LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: Portrait of a Tiger

  • LHS teacher Abra Koch Represents Loveland in Global Learning Fellowship Program

    LHS teacher Abra Koch Represents Loveland in Global Learning Fellowship Program

    Loveland, Ohio – Abra Koch, a Spanish teacher at Loveland High School, is one of 44 public school educators from across the nation who have been selected for the NEA Foundation 2020 Global Learning Fellowship. As part of the program, Koch will spend a year in a peer-learning network of fellows who share a passion for global education and a commitment to preparing students with 21st-century skills.

    “It is an honor to participate in the NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship,” said Koch. “I am excited to continue to focus on developing global competency in our students and to serve as an advocate for global education. Our students will be asked to face increasingly complex global challenges in their lifetimes, and the solution to those challenges will depend upon our students’ abilities to consider diverse perspectives, make connections and understand the global consequences of their actions and decisions. By providing opportunities for our students to communicate and connect with communities in other parts of the world, we can help them to become truly global citizens.”

    “This work will support the implementation of the Loveland Schools’ vision of a Portrait of a Tiger – an essential component of that is to integrate global competency skills into instruction that will allow students to become curious explorers and global innovators,” according to a release by the District.

    Koch, who has traveled extensively around the world, was part of an expedition to the Galápagos Islands in 2018 after being chosen for the highly selective Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship by the National Geographic Society. She was recently invited to attend the National Geographic Education Summit in Washington D.C., featuring three days of innovative strategy sessions designed to inspire students to explore and educators to take a global path in their work.

    The NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship is a 12-month professional development program that includes online coursework, webinars, collegial study, and workshops. It will conclude with a nine-day international field study experience next summer.

    “The professional development will take place throughout the year and will culminate in a trip to Peru next July when we will have the opportunity to interact and work with local educators, students, administration and policy-makers,” said Koch. “The learning will continue after we return home through the extensive fellow alumni network.”

     

    About the NEA Foundation

    The NEA Foundation is a public charity founded by educators for educators to improve public education for all students. Through the unique strengths of its partnerships with educators, the NEA Foundation advances student achievement by investing in public education that will prepare each of America’s children to learn and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

  • Matthew Kapszukiewicz: Loveland schools can count on my support

    Matthew Kapszukiewicz: Loveland schools can count on my support

    by Matthew Kapszukiewicz

    In 2018-19 the Loveland School District invited me and hundreds of other community and business leaders to provide input into their facility master plan and the “Portrait of a Tiger” to identify the community’s vision for the student experience at Loveland. I truly believe they listened.

    The classrooms are overcrowded and desperately need to be modernized to keep up with the type of education required to prepare our students for jobs in the 21st-century workforce. The administration has been straightforward that the cost of regular maintenance of current facilities is outpacing the cost to upgrade or build new. If we don’t build new, we will spend more money keeping old buildings functioning, than we would with new ones!

    While my children will be graduated before they see a benefit, Loveland schools can count on my support, because now is the time that we must invest in our community and our schools for everyone’s benefit and ensure a prosperous future.

    Common sense says we move forward with the proposal or we will spend more to maintain inadequate facilities, thus wasting money. The availability of land in Loveland also creates urgency to move forward. If we miss this opportunity, we will lose a lot of flexibility and likely make upgrades more costly. We must act now. Of course being prepared to compete in a global economy where artificial intelligence, bots, etc. require students to be agile like we’ve never seen.

    Today our school holds classes in hallways and in trailers!  This will only get worse if we do not support the ask. We need better space, more flexible space, more cost-effective space to ensure this community prepares the workforce of the future.

    Let’s be smart about this and not throw good money after bad. Let’s move forward in a deliberate and intentional way that secures our future and leaves us with options for a very bright future.  There is a cost no matter how you vote.

  • Summer break means getting important work done at Loveland City Schools

    Summer break means getting important work done at Loveland City Schools

    by Dr. Amy Crouse, Loveland City School District Superintendent

    The days leading up to end-of-school are always busy and full of excitement, and I’m often asked if I look forward to summer vacation. The truth is, while the work over the summer changes, it doesn’t slow down much; it simply means I’m given a couple months to work with my fellow administrators and staff to make our district even better for our Tigers when they return for the new school year in August.

    This summer we will focus on Building Tiger Nation, continuing to refine our options for the most affordable way to fund the facility master plan adopted by the Loveland Board of Education in April. The master plan addresses the needs outlined in the building assessments and includes the enhancements described as priorities by our community through the many meetings and focus groups we’ve held over the past year.

    Although we are excited about the plan and moving it forward, it’s critical that we thoroughly vet all funding options as the cost of the master plan will affect our taxpayers. We will use the summer months to be diligent in this work – our commitment is to leave no stone unturned until we create the most advantageous funding structure. To this end, we have added two board meetings in late July so we can still make the ballot filing deadlines set by the Board of Elections for a November vote. The meetings are scheduled for Monday, July 22 at 9:30 a.m. and Friday, July 26 at 9:30 a.m., and will be open to the public.

    We will also “deep clean” the buildings after another busy year of activities. As they do every summer, the maintenance staff will be hard at work making repairs and getting our buildings ready for the new school year. While they do an amazing job with the upkeep, our facilities have reached the point where the cost to maintain over the next 10 years will exceed the cost to upgrade and renovate or, in some cases, rebuild. We appreciate the extensive involvement of our community over the past year as we developed a facility master plan that provides solutions for the many issues with our buildings that stand in the way of providing the best possible experience for our Tigers.

    On the academic end of our preparations, we will begin to incorporate the themes of the Portrait of a Tiger into our action plans for 2019-20 and beyond. Each school’s improvement plan has been updated and will be implemented to achieve our goals for growth, care and innovation, which are all aligned with the Portrait. Regarding the education at Loveland, all decisions will be focused on how to ensure that every Tiger has the experiences identified as essential by more than 800 students, staff, parents and other community members in the process of creating the Portrait of a Tiger.

    Last, but certainly not least, teachers and staff will continue to improve their craft by taking classes, participating and leading book studies, and attending and presenting at professional workshops throughout the summer. Our administrative team will complete a long list of interviews with the intention to hire only the best new teachers and staff to serve our students. We look forward to fresh perspectives that align with our mission and contribute to the work we do every day.

    I will greatly miss the students over the summer, but welcome the opportunity to take a step back, reflect and plan to bring them even better experiences in the fall. I wish you all a safe summer, making many happy memories.

    In service to our Tigers,

    Dr. Amy Crouse, Loveland City School District Superintendent


  • Interview with Ray Kingsbury and Misty Cheshire about Loveland U

    Interview with Ray Kingsbury and Misty Cheshire about Loveland U

    Spots for the Loveland U experience are limited!

    Cassie Mattia is a resident of Historic Downtown Loveland

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – Who wouldn’t want to learn about a community built on “Love?” Loveland’s Clerk of Courts, Misty Cheshire, and Loveland U Director, Ray Kingsbury, joined Loveland Magazine at the Loveland Magazine TV studio to talk about the program that Mayor Kathy Bailey said, “City Council is committed to finding ways to help our residents understand the decisions we make, become more involved, and connect with the community; this program accomplishes all these goals and more.”

    In this interview, you can meet Ray and Misty and understand what they love about Loveland.

     

    Loveland U will be an interactive adult learning environment with minimal lecture time that focuses on finding ways to help Loveland residents understand obtain first-hand knowledge and provide valuable input and feedback into the issues, plans, and activities of the Loveland community.

    Loveland U’s purpose is to provide a way for residents to become more involved and connect with the community.

    Spots for the Loveland U experience are limited! Check out the interview with Cheshire and Kingsbury to find out how you can secure your Loveland U spot! Oh and don’t worry the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance, thanks to an anonymous, but very generous person is giving out scholarships for those who want to participate in the Loveland U experience, but need a sponsor to take on their 99 dollar participation fee – a fee that offsets the cost associated with the materials and meals for the sessions. After viewing the interview if this is something you’re interested in, email info@lmrchamberalliance.org or call 513-683-1544.

    For everyone else:

    If you have any questions, contact, Ray Kingsbury, Loveland U Director, at rkingsbury@lovelandoh.gov, or by phone 513-774-3090.

    Click on these links: Loveland U Brochure and Loveland U Application.

    Loveland U 2019 Class Schedule

    The City of Loveland, along with partners, Little Miami Conservancy, Loveland City Schools, Loveland Stage Company, and Loveland Museum Center have joined forces to launch Loveland U.  Limited to just 25 participants, Loveland U will utilize an interactive adult learning environment with minimal lecture time.

    Thursday, September 12  Restoring Loveland’s Front Porch at the Loveland Museum Center

    Saturday, September 21 Navigating Our National Wild and Scenic River & Riverfront Development with Little Miami Conservancy

    Wednesday, September 25 Joining the Loveland Stage Company for A Peek Behind the Curtain at the Loveland Stage Company

    Thursday, October 3 Connecting with the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department to Feel the Heat

    Thursday, October 10 Discovering A Citizen’s Role in the Downtown Plan

    Thursday, October 17 Diving into NIMBYs, CAVE people and Financial Reckoning

    Wednesday, October 23 Painting Our Portrait of a Tiger with Loveland City Schools

    Wednesday, October 30 Standing Behind the Badge with the Loveland Police Department

    Saturday, November 9 Proceeding with Caution – Work in Progress! with Loveland Public Works

    Thursday, November 14 Celebrating your journey at Loveland U Graduation…Lovin Life

  • 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

     

  • Portrait of a Tiger

    Portrait of a Tiger

    What does it have to do with Building Tiger Nation?

    Loveland, Ohio – On Wednesday, September 26, a group of parents, teachers, district staff and administrators met to start outlining Loveland’s “Portrait of a Tiger.” This initial Student Experience meeting was dedicated to sharing information and beginning the process of identifying the qualities and skills our community wishes for students to have as they leave Loveland High School.

    The Loveland community is invited to attend the next Student Experience meetingS on Thursday, October 11 and 16.

    “This is important work that we have been doing and will continue to do, but right now we have a unique opportunity to explore how our mission for Tiger learning and growth ties into the larger scheme of planning the future of our school facilities,” says Andrea Conner, Loveland City School District Director of Teaching and Learning. “The ideas generated in this meeting, and those that will be brought up in meetings over the next couple of months, allow us to hone in on what skills and opportunities we believe all students should have for the future.”

    The presentation centered around thinking differently about education, and how to prepare students for life after high school and the rapidly changing workforce that awaits them. Through various interactive elements, the ideas and priorities of the audience were captured throughout the meeting.

    “With the help of technology, we were able to ask questions and get direct feedback on what is important to our stakeholders as it relates to the experience they want their student to have,” said David Knapp, Loveland Schools’ Director of Technology and Innovation. “This, along with the feedback we’ll receive in our upcoming meetings with community members, staff in all our buildings, and from the students themselves, will be collected systematically so that we can identify common themes and priorities.”

    The Loveland community is invited to attend the next Student Experience meeting on Thursday, October 11 (6:00-7:30 p.m.) in the Loveland Intermediate/Middle School Media Center. (This meeting will also be held on October 16, 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the same location.)

    For more information regarding Loveland’s master planning process, visit www.buildingtigernation.org.

    Welcome to All About Kids We invite you to come visit one of our convenient locations, talk to our staff and teachers and learn why.