Recently, we continued our five part video series about how school finance works at SLSD. In last week’s video, we explored how enrollment and inflation impact expenditures at SLSD. If you missed last week’s video or the previous parts in our

Last week, we continued our five-part video series about how school finance works at SLSD. In the first video, we discussed the history of past levies here at Southwest, and how SLSD utilizes your tax dollars to ensure a quality education and opportunities

As we close out this school year, we want to draw our families back to our mission of Academic and Social Growth for ALL students every day.  This year, we are happy to celebrate many areas of our Mission and want to take a few moments to share out some

Gear up for a summer of learning and fun!  We are pleased to offer a wide range of summer camps tailored to a variety of interests, and are eagerly anticipating a summer filled with exciting activities and opportunities for growth.  Regardless of

Registration is now open for Summer School at Harrison High School and Harrison Junior School.  Click HERE for course information and the link to register.

We are excited to announce that 6th grade schedules for the 2024-2025 school year are completed and ready for pickup!  We are thrilled to be sending these out to families to assist them in preparing their children for the transition to middle school

Today marks the end of the 2023-2024 school year.  We are grateful to our families who have partnered with us every step of the way.  This collaboration is a major key to success for our students, both in and out of the classroom. As we turn

Harrison Elementary School is teaming up with Hoxworth Blood Center to sponsor a blood drive in memory of Ollie Rodriguez.  "Super Ollie's Sidekicks" Blood Drive will take place on Tuesday, June 4 from 12:00-6:00 PM at Harrison Elementary School. The

Last week, we continued our five part video series about how school finance works at SLSD. In the first video, we discussed how money is spent across our district, and how that money is focused on investing in people - our students and staff. And in the

Last week, we launched the first part of a five part video series about how school finance works at SLSD. In that first part, we discussed how money is spent across our district, and how that money is focused on investing in people - our students and staff.

Incoming 6th grade families,  Thank you to those who attended our Parent Q&A Sessions last week.  For those that could not make it, we would like to share some important dates and information regarding your student's

Our “Did You Know?” series continues this week with the first of five videos exploring the ins and outs of finances in the Southwest Local School District. Through all of our community engagement, we've gotten a lot of questions on this topic -

SLSD will be having our annual district-wide "Shower with Kindness" Drive from May 6-10.  It's sponsored by the Harrison High School Student Council,    This is an event that started three years ago at the high school.  Shower with

Spirit Week Dress-Up days: week of May 6th Get ready to make a difference, Wildcats! We've got four incredible community events happening at the Junior School and we need your help to make them successful!  Email

This month has been tremendous as far as our mission of Academic and Social Growth.   There is a lot to celebrate and a lot of important events that are coming up.  State Testing Our students have done an incredible job with State

Ensuring that SLSD is financially responsible and transparent is something we take very seriously.  We've heard throughout our public engagement that it's also a top priority for the community.  Every year, our school district undergoes an

Attention Parents of 5th Graders: Please join Harrison Junior School staff members for our parent information and Q&A session regarding the transition to 6th grade and Harrison Junior School.   We will be visiting each elementary school

All students entering grades 7 and 12 are required to be vaccinated against the meningococcal disease. One dose of meningococcal vaccine is required prior to entry into the 7th grade. A second dose of meningococcal vaccine is required prior to entry into the

Last week, we shared what enrollment has looked like at SLSD in the last several years. As a reminder, since 2019 we have added 440 new students to the district. The state of Ohio recently released a report where they projected what our district enrollment

Southwest Local Schools has earned the Auditor of State Award for transparency and excellence in fiscal stewardship, and has received another clean audit for the 2023 school year.   To be eligible for this award an entity must file financial

One topic popped up again and again during our town halls and throughout our community survey - increasing enrollment across our district.  It's no secret that we live in a growing community, and this naturally results in more students in our

State Testing Over the course of the past week, each of our nearly 1100 students completed both sections of their Ohio State Test!  We are happy and grateful that our students have put in so much effort and hard work during testing, but more

In the last few years, we've made it a priority to try and get every student in the district to participate in at least one extracurricular activity. During our town halls this year, we heard a lot of participants who wanted to see more involvement and more

April 2, 2024: All after school and evening activities are canceled due to the impending severe weather.

