Northwest Local board highlights student success, arts and athletics

The Northwest Local school board opened its Oct. 28 meeting with a report on student achievement and extracurricular successes across the district. The presenter said the new high-school college-credit-plus flex requirement has been "very successful," adding that "100 percent of the students passing all college classes" in the monitored CCP cohort.

The report named October students of the month — Nathan Rigger, Billy Ann Slavings, Logan Allman and Haley Coot — and noted that the Northwest National Junior Honor Society pinned 28 new members and will hold an induction on Nov. 14. The presenter highlighted strong performances from the band, which returned from Zanesville with awards including best overall in Class B and best auxiliary, and praised the choir’s performance at a living-composer series at St. Mary’s.

Athletics drew substantial attention: the district’s football team completed the regular season with a win over Canton South and will host a home playoff game Friday; both boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams claimed league titles and the middle-school boys finished second in the state. The presenter called out individual runners, noting Colin Harris’s school-record time and other top finishers.

Elementary and middle-school updates included a veterans-day program scheduled for Nov. 11 at Stinson, a first-grade field trip to Walnut Creek farm and a kindergarten 50th-day celebration. The presenter also described school-based programs such as ROX, an after-school nonprofit for fifth-grade girls, and a positive-behavior system showing early improvement in student conduct.

Board Chair praised the students and staff for their accomplishments and urged attention to scheduling conflicts that had forced some athletes to choose between events. No board action was required on the program reports; the session moved on to personnel and consent items.