Peter Matuszak honored by being named one of the best of the best academically in the nation
Loveland, Ohio– The Loveland City School District has announced that Loveland High School (LHS) Senior Peter Matuszak was named in the 63rd National Merit Scholarship Program as a Commended Student. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score.
“This recognition is a testament to the academic ability Peter Matuszak has shown; he is now a scholar who stands among the best of the best in the nation,” said Peggy Johnson, LHS principal. “We are thrilled for him, and sincerely congratulate him on this honor.”
Established in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established for the sole purpose of managing the National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 420 business organizations and higher education institutions that share the NMSC’s goal of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence. Students qualify by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
“It is my belief that the true value of any district cannot be limited to a simple grade on a standardized test.”
By Dr. Amy Crouse,
Our district mission is Preparing Students for Tomorrow, Today; our No. 1 district goal is Tiger academic growth. As such, our educational instructional leaders at every level – teachers in the classroom, principals managing the buildings and administrators specializing in Teaching & Learning at the Board Office – stay focused on measures of our performance. One data point we are equipped with to gauge performance is the annual State Report Card, which the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released to the public Thursday, September 14.
I want to be clear that – as an educator with 20-plus years of experience serving students – it is my belief that the true value of any district cannot be limited to a simple grade on a standardized test which is what the ODE State Report Card reflects. We are in the business of whole student growth, which encompasses the complete student experience, to include academic, social and emotional development. I invite you to take a look at the way we do business through our Quality Profile Report – it is a complement to the State Report Card scores and will give you a more intimate view of what it means to be a Tiger.
Whether we agree or disagree with our state assessments, I do have a strong belief in accountability, and understand that the State Report Card is one tool of accountability that can be of value. The State Report Card grades districts and schools on six components – Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation Rate, K-3 Literacy and Prepared for Success. Districts and schools received an A-F grade on each of the six components and most of the individual measures. While this – on the surface – sounds like a simple pass/fail – the explanations behind those letter-grade measures are much more complex.
In Loveland, we can celebrate a gain in the Gap Closing measure as all of our subgroups showed gains in reading, we made strides in the K-3 Literacy measure, and 20 out of 23 tested areas showed an increase in performance. While we will highlight our successes, we will not ignore the areas the State Report Card highlights as opportunities for growth.
One area we are focused on is our Progress measure
One area we are focused on is our Progress measure, which is an indicator of student growth. Our Board of Education made clear it was of paramount importance that we deliver on the expectation that every Tiger will demonstrate personal academic growth, which is the heart of our Growth goal for this school year. As such, entrenched in our building goals is increased time and focus for teachers to collaborate on: curriculum work planning lessons aligned to the state standards and vertically aligned to increase rigor for students as they progress through the grades; assessment work using student MAP data to meet students where they are and measure their individual growth; and, instruction work to improve student engagement and opportunities for their application of their learning. We feel strongly this focus will move the needle for us on Progress.
We feel strongly this focus will move the needle for us on Progress.
As always, I thank you for supporting our educational mission; I invite you to contact me directly should you have any questions or concerns regarding our State Report Card.
In service to our Tigers,
Dr. Amy Crouse
Dr. Crouse is Interim Superintendent of the Loveland City School District
We are celebrating and proud to be a member of the Ohio News Media Association along with more than 250 Ohio daily and weekly newspapers including, The Columbus Dispatch, Plain Dealer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal, Dayton Daily News, and The Toledo Blade. Loveland Magazine was the first “digital only member”.
Ohio School Report Cards give your community a clear picture of the progress of your district and schools in raising achievement and preparing students for the future. The information measures district and school performance in the areas most critical to success in learning. Ohio School Report Cards data shows educators, school administrators and families where their schools are succeeding as well as areas where they need to improve.
Schools and districts report information for the Ohio School Report Cards on specific marks of performance – called measures – within six broad categories or components. The components are Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation Rate, K-3 Literacy and Prepared for Success. The Department gives letter grades on each of the six components and most of the individual measures. This will help give Ohio parents and schools an even more complete snapshot of the quality of education they are providing their children.
Click to read the Report Card for Loveland City School District
2016-2017 Ohio School Report Cards Data Spreadsheets
The spreadsheets below contains all district, school, community school, dropout recovery and prevention school, career tech school and third grade reading guarantee grades.
