1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,440 This is worth the journey. A Worthington Schools podcast. 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,080 I am your host, Angie Adrian, and I get to serve Worthington 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,880 Schools as the Assistant Superintendent of Academics. 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,000 And I'm Jeff Maddox, the Assistant Superintendent of 5 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,320 Operations in HR. Together we are. 6 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,200 Your hosts and we're thrilled to have you join us. 7 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,240 In Worthington schools we serve about 11,000 students and 1400 8 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:23,000 dedicated staff members. Our pride really lies in the 9 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,880 strong relationships that we build with each other, which in 10 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,720 turn creates this vibrant and supportive culture. 11 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,600 Culture in Worthington School Schools is about shared values, 12 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,520 traditions, and the diverse perspectives that define our 13 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,920 community. It's the foundation that makes 14 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,920 working together not only productives but also enjoyable. 15 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,960 Our mission in Worthington schools is to empower a 16 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,440 community of learners who will change the world, and through 17 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,360 this podcast, we have the privilege of sharing the stories 18 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,720 of those who are already changing the world. 19 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,640 Join us as we highlight the incredible journeys. 20 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,600 And contributions. One week left. 21 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,720 I think by the time this podcast airs, there'll be a week left of 22 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:03,760 school. That's crazy. 23 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,480 Anytime you engage anybody in education, they will all say the 24 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,920 same thing as this school year flew behind. 25 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,440 Yeah, there are points of the year, though, where it doesn't 26 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:15,400 feel like it's fine. January. 27 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:16,640 February. March that. 28 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,000 That's a stretch there. Super happy, super excited to 29 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,280 welcome Doctor Trent Bowers to kind of close out our podcast 30 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:26,560 this school year as we break for summer. 31 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,000 So welcome, Trent. It's good to have you. 32 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,680 Hey, thanks for having me. So when I think about summer, I 33 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,000 think about Alice Cooper in schools out for summer. 34 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,840 That was the mantra of our generation. 35 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,800 But what did I do in the summer? I really think about Doctor Gary 36 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,920 Moore, who was my phys Ed teacher at Worthington Hills 37 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,280 Elementary and he ran a camp at Camp Mary Orton called Adventure 38 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,720 Camp. And we would actually build a 39 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,000 raft and try to sail it down the Olentangy River. 40 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,240 Now, my raft never actually made it down the Olentangy River, but 41 00:01:57,240 --> 00:01:59,800 we spent a lot of time kind of floating down the river with 42 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,280 Doctor Gary Moore thinking about summertime. 43 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,440 Trent's raft is a shipwreck in the Olentangy if you want to go 44 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,919 visit it. As we reflect a little bit on 45 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,640 the 2425 school year, you know, are there moments that stand out 46 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:16,440 to you that are especially meaningful, that really defined 47 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,640 our work in Worthington schools. 2425 has been an amazing school 48 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:21,960 year in Worthington. You know, so we started back in 49 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,000 August and we talked with our staff about what we called the 50 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,880 difficult beautiful work. And we said that's the work of 51 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,320 public education. It's, it's difficult because 52 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,640 everything that's really meaningful in life is difficult. 53 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,800 Like there's a level of challenge with something that's 54 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,120 meaningful to us, but it's beautiful because we make a 55 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,840 difference for for kids. And so we have to remember our 56 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,680 stat in public education that, hey, this is going to be hard 57 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,680 some days, but what we do matters. 58 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,560 And so when you are reflecting on a year, you can go, wow, like 59 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,400 how many times did I see that happen in Worthington schools 60 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,160 this year? And I can think about it in in a 61 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,920 whole lot of ways. So as you know, Ange, we've 62 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,480 really worked hard to put our portrait of a learner into 63 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,320 practice. And so we want our students in 64 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,800 Worthington to live these durable skills. 65 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,240 We want them to walk out with these skills that are going to 66 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,680 help them in every area of their life. 67 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,560 And one of the things that I'm really proud of is the work that 68 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:21,960 you and your team have done with our schools. 69 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,840 We've got this K12 articulation. And so we know that our 70 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,880 elementary kids are talking about being a a leader and a 71 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,560 thinker and a friend. And that starts early. 72 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,560 And that's being embedded in the language. 73 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,360 And that at a developmental level makes a lot of sense. 