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Superintendent highlights enrollment shifts, attendance campaign and midyear cell-phone policy
Summary
Dr. Spitzer briefed the board on enrollment declines in early grades, class-size staffing and an attendance campaign ('Here for it'), and said the board will vote to adopt a midyear cell-phone ban to comply with a governor pos;s order that limits phone use during instructional time.
Superintendent Dr. Laura Spitzer (as presented) used the Oct. 13 meeting to update the board on enrollment, attendance strategies and a pending phone policy vote.
Spitzer said the district pos;s Oct. 1 enrollment snapshot is close to projections but shows a significant drop in kindergarten and early elementary grades that she attributed to falling birth rates. "If you look at our K 1 2 3, you can see that significant drop in enrollment," Spitzer said, noting the district is tracking movements (families moving out of the area and students choosing online education) and planning outreach.
On class sizes, Spitzer said the district staffs at 28.5:1 and that, as of the October snapshot, no class exceeded 32 students. She described patterns at middle and high school levels where some electives or advanced classes are larger while specialty courses remain small.
Attendance work was introduced with a new slogan: "Attend today to achieve tomorrow" and the campaign taglines 'Here for it' / 'Be here for it.' Spitzer described targeted interventions (attendance teams at every school, family outreach materials, library partnership 'All Booked Up') and said the district has joined a state collaborative to share promising strategies. The superintendent urged steady family engagement to sustain early gains.
On phones, Spitzer said the district will align with a gubernatorial directive. "You will, in line with the governor's order to, not have cell phones during the instructional day," she said, and added that the board would have the opportunity to adopt the policy that night; staff acknowledged midyear implementation challenges and said they had been working since the start of the year to prepare classrooms and staff.
No immediate staffing actions were proposed; the superintendent said principals and core teams are tracking local outreach and onboarding for newer principals. Spitzer also announced the hiring of a new Beavercreek principal, Dr. Casey Lanning, expected to arrive by November.
