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 of the highlights, as well as provide our families an opportunity to give us feedback.

Academic Growth
This year, our staff worked incredibly hard to ensure the growth of each of our students.  During the school year, we measure growth in a variety of ways.  For academics, the two largest metrics are MAP Scores & Ohio State Test Scores.  This year, our students MAP Growth Percentiles are as follows:
6^th Reading = 82           
7^th Reading = 72              
8^th Reading = 89              
6^th Math = 66                  
7^th Math = 69                  
8^th Math = 87            

For those who may not understand what these numbers mean, please allow me a moment to provide clarification.  A score of “50” equals a “year’s growth.”  Any percentage above 50% equates to more than a year’s growth!  These scores reflect an incredible amount of progress for our students.  As a staff, we want to thank our parents and students for their supports and making academic growth a priority.

We have our initial State Test Scores back as well.  While these scores are not yet fully finalized, we want to highlight a few of our initial results:
- All 3 Grade levels of math increased by an average of 5% from the previous school year.
- Our 6^th Grade ELA Scores increased by 10% from the previous year.
- Our ELA Scores increased by an average of 2% for passage rate from the previous year!

We look forward to seeing our Student Growth Scores from State Testing. These scores come to the schools in the Fall and we will share those successes out once they become official!

Again, an incredible job by all involved!

Social Growth
In regards to Social Growth, one of our biggest metrics for success is student involvement.  During the 2023-24 School Year, we have over 98% of our students involved in some sort of activity outside of the school day.  We had just 21 students total out of 1051 students at Harrison Junior School that we could not document being involved outside of the school.  Our goal is to continue to increase this to 100% going into next school year.

As we prepare for next school year, some of our Summer Items include looking at ways to better involve our parents in assisting our families.  Please continue to join PTO and become involved in our Booster Programs.  In addition, for any families who are interested we are always seeking volunteers to work with our students, assist with supervision during lunches, or welcoming students to the school each morning!  If you have a desire to volunteer, please let us know.  In addition, we are very open to families volunteering to run/supervise clubs.  If you have an area of expertise or a desire to assist.  Please let us know!

Summer Activities
Have you signed up for Summer Camp yet? If not, now is the time! Some camps begin next week! 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. From athletics, to fine arts, to robotics - we have something for everyone!

Click HERE for more details and to register!

Summer School
This Friday, we will be notifying families of students who need to attend Summer School to potentially move forward.  We are awaiting final grades, which teachers are required to submit by the end of the day tomorrow.  For those families interested in attending Summer School, for example a current 8^th Grade student who wants to take Health for initial credit, can get the information HERE.  

Summer Hours
Throughout the Summer, several members of our Team will be in the building. Families are always welcome to come up, call or email with questions.  Please know that there will be times that we will be out of the buildings as individuals, but we will work to reply quickly to support you. 

Family Feedback
As we reflect on the school year, we very much value the feedback we receive from our families.  Please take a few moments if you would like and complete the survey.  It is available HERE. 

2024-2025 District Calendar
Looking ahead to next school year, you can find the updated District Calendar on our website, or by clicking HERE.  We will communicate additional building-specific dates as the summer progresses and those dates are finalized.

SLSD: Listening, Learning, Acting
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 for every student. 

If you missed last week’s video or the previous parts in our school finance series, you can view them by clicking below:
Video #1.
Video #2. 
Video #3. 

This week, our finance series continues with a focus on how enrollment and inflation impact expenditures at SLSD. 
You can watch this new video HERE.

The big takeaway is that, as enrollment increases at SLSD, the amount of money being spent also increases. Ensuring that every student gets the the education they deserve in every building is critical, and spending increases as enrollment increases. Additionally, economic inflation plays a role in how much the district spends. As costs for services, maintenance and more increase, so do the budgets associated with those expenditures.

We continue to provide the information that we’ve been hearing the community ask for throughout our efforts to engage more directly with residents, parents, and students.

Stay tuned for Part 5 of our series, which will provide more information on how new residential developments impact school finance.

Once again, thank you for an incredible school year!  We look forward to everyone recharging this summer and getting back to school in August!

Harrison Junior School