74 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,800 And it transitions to middle school, and then by the time a 75 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,560 student leaves Worthington schools, we want him to have all 76 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,320 of these durable skills, right? A confident communicator, a 77 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,120 critical thinker, an adaptable learner, responsible 78 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,720 collaborator, resilient learner. And I think we're on that path. 79 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,720 And it's fun to see our teachers embrace that, and more 80 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,680 importantly, our students embrace that and start to talk 81 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,920 the language and see it embedded in so many areas throughout the 82 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:05,120 school district. I think when you say difficult, 83 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:10,920 beautiful work, I think about a year ago when we began to dive 84 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:15,480 into that work and never did I think we would be where we are 85 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,320 with it now, right? Like it was. 86 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,040 We had a design team of over 200 people and we were talking about 87 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,200 the durable skills and what that portrait would look like. 88 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,960 We already had a middle school portrait in place. 89 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:32,040 And so we created what we called a portrait of a learner for the 90 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,400 entire district and our elementary team kind of said, 91 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,800 hey, that's not going to work for us, right? 92 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,920 And so when you say we have this, this portrait that that 93 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:45,120 goes pre K12 and we were able to create then three different 94 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,520 portraits and it's so. Cool to see how quickly that got 95 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,760 embedded across K12. Right. 96 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:52,680 And what matters? Right. 97 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:54,520 So and then and then we don't think it's going to come to 98 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,680 life. And as you said, it's, it's 99 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:57,800 really coming to life in our it's. 100 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,360 Coming to life because people embrace it, and people embrace 101 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,000 it because content matters but contents not important is how do 102 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,240 we teach our students to think? How do we teach them to be 103 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,160 adapted? You know, we live in this world, 104 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,480 and we spent a lot of time this year talking about artificial 105 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,160 intelligence. And what does that mean? 106 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,440 And I'm proud of the work that we've done in artificial 107 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,760 intelligence as far as creating a policy and saying to our 108 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,680 students, hey, this is something that you can use, but still 109 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,320 giving our teachers some freedom to say, hey, not right now, but 110 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,760 we know that how these durable skills for our kids are going to 111 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:30,960 last. I don't know if the content that 112 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,280 we've taught in the past is going to last as long that you 113 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:37,760 can see people embracing this because it's what we want for 114 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:39,320 our kids. We want them to be out in the 115 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,600 future and, and have the opportunities that we want them 116 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:44,560 to have. And so as a public Ed group, 117 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,240 we're thinking, OK, how do we do career connected learning? 118 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,800 How do we make sure that our students are ready for the 119 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,240 future? And I think our K12 portrait is 120 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,400 unique to Worthington and and really helps our students have 121 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,600 that leg up. Clearly, a lot of really cool 122 00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,440 things going on this school year. 123 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,080 Trent, what are you most proud of when you look at the work of 124 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,440 our staff, students and families and what they have accomplished 125 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,920 together this year? What I'm always most proud of is 126 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,200 how our staff members love kids. When you think about 127 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,480 Worthington, the phrase that right now is in my head is I see 128 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,360 better than I hear. And what I hope people see is 129 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,640 14130 adults who everyday go above and beyond to love kids. 130 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,760 That's what I see when I look at Worthington schools, when I'm in 131 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,640 our schools, when I'm at events, when I'm talking to the 132 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,000 community, when I talk to a parent, what they say is this 133 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,640 teacher went above and beyond and, and they do it in many, 134 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:40,040 many different ways. So that's what I'm most proud 135 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:41,760 of. Now, there's technical things 136 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,040 that I'm also proud of. You know, we went through this 137 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,360 long special education audit process and this year has been 138 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,640 about beginning to implement those changes. 139 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,040 And so our special education audit was a goal to create 140 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:58,000 better results for our students and better working conditions 141 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,880 for our staff. We want to be able to tackle 142 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:01,880 both of those. One of the things that came out 143 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,720 of that audit was the creation of a position called the 144 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,840 coordinator of Student Behaviour and Mental health. 145 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:09,360 The audit said, hey, we need one person that's going to 146 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,160 coordinate this work with our counselors, our mental health 147 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,760 specialists, our behaviour specialists, our outside 148 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:19,200 counseling group. We want to really help students 149 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,760 across the school district as they build again those durable 150 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,880 skills and those executive functioning skills. 