Dublin board gets midyear update on Journey 02/1930 goals, bond projects and redistricting timeline

Dublin City Schools leaders gave the Board of Education a midyear progress report on the districtwide Journey 02/1930 goals, outlining work on literacy, career pathways, student engagement seals, wellness measures, communications and an aggressive summer of bond-funded construction.

The district reported a fuller rollout of DIBELS 8 for K–5 literacy screening — administered in the fall and again in January — and continued use of literacy intervention tools at elementary and middle levels. District staff said building-level goals were aligned to the district framework and reviewed three times per year to drive intervention choices. The literacy team has been adding tools to its intervention “toolbox” and is focusing on matching interventions to students’ specific reading goals.

Staff described pathway work across grades 6–12, including the Career Exploration Academy for sophomores, a Prepared for Success elective for all seventh graders at the middle school level that uses YouScience aptitude assessments, and drafting career-technical (CTE) course articulations and pre-apprenticeship opportunities. District leaders said they are expanding internship and co‑op options so students who cannot travel to Emerald Campus can still access work-based learning.

Board members also heard provisional seal counts for seniors: 62 seniors have earned the student engagement seal, about 33% have earned a fine and performing arts seal, and roughly 3% have recorded enough hours for the community service seal; staff said the low community-service entry rate may partly reflect students not logging hours rather than a lack of participation.

On wellness, the Panorama survey window was scheduled for March 6–17; staff said wellness work is intended to be incremental and embedded in daily school routines and that the district will use spring survey results to guide next steps.

Communications staff described DCS Today, a web-based “source of truth” where district news and video updates will be posted and made searchable; the district’s United magazine (quarterly print) was also highlighted as a tool to reach community members who are not connected via student-focused newsletters.

Operations staff gave a high-level overview of master facility planning tied to the 2023 bond. District presenters said five schools will close to the public for construction this summer — Scioto, Jerome, Davis, Sells and Riverside — to allow multiple concurrent projects. Designers and contractors are coordinating logistics with municipalities, and district staff said they expect to finalize some design details at upcoming February or March board meetings. The facility expansion tied to Tolles Career & Technical Center is scheduled to break ground in June; the district indicated the space is currently scheduled to open after school starts in 2026 (staff said November 2026 is a current milestone they are trying to accelerate).

Board members asked several clarifying questions about where YouScience would be administered at the high-school level and how buildings will document and implement pathway and CTE alignment. Staff said plans for a second YouScience administration in high school are in development and that scheduling complexity at the high-school level will determine the permanent landing spot for that work.

The midyear update was offered as a status report; no formal board action was taken during this presentation.