0423 MPS-v3 - Flipbook - Page 2
Investing in
Innovation
A Message from the Superintendent
H
ello! I hope this newsletter finds
you and your family doing well
and enjoying the start of the
spring season. I am enjoying living back
“home” in Northeast Ohio, and I can’t
believe I made it through my first winter
here as a superintendent without calling
a snow day! Joking aside, I am honored
to be serving as Mentor’s superintendent,
and it has truly been a great school year
so far. The best part about my job is getting out and about to all of our schools to
see firsthand all the amazing work our students and staff accomplish on a daily basis. Our team is dedicated to our mission
of inspiring students today to reach their
potential tomorrow. When I walk around
our schools, I see engaged students enjoying learning.
In Mentor Schools, we take great pride
in not only providing a high-quality education, but a well-rounded one also. We
teach the curriculum standards set by the
state, but it is our job to be innovative
in how we approach teaching and learning to ensure students achieve at their
highest potential. The core subjects of
English, Math, Science and Social Studies are always a top focus for us, but our
team works hard to develop new pathways for students, especially for those
nearing graduation. This includes opportunities for more real-world, handson learning experiences for our students
with the expansion of career technical
education programming and through
the continued development of strong
community partnerships. Additionally,
we are seeing the benefit of communitybased internship and work programs for
students with special needs as they learn
critical employment and independent
living skills through our unique special
education programming.
Mentor students have the option to
take coursework at a variety of levels of
understanding, such as honors, Advanced
Placement, or even college level courses.
Some of our students are graduating
high school having already earned their
associate degree! Students at the middle
and high school levels can choose from
an abundance of elective courses to help
them determine future interests. At all
grade levels in Mentor Schools, we have
implemented STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art or Architecture,
Math) curriculum and every elementary
student is scheduled for four related arts
courses taught by subject specific certified
educators in Music, Art, Physical Education and STEAM. Innovative teaching by
our outstanding educators, aligned with
developmentally appropriate implementation of technology, is at the core of student learning in all of our schools.
Right now, we continue to channel some
of our innovative approaches to help close
the learning gaps that surfaced for some
students as a result of pandemic learning.
This is reflected in data from the state,
but also we’re tracking student progress
Mentor Fire EMT Academy students demonstrate
their learning at the State of the Schools Address
2
Mentor Public Schools / Spring 2023
Superintendent Craig Heath speaking
at the State of the Schools Address
through our own local benchmark data
— where students are assessed in Reading
and Math throughout the year. Our local
data is much more timely and helps us
make decisions to identify if students are
at risk and need targeted intervention or
when students need enrichment, sooner.
So again this year, with plans to continue
into next year as well, we are using our
federal COVID relief funds to cover the
expense of additional teachers who are
working specifically to provide structured,
research-based interventions for students
who need extra help, and we are already
seeing promising gains.
While I am impressed by what I see
happening in our classrooms across the
district, an important action for me in
this first year as superintendent has been
to listen and learn about the district (and
perceptions) from all different stakeholder groups. I’ve had a number of meetings with small groups and individuals
throughout the school year so far. Even
though people have varying opinions, one
thing has been expressed consistently in
all of my meetings is — we all want what’s
best for our community’s children. It’s just
that in a large community like ours, people have different beliefs on how to reach
that goal. I am committed to continuing
to work to try to bring people together in
the best interest of our students.
Thank you for taking the time to read
this edition of our ComMentor newsletter.
There is so much more I would love to
share! I encourage you to please visit our
website to view our State of the Schools
Address and Quality Profile Report to
find out even more about what’s happening inside your neighborhood schools.
Thank you for your continued support of
Mentor Public Schools.
