Welcome to the Kirtland Schools’ Key Communicator e-newsletter. We hope to use this tool as a two-way form of communication to share the good news going on in our classrooms, and also provide you with facts in