Throughout our town halls, surveys, and our recent building tours, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about our facilities. Specifically, some concern was raised that our newer buildings were built too small for the rapid pace of enrollment in our

On Saturday April 27th, the Crosby Elementary School parking lot will be transformed into a lively outdoor market for vendors to sell garage sale items and hand-crafted items!  "Junk in the Trunk" will benefit Wildcats Care, an initiative by

We had the privilege of meeting with your students as a grade level for the fourth time this school year. These quarterly gatherings provide invaluable opportunities for our team to realign and reignite our students' focus as we enter the final stretch of the

The Harrison High School senior class is once again teaming up with Hoxworth Blood Center to sponsor two blood drives this school year.  The second and final drive will take place on Wednesday, April 3 from 7:45 AM - 1:30 PM in the Activity Center

It's time to sign up for Youth Athletic Summer Camps!   Harrison Wildcats Athletics has put together a great lineup of camps in a variety of sports. Learn a new sport, or refine their skills in a sport they already play. Help keep your child active

Throughout our town halls and throughout our public engagement efforts, there was a big focus on the state of our SLSD facilities. We strongly believe that the community should have access to all our buildings so they can get a clear picture of the current

Welcome Back!  We hope your students enjoyed their three day weekend as our teachers closed out the quarter and loading grades into the system.  As we enter fourth quarter there are several items that we want to share with our

Throughout our community engagement, the issue of bullying in our schools came up a lot. We work every day to ensure that our students can learn in an environment that is welcoming and safe. A big part of that process has been to prioritize ways to handle

Today marked the end of the third quarter of the 2023-2024 school year. It's been filled with many high points, both academically and socially. Click HERE for an update from Superintendent John Hamstra, along with some recent

During our town halls and engagement efforts, we've heard a lot from parents about the need for preparing students for the real world. At SLSD, we have worked hard to provide every student with these opportunities. We call them the “Three

During our Town Halls, we heard a lot about the desire for more advanced academic options for our students. We heard you, and we're acting. The district is currently working on offering more advanced options at Harrison Junior School. The math curriculum was

Our final Parent-Teacher Conference night of the year will take place on February 29th.  Please click on the following link to sign up!  We would love to see you there! https://southwestlocalschooldistrict.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=83485 If

Welcome back from a four-day weekend, it is great to see the sun start to rise each morning as parents drop off their students, and hopefully some warmer weather is right around the corner.  We have many exciting things happening in the coming week(s)

During our Town Halls and Community Survey, we heard a lot from the community about the importance of mental health. While there is still more we can do, we have made a lot of progress as a district to address these growing concerns. The last four years have

A Parent Information Night was held on February 12, 2024 regarding Erin's Law and the Save Students Act. To listen to an audio recording of the presentation, click HERE. To view the slides presented at the meeting, click HERE.   SAVE Students

Current 8th Grade Registration On Monday and Tuesday of this upcoming week, we will be having our High School Guidance Department stopping in to do our course registration with current 8th Grade students.  Students meeting times will be posted and

Thank you for a great turnout at our 8th Grade Scheduling Meeting on January 30.  Our Counselors met with your students during school and shared the same information that was shared at the parent meeting.  As promised, we wanted to follow up with a

Friday, January 19, 2024: Southwest Local Schools are CLOSED.

We wanted to share the following information this morning to help families plan for this week. Final Forms & Weather As we approach the coldest week of the school year, we wanted to share with our families that we will be opening our doors at 6:45 this

On April 8, 2024, Ohio will experience a once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse event.  The last total solar eclipse in Ohio happened 217 years ago in 1806.  Many parts of the state, ours included, will be in total darkness for a brief period in the

As winter progresses and the chances for winter weather increase, please make sure your contact information is current in Final Forms.  If you are already getting emails, texts and phone calls from your child’s school via the School Messenger Mass

As we dive into the second semester, we are excited about the academic journey ahead for our students. Academic success is a shared endeavor, and your support is pivotal. We encourage you to foster a love for learning at home by encouraging your child to read