Dear Milford School Community:
This summer has been a busy one filled with changes in the Milford Exempted Village School District.
Construction Update
Due to the leadership of our Operations Manager, Jeff Johnson, and the hard work of our staff, Turner Construction and its crew, and the many workers who were on site this summer, the renovations of Milford High School are ahead of schedule. All areas of the high school will ready for students on opening day, September 7, 2010. Students are going to be in awe of the transformation of their high school. We are proud of this renovation and this much improved learning environment for our students. A complete list of the renovations can be found under the construction update on the home page of the district website.
Bauer Memorial
The memorial dedicated to former Milford High School Principal Dr. Ray Bauer, who passed away suddenly in August 2009, will be draped until Thursday, September 2, for the student/parent open house at the high school. Due to the generous contributions of our staff, our students, and the community the district was able to honor the positive impact Dr. Bauer had on the many lives he touched. In addition to the memorial, there will be a new area of the high school, called the Bauer Commons, which is an open and inviting space that will allow students to congregate throughout the day.
Milford High School Community Open House
The open house for the community of the newly renovated Milford High School will be held on Saturday, October 9, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., which is Homecoming weekend. Students and staff will provide tours for the public throughout the day. More information will be available in the upcoming weeks.
Interdistrict Open Enrollment
In July, the Board passed an interdistrict open enrollment policy that allows students from other school districts to enroll in Milford Exempted Village School District. This policy was passed because it serves as a source of revenue for the district since we receive approximately $5,700 from the state for each open enrollment student. Students were only accepted in buildings and grade levels where we had openings as we maintain our guidelines for classroom size. Milford residents are always given first priority and no programs or teachers were added for open enrollment students.
As of August 31, 2010, the district received a total of 95 student applications and 45 students have been accepted. Each applicant and the applicant’s family met individually with district principals as part of the open enrollment process. Principals determined the openings in their building and also left spaces in their classrooms in the event of any last minute enrollment from Milford residents. The addition of these 45 students across the district will generate $256,500 in revenue.
New Math Program
In the area of curriculum, we have put a new math program in place for our students in K-5 grades called Math Investigations. We are excited about this new program and its capability to engage students and offer the individual learner a variety of problem-solving techniques to enhance learning and comprehension. New this year, we will have Dr. Jill Chin (PreK-6) and Mrs. Nancy House (7-12) leading our Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment department to provide leadership in improving teaching and learning in Milford. Dr. Chin will work with our elementary math teachers to provide information and family math nights to enable parents to see and understand the program firsthand.
New Staff
We have added new teachers and staff members throughout the district. Welcome to our new High School Principal, Mark Lutz, and his Assistant Principal, Dennis Klasmeier. We also have a new assistant principal at the junior high school, Daniel Yeager, and a new Principal at Smith Elementary, Brad Lovell.
We look forward to the new school year and wish you a great 2010-11 school year!
Sincerely,
Dr. Bob Farrell
Superintendent