“Loveland City School District Board of Education adopts new policy to further strengthen school security.”
Loveland, Ohio – A Press Release from the Loveland City School District:
Recognizing that ensuring the safety of staff and students is of the utmost importance, and recognizing that school safety can be enhanced through the use of school resource officers (SROs) who can carry weapons while on duty at school – at the September 18, 2017, Loveland Board of Education Business Meeting – in a unanimous vote – Board Members approved a resolution establishing a new policy for SROs. The policy authorizes the Board to grant permission to individuals serving the district in the SRO position to carry firearms on school premises.
“This issue came about due to the retirement of Fred Barnes from the Loveland Police Department. When Officer Barnes worked officially with Loveland Police, he was armed – even as he served our district as a school resource officer. Due to his retirement serving in that capacity and rehire by the district – we knew we needed to address this. The district worked closely with the Loveland Police Department in the development of this plan that will both address this current situation and continue to enhance the security we provide to our students and staff,” said Loveland Interim Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse. “I thank our Board of Education for taking action to allow our school resource officers to be fully equipped to respond to any crisis situation.”
Specifically, the Board can now authorize any employee or independent contractor serving in the position of School Resource Officer to possess a firearm on property of the Board provided that the individual has satisfactorily completed an approved basic peace officer training program, unless the person has completed twenty years of active duty as a peace officer, and that the individual completes an annual firearms requalification program approved by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission.
Individuals authorized by the Board to carry firearms must attend and complete any necessary training required by law and any additional training which may be required by the Board before such individuals may carry a firearm on school premises. Certification of completion must be provided to the Board.
Any person not specifically granted permission by the Board is strictly prohibited from carrying firearms or other deadly weapons on school property except in accordance with Ohio law.
At the September 18 Board of Education Business Meeting, it was time to once again revisit our five-year financial forecast – a tool we use twice each year (fall and spring) to anticipate both the financial stability and future needs for the district. You have heard me say this before, and I will say it again now – as the chief financial officer of the Loveland City School District, I want you – our investor – to know that it is of the utmost importance to both our Board of Education and my team to operate in a fiscally conservative manner while maintaining excellence for the students we serve. I am pleased to report to you that the district has maintained financial stability – as promised during the last levy campaign.
I am pleased to report to you that the district has maintained financial stability – as promised during the last levy campaign.
To provide you with relevant history, the Loveland City School District passed a 5.6 mill operating levy in May of 2014; passage of the levy provided our team an opportunity to invest in and enrich the excellent education we provide by enhancing the classroom experience for the 4,700 students we serve. Those investments included one-to-one technology for students in grades five through 12, the addition of a tuition-based all-day kindergarten option, a five-year commitment to investigating and purchasing the best instructional materials by subject annually – district-wide, development of more robust offerings at our high school, and strategic investment in classroom instruction district-wide through Innovative Instructional Grants. None of these investments could have happened without your support, and – as always – we offer a sincere thank you to those who believed in our mission and continue to support our district. Our expectation is that the money from that levy will continue to fund the district – as promised – until 2018.
Our expectation is that the money from that levy will continue to fund the district – as promised – until 2018.
At this time, our five-year forecast projections show a need to be back on the ballot in the future for an operating levy; this information was shared with our Board of Education to consider during the Business Meeting. At this time there has been no discussion regarding any specifics, but as those discussions progress, the district will provide timely updates to you. Additionally, the Board is considering future needs regarding our facilities which were brought to our attention by community members who spent a good portion of the 2016-17 school year working with district staff to identify these needs for our district and research current best practices at surrounding districts. While any upgrades to facilities would be separate from an operating levy, it is important for you to understand that the Board is considering how to address both issues. Again, as those discussions advance the district will keep you informed on the latest.
As I have expressed to you before, I feel it is my privilege to serve our Tiger Family by ensuring our team prepares students for tomorrow, today while maintaining the fiscal health of our operations. I invite you to contact me directly should you have any specific questions about our district finances. My door is always open.
Brett Griffith is & CFO of the
Loveland City School District
Accounting Plus–Bingaman Accounting and Tax Service, LLC is a tax preparation, payroll and bookkeeping company locally based in Loveland, OH.
