dooler@lovelandschools.org

    Director of Student Services
    Loveland City School District

    Wildflower House — where women & girls bloom!

  • Ensuring that we are meeting student mental-health needs is critical

    Ensuring that we are meeting student mental-health needs is critical

    By Eric Dool, Loveland Director of Student Services

    It is one of our big three district goals: Tiger Care. Over the next several months, Loveland City Schools will be engaging in a process of clearly defining what that goal entails. We want to begin by addressing one important aspect of this goal that is on many of your minds, and that is safety. Thursday, March 15, after collecting feedback from both the community and the staff, the Loveland City School District Safety Committee will be meeting to review all of our Tiger Safety procedures; this team works directly with our Loveland emergency response professionals. In this area – we are making strides together.

    As experience has shown us, while ensuring our students’ physical safety is critical, so too is our ensuring that we are meeting their mental-health needs.

    As experience has shown us, while ensuring our students’ physical safety is critical, so too is our ensuring that we are meeting their mental-health needs.

    Throughout the past several years, Loveland City Schools has worked to strengthen its partnerships with community resources, such as that with The Children’s Home of Cincinnati. Through this partnership, the district is able to offer intensive mental-health services to those students in need. Services include school-based therapy, family therapy/case management, medication management, and, at times, parent therapy when tied to a student also receiving services. These services are above and beyond those provided day-to-day by school psychologists, school counselors, and other district staff. Additionally, access is as simple as letting the school know that you are interested; school staff can assist in completing the simple referral form necessary to begin the process.

    Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you would like more information about who you can call.

    Finally, as families, you should know that there are a wealth of community-based resources available to you for crisis and long-term support.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you would like more information about who you can call. Above all – do not be afraid to ask for help!

    Tiger Care – it is what we do. I look forward to sharing more with you in the upcoming weeks.

    Eric Dool is Director of Student Services
    for the Loveland City School District