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Oakwood wins national STEM credential; draft enrollment projections show modest decline; new third-grade teacher hired
Summary
At its July 7, 2025 meeting the Oakwood Board of Education heard that the district received an Emerging STEM credential from AASA and JASON Learning, reviewed a draft enrollment projection showing a small decline over 10 years, and approved the hire of Tricia Small as a third-grade teacher at Harmon Elementary.
At its July 7, 2025, meeting the Oakwood Board of Education heard that the district received an Emerging STEM credential from AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and JASON Learning, and the board approved the hiring of Tricia Small as a third-grade teacher at Harmon Elementary. Superintendent Dr. Gupta presented the credential and a draft enrollment projection during his superintendent report.
The credential, Dr. Gupta said, recognized the district's progress in building a STEM learning culture. "The review team ... praised Oakwood for its commitment to academic rigor, career-ready skills, and authentic learning experiences," he said, citing special recognition for the district's STEM speaker series that involved caregivers and community members. Gupta said the district will continue "expanding and aligning our STEM instruction across all grade levels."
Gupta also summarized a draft population projection prepared by a company the district identified as FutureThink. He said total enrollment, "including pre-K, ungraded and off-site career tech," is 1,959 students and that the draft projects enrollment will decline to 1,874 over the next 10 years, a drop of 77 students. Gupta cited local birth counts used in the projection, saying births in ZIP code 45419 "declined ... to 171 in 2023." These figures were presented as the district's working data for facilities planning; the report was described as a draft and not final.
The board approved personnel items later in the meeting that included the employment of Tricia Small as a third-grade teacher at Harmon Elementary. During the superintendent's introduction, Small said she was "thrilled to be back in Oakwood" after six years away and that she looked forward to joining the third-grade team under the leadership of Mrs. Patterson. "I am looking forward to this school year, and I thank you for the opportunity," she said.
No formal board policy changes or funding decisions tied to the STEM credential or the enrollment report were announced at the meeting. The superintendent said the district will continue work to align STEM instruction and use the draft enrollment data for facilities planning and state reporting processes.
The meeting adjourned after votes on consent and personnel items later in the agenda.