151 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,800 And so Nathan Kellenberger left Worthing Way Middle School and 152 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,640 took over that role. And we're seeing the fruits of 153 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,920 that labor this school year. We're also beginning to make 154 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:37,680 changes in how we serve our special education students. 155 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,360 And those changes came out of the audit. 156 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,320 And I'm proud to work in a place that says, hey, we think what 157 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,960 we're doing is pretty good, but we want to be better at what 158 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:47,520 we're doing. And we're going to dive into 159 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,160 that. And we're going to do again the 160 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,920 difficult work to make change that we think will benefit the 161 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,000 school district long term. So we're really excited to see 162 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,520 that come to fruition. And when I say fruition will 163 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,720 never be done with that work, but every year it's going to get 164 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,360 a little bit better. Yeah, super proud of the staff. 165 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,040 Change isn't easy and I, I've appreciated how they've leaned 166 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,000 into that change, embrace that change, entrusted that change 167 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,920 and we've already started to see some positive results. 168 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:21,080 And very proud of Nathan's work, Less than one year into this and 169 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,440 he hit the ground running and has really put some positive 170 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,360 things in place and I look forward to see what he gets to 171 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:27,880 do next. Year. 172 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,400 And if Nathan was sitting here with us, what he would say is, 173 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:32,919 hey, I'm not doing this work. And I've got this incredible 174 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:36,840 team of counselors and mental health specialists and Bcbas 175 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,400 that care so incredibly deeply about kids that, you know, he's 176 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,159 just the point guard, right? He's, he's trying to facilitate 177 00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:46,360 the ball. So these, these really talented 178 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,120 people could do the work. And so I appreciate when I talk 179 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,880 with him the credit that he gives to that team and and their 180 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,680 work on behalf of. Kids, is there anything that 181 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,480 really resonates with you about our Worthington community and 182 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,880 and examples of ways that we come together and support each 183 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,040 other? Every school year is like a 184 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,120 roller coaster, right? You've got these incredible 185 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,720 positives and and really some low points. 186 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,960 And so a couple times this year we experienced a level of 187 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,120 tragedy. Kilbourne Middle School 188 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,440 tragically lost a teacher, Colleen Snyder. 189 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,680 And in that process, there's times where we were able just to 190 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:24,400 sit around around with the teaching staff and, and have 191 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,920 conversations and tell stories and remember the way that 192 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,400 Colleen rallied around kids and built connections with kids and 193 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:33,960 staff were able to share memories. 194 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:38,200 And so when you see that, it just reminds you that we're all 195 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,280 committed to this same goal, right? 196 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:42,920 To this mission to empower a community of learners who will 197 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,880 change the world. But we're also living life 198 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,360 together. And so you see a staff come 199 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:51,120 together and and care about one another and care about kids. 200 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:54,600 I was at the funeral of Susan Hilbert's father. 201 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,920 Susan is a fourth grade teacher at Evening Street Elementary 202 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,440 School. And I watched Mary Rakowski, our 203 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,240 principal at Evening St. She's been there since 2008. 204 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,400 And I watched her interact with parent after parent after 205 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,120 parent, some of them whose kids have been out of elementary 206 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,400 school for 10 years, 15 years. And I just thought, like, what 207 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,400 an incredible difference somebody makes when they stay in 208 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,880 a community and they invest and really marries it at the point 209 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,840 where she's investing in like the second generation of kids to 210 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,120 come through that school. But that's really what I value 211 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,600 when I think about, hey, what matters to me in public schools, 212 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,520 part of it is just this impact that we can make on a community. 213 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,960 And you make an impact by staying somewhere, investing 214 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,880 somewhere, caring about people, not one time, but day after day 215 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,120 after day. And so you don't want to be at 216 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,560 the funeral of of for something, but to watch Mary interact with 217 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:55,560 people in that space really helped me step back and say, 218 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,240 Hey, this is what our people do. They make a difference, friends 219 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,000 in this community. That's a great transition to 220 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,320 what I want to talk to you about next, and that is you often talk 221 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,680 about the why behind our work. How do you personally stay 222 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,160 connected to your purpose during the school year? 223 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,040 My why in public education has always been to try to make a 224 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,720 positive difference in the lives of kids in the community. 