Pocket released their first music video on Tuesday
by David Miller,
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland 2016 graduate Ryan Mangan and his alternative rock band, Pocket, released their second album in August. The Things You Think At Night is available on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music. Mangan self-produced, wrote and performed nearly the entire album. In collaboration with Loveland senior and Loveland Magazine writer, Sam Smith, Pocket released their first music video on Tuesday.
The Delusion music video is a mix of live action, digital and practical VFX and 3d computer renderings. The video tells a story through hands, statues and falling actors.
2017 Loveland graduate, Jacalyn Parsley is featured in the music video Delusion
The video was shot over the course of only two days on a shoestring budget and with almost no crew. The Delusion music video stars 2017 Loveland graduate, Jacalyn Parsley and was produced with help from Loveland High School seniors Ricky Vilar and Stone Taul.
“Delusion is about all the unwanted anxiety that comes when you’re falling for someone. You start to wonder if they like you back, if they feel same. After a while you kind of just get to this point of ‘let’s stop thinking about this stuff, I’m not going to figure it out right now’,” Mangan explained.
Sam Smith is a photographer, videographer and writer for Loveland Magazine and award-winning independent film producer
The video is largely based around looping, long exposure stop-motion sequences created with a device called a Pixelstick. The Pixelstick works by “scanning” across individual pixels of an image in succession and are captured by moving the device laterally in a long exposure. Smith created images and sequences that were loaded onto the tool, and then it was moved laterally hundreds of time, displaying slightly varied frames. This created the illusion of movement and a holographic-like effect that is easier seen than described. Smith said, “Yeah, it was two months of spending most of my free time editing since it was so effects heavy.”
In the studio shooting Delusion
“Honestly I don’t know much about videography, but I had seen some videos that Smith had done before and he’s just flat out amazing with that stuff,” said Mangan. He gave Smith some ideas for what he wanted the video to be like, and then he took it from there and beyond, is how Mangan described the collaboration.
“The video goes past my wildest dreams honestly. Shooting was a lot of fun as well, I’ve never done anything like this before so seeing it come from the start to the end was a very cool process,” Mangan said.
“Shooting the music video was an incredible experience. It was a lot of run-and-gun, shooting from the hip and making things up as we went along,” said Smith who added, “It was a pretty ambitious project for our resources, so we tried to embrace the flaws and go for a little bit of a low-fi look.” Smith said it was his first time doing something like this and he felt that he was able to put a lot of his own style and aesthetic into the piece. “Working with Ryan was wonderful– he gave me a great song and pretty much total creative freedom. I’m really excited to see where his career goes,” Smith explained.
In addition to being a photographer, videographer, and writer for Loveland Magazine, Smith is president of the Loveland High School Film Club, Overture Award recipient and has had work shown at festivals such as NFFTY, AAHSFF, Vidcon and Nashville Film Festival.
The video is available on the Pocket Youtube Channel. Keep up with Mangan’s new releases on Spotify, Apple Music, and Twitter. You can follow Smith’s work on Instagram and Vimeo.
Sample other songs on The Things You Think at Night:
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District’s Board of Education is in the process of searching for a new school superintendent. The vacancy is the result of the resignation of Chad Hilliker, that was effective on July 31, 2017. At that time, Dr. Amy Crouse took over as interim superintendent for the district, and she continues to lead in that capacity. The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) is assisting the Board with the search.
The Board has scheduled a Community and Staff Listening Session for OSBA consultant Steve Horton to meet with staff and community members to review the hiring process and receive input on Oct. 18, from 7 until 8 PM at the Loveland Intermediate School Media Center, 757 S. Lebanon Road, Loveland, Ohio 45140.
The conversation will focus on the following three topics:
(1) Major issues facing the district for the next three to five years;
(2) Performance expectations for the next superintendent; and
(3) Personal and professional qualities to be sought in the next superintendent.
In a statement from the District, “Horton will provide the Board of Education with a detailed report of the conversation which will help the board to develop a detailed profile of the ideal candidate, to enhance their understanding of perceived future challenges and opportunities facing the district and to assist them in setting specific criteria for the screening, selection and evaluation of candidates.”
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District has announced that Loveland High School (LHS) Senior Peter Matuszak was named in the 63rd National Merit Scholarship Program as a Commended Student. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score.
7th Grade:
