Board Update

The Reading Community City School District held a work session on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The meeting was streamed live and is archived here.

Dr. Damon Davis Hired as Director of Curriculum and Communication

As part of the district reorganization plan, the position of Director of Curriculum and Communication was created to help focus on the vision areas of Student Learning and Communications.

Dr. Davis applied and was interviewed for this position. Following this process, Superintendent Jason Enix recommended Dr. Davis for his new role and the Board of Education approved in a 5-0 vote.

“Dr. Davis has demonstrated outstanding leadership and communication with our staff and families in his current role as Reading Middle School principal these last four years,” said Superintendent Jason Enix. “I am excited to have Dr. Davis joining our district leadership team in this new role to support students, staff, and our district moving forward.”

The Director of Curriculum and Communication will be responsible for the following key focus areas:

• Curriculum development and alignment

• Course of study planning

• Purchase/management of learning and instructional resources

• Assessments and data analysis/management

• Professional development

• Development and implementation of a comprehensive communications strategy

The position was created to support the established vision areas determined in the recently developed district strategic plan. This role was developed in a cost-neutral restructuring of district administration and realignment, allowing the district to better fulfill its commitment to curriculum needs and communication while also maintaining fiscal responsibility.

"I am extremely excited and honored to be selected as the Director of Curriculum and Communication for the Reading Community City School District,” Davis said. “The fabric of our school community is comprised of tremendous students, staff, and families. This new role will allow me to continue supporting the great work happening in our classrooms and building as we prepare our students for the future."

The new role for Dr. Davis will begin effective next school year. He will be finishing out this year in his role as principal of Reading Middle School and assisting in the transition of our district reorganization plan.

District Reorganization: Programming and Scheduling

During his presentation to the board, which will be posted here, Superintendent Jason Enix discussed the programming and scheduling changes that will be implemented as part of the District Reorganization Plan. The Board is expected to take action on the finalized program of studies during its next meeting, which will allow the scheduling process to move forward for next year.

Learning Recovery Plan

Superintendent Jason Enix shared with the board that the work is underway to complete a District Learning Recovery plan. Governor Mike DeWine requested every district submit a plan to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to identify and address the academic and social-emotional needs of students in response to the ongoing pandemic. The work has begun to engage with the community, staff, and parents. There have been meetings with the administrative team, community forums involving each building, building leadership team meetings and there will soon be a discussion involving the district Wellness Committee. A draft of the Learning Recovery Plan is expected to be presented to the Board during their next meeting and will be submitted to ODE ahead of the April 1, 2021 deadline.

District Committees

The Buildings and Grounds Committee met this week and discussed the Hilltop and Central properties and 2 upcoming community meetings will be held to discuss the future use of the Central property:

Monday, March 8th at 6:30 pm. There will be a Community Chat in the Media Center. This will be an in-person event, with limited attendance, so please sign up here.

Thursday, March 11th at 6:30 pm. This will be a virtual Community Forum to discuss the Central property. Join the Zoom meeting here.

The Policy Committee will continue its work on any updates to district policy with more expected to be discussed at the next Board Meeting, Wednesday, March 17.

Reading High School Graduation

Graduation for the RHS Class of 2021 will take place at the Reading High School stadium on Wednesday, May 26 at 7 pm, with a rain date of Thursday, May 27. This move will allow us to have a regular graduation ceremony with a larger number of family members in attendance. The district is working with the City of Reading on the best set-up to accommodate everyone safely.

District Finances

The administration continues to monitor the district budget, including known and unknown impacts on the budget. Funding from a federal pandemic relief package in the amount of $1.4 million (ESSER II) has been allocated to RCCSD, and based on the flexibility of uses may have a positive impact on the district budget as well as support the district learning recovery plan. Please see the presentation attached for more details. There were two options presented regarding finances - either move forward with a levy request or wait until more of the financial unknowns are resolved. Moving forward with a November 2021 levy request would mean using the May 2021 Forecast, and passing a Resolution of Necessity by July 2021. Postponing a levy request until May 2022 would allow for more time to understand the impacts of potential state and federal funding changes. More updates will be shared with the Board of Education as information becomes available of the unknowns.

Road Closure To Impact City Travel

Beginning March 22nd, Hunt Rd. Will be closed at Heile Dr. for approximately three weeks. For those students and families that travel Hunt Rd. to and from school each day, please make arrangements to avoid that area during this time.