225 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,800 I modeled that after a person named Larry Zimmerman. 226 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,520 Larry was the Superintendent in Marysville schools, and he was 227 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,280 in Marysville schools for 40 years. 228 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,040 Wasn't the Superintendent for all 40 years, but when I would 229 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,040 talk with Larry, he stayed somewhere. 230 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,440 And because he stayed somewhere, he built these long 231 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,200 relationships. You know, I really believe that 232 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,000 our job is to, we want to meet our mission. 233 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,320 We want every child to feel loved. 234 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:41,800 We want him to feel taken care of. 235 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,760 We want adults who believe in children. 236 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,400 Children will reflect what we share with them. 237 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,400 And if if they know that we believe in them, they'll begin 238 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,560 to believe in themselves. And then when they believe in 239 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,000 themselves, they can go off and they can accomplish our mission 240 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,320 and they can go change the world. 241 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,240 So that's my why it is difficult. 242 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,400 Beautiful work. And so there's days where I'm in 243 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,280 the muck and I'm not seeing it right. 244 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,440 And then there's days where you go to a school and you watch a 245 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,840 student just raise their hand and share. 246 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,960 Or you talk to a high school student and you're like, wow, 247 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,280 this student has matured because I've seen them since 248 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,200 kindergarten. And it's amazing to see where 249 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:19,920 they are. And so that's what we're trying 250 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:21,560 to do. You know, we're getting ready 251 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:23,680 for graduation. We're right around the corner 252 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:27,720 from commencement. 830 students will graduate graduate this year 253 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,080 from Worthington schools. I have a daughter who is a 254 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,360 senior this year. And so I've seen a lot of these 255 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,000 kids since kindergarten. And it's just amazing to watch 256 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,000 kids come in, in kindergarten and they go through elementary 257 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,360 school and they're doing their thing and they're doing music 258 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,200 performances and super games. And then they go off to middle 259 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,280 school and they're crazy awkward and they're causing trouble with 260 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,040 the Dairy Queen and all the middle school things. 261 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,640 But but by the time they hit the end of high school, you're 262 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,360 having these conversations with them and they're like adults 263 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,480 because they've matured and they can understand what's going on. 264 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,200 And you see the investment of really hundreds of Worthington 265 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,480 educators, support staff members, teachers, 266 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,040 administrators that pour into every one of these children. 267 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,400 And that's the beauty of public education. 268 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,680 So change is constant in education, we know that. 269 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:18,480 So whether it's new buildings, programs or people, what what 270 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,920 are some some things that are happening in Worthington 271 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,840 schools? And then what advice would you 272 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,880 give teachers and staff as they they transition into the summer? 273 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,520 There's three things that I want to think about here. 274 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,560 The first is we are under construction at our high 275 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:34,720 schools, right? And so Thomas Worthington High 276 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,760 School, the first phase, our new classroom wing opened. 277 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:39,840 You see it from 161. It's amazing. 278 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:41,400 We're building behind the building. 279 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,640 The student comments, the library will all open in 280 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,680 October. The auditorium, the music rooms 281 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:49,520 will open in February of next year. 282 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:50,960 Then we'll tear down the old building. 283 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,960 So we've got about another year of construction at Thomas 284 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,200 Worthington, Worthington Kilborn's, a total renovation of 285 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,920 the upstairs classrooms are 95% complete, but we're now doing 286 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,480 construction downstairs and in the auditorium and the student 287 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,680 Commons and in the gymnasium and out front of the building. 288 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,760 And so our high school students, our high school staff are living 289 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,000 through a lot of change and they've been amazing. 290 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,280 I'm really proud of how they've adapted. 291 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:18,680 But this is the period of that time where it's hard, the 292 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:21,760 excitement kind of wears off and you're like, like, is this ever 293 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:23,240 we're going to get done? And if you've been through a 294 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,360 renovation or a replacement of a, of something, you, you 295 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,960 understand that my message there would be it's going to get 296 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,920 better. By December, January ish, we're 297 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,200 going to be almost complete at Worthington Kilbourne High 298 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,160 School. By this time next year will be 299 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,080 almost complete at Thomas Worthington High School and we 300 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,720 will have renovated and replaced facilities that are going to 301 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,280 create not only great learning spaces and great workspaces, but 302 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,520 great community spaces for the next couple generations of 303 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,960 people in Worthington. So super excited about that. 304 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,920 But we are, you know, living through that challenge. 305 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,600 So that's the first one. The second one is we're going 306 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:00,000 through the state budget process. 307 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,240 And the state budget process is a challenge in public schools. 308 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,600 It always is. So the governor makes a 309 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,600 proposal, and that proposal for Worthington wasn't great. 310 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,920 We were going to lose $2.2 million. 311 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:15,120 And that then goes to the Ohio House and the Ohio House creates 312 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,400 their proposal. And frankly, that proposal was 313 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,400 even much worse. They created this artificial cap 314 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:24,200 on carryover balances and they said 30%. 315 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,880 If that were to pass, that creates significant instability 316 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,120 for Worthington. It would force us to be back on 317 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,000 the ballot in 2026 versus our plan of 2028. 318 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,880 And more importantly, it just overrides the will of the local 319 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:40,920 voters. And we think the school district 320 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,960 is a local enterprise. So that's really concerning. 321 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,160 That'll go to the Ohio Senate. And so I would just say to our 322 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,520 teachers, while I want you to relax this summer and enjoy, I 323 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,600 also want you to pay attention to this budget process and, and 324 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:57,120 really advocate for Worthington schools and make sure that, you 325 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,040 know, hopefully we can create the kind of stability that that 326 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,200 we have today. And then the third thing is I do 327 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,880 want our teachers to step back and recharge, right? 328 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,720 So education is an intense profession. 329 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,440 And so that when our teachers, when our educators are in 330 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,680 schools, it takes a lot. It takes a lot of emotional 331 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,200 energy. It takes a lot of physical 332 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,080 energy. You know, as the Superintendent, 333 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,000 I can drink coffee at my desk and I can use the restroom when 334 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,200 I want to use the restroom. And I have some challenges, but 335 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,320 I don't have challenges like a teacher in a classroom. 336 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,080 And so our teachers really do need to recharge so that when 337 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,240 they come back in August, they're ready to say, OK, what 338 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,800 does love require of me? How can I do this again? 339 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:39,400 Right? And so I hope they get to get 340 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,560 away, whatever that means, whether that's go to a beach 341 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,720 garden in your backyard, read some fiction books, whatever 342 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,280 their thing is. I really do hope they take time 343 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,440 and do that because we want them to be ready to come back and 344 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:55,160 continue with this difficult beautiful. 345 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,800 Work Was there a moment this year where you walked into a 346 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:00,720 building and you just thought This is why we. 347 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:02,440 Do this. So I don't know if there's a 348 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,079 specific moment. I, there's so many things that I 349 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:07,319 could highlight. I, I think about this year, I 350 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:09,280 think about a kindergarten teacher at Wilson Hill 351 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,000 Elementary, Erin Kasanovich. It was difficult work to start 352 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,599 this school year. And yet Erin poured into kids 353 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:19,440 and poured into kids and poured into kids and really created a 354 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,560 positive environment and a positive experience for those 355 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,280 students. And I think that's just the 356 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:26,359 example of the difficult, beautiful work. 357 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:30,080 I was having a conversation just the other day with a parent who 358 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,000 has a student at Linworth, and that parent sent their student 359 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,040 on walkabout and this student's walkabout was to Germany and all 360 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,080 of their stuff was stolen, Everything, passport, bags, 361 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,920 wasn't sure how to navigate, how were they going to get to where 362 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,440 they need to go? And I thought, what an 363 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,600 experience, you know, not necessarily a positive 364 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,240 experience, but how do we learn life experience? 365 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,080 By doing. And so I just have so much 366 00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,320 gratitude and respect for both our Linworth team, but also the 367 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,520 parents that have the courage. I don't know if I could do it as 368 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:04,800 a parent. The parents that have the 369 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:07,760 courage to send their high school students on something 370 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,080 called Walkabout. I think about one of our 371 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,280 students at the high school this year who had an apprenticeship 372 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:18,040 through the electrician group and walks away today with not 373 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,800 only a high school graduation coming up in a high school 374 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:25,040 diploma, but also a job and an apprenticeship and a pathway to 375 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,360 be an electrician. Work that's never going away, 376 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:31,120 work that AI can't replace. And really just listening to 377 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,880 thinking about the people that this student worked with who 378 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:35,760 just spoke so positively about them. 379 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,960 And I thought, what a great example of Worthington schools. 380 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,880 And so it all takes me back to this portrait of a learner, 381 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:43,640 right? And we want to make sure that 382 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:48,040 our students have these life skills to go off and do whatever 383 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:49,960 they want to do. We, we frame that in Worthington 384 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,080 as we want our students to go off and change the world. 385 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,680 But I always think they're going to change the world in big and 386 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:56,640 small ways, but they're going to change it. 387 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,760 But we have to equip them with the skills that they need. 388 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:01,800 And we see that happening all the time. 389 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,200 As we think about the 2526 school year, we highlighted a 390 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,960 lot of great things that have happened this year, but as we 391 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,000 think about next school year, is there one thing or you know, 392 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,480 maybe a couple things that you're most hopeful for? 393 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:17,560 Well, first of all, I love school, right? 394 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,960 So when, so when we start school, like I'm always excited 395 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,720 that is my New Year's Day. Every year is like the first, 396 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,480 the first day of school. That's how my, my mind works. 397 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,880 It's so fun to see kids going back to school next year. 398 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:31,880 We start universal all day kindergarten in Worthington. 399 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,720 And so something we've wanted to do, frankly, for 20 years. 400 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:39,200 And the board voted this fall to make next year kindergarten free 401 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,760 all day kindergarten for everybody in Worthington. 402 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,000 And so it's super fun to see that come to fruition, something 403 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,960 we've been working hard on and wanting to be able to do. 404 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,960 And we feel like now's the right time continuing to implement 405 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,480 reading practices and the science of reading. 406 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,000 I'm so proud of our teachers and the adoption of CKLA and the 407 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,840 work and their investment. And frankly, the way they talk 408 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,600 positively about this change, which tells you this is really 409 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,000 good for kids because our teachers are on board and 410 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,120 they're investing in it. And it's been really affirming 411 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:12,000 to watch our teachers kind of work through that process. 412 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,760 And. As we think about do we move 413 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,320 that also to our middle school and think about the pilot 414 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,160 that'll happen there, I'm excited to begin to see the 415 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,640 benefits of our special education changes, right? 416 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,320 So we're making these shifts in special education and we'll 417 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,800 continue to make more shifts, but we believe we're going to 418 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,920 create better results for students and better working 419 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,640 conditions for our staff. And so working through that 420 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,960 change process every day that we see that implemented excites me. 421 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,800 And just finally, we're a community organization. 422 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,440 And so Nathan Kellenberger's work, Toya Spencer's work, 423 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:47,880 really just partnering with our community. 424 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,520 And how do we provide resources to our community? 425 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,240 How do we make sure that everybody in Worthington knows, 426 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,920 hey, you belong here. Like we want to be a school 427 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,520 district where everybody says I'm valued here, I'm seeing 428 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,840 here, people care about me here. One of the things that I think 429 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:08,080 is, is most special about public education is everyone is welcome 430 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:09,680 here. And that's who we want to be in 431 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:11,000 Worthington. I don't want anyone to ever 432 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:12,680 question that. I don't want anyone to ever 433 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,400 doubt that this is a school district where no matter where 434 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,720 you come from, what you believe, no matter what you do, I want 435 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,240 you to be loved. Well, and I think we have 14130 436 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:28,760 staff members who embrace that. Thanks for tuning in to today's 437 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,440 Worth the Journey podcast. You can find us on Apple, 438 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,960 Spotify, Google, our Worthington school's website, or wherever 439 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,600 you get your podcast. A big thanks to Cory Carter and 440 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,920 our communications team for making this podcast a reality. 441 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,880 And of course, to our students at The Ohio State University and 442 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,480 the communications department. The journey may not always be 443 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:50,760 easy, but it'll definitely be worth it. 444 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:53,920 Thanks for taking care of each other and have a great day out 445 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:54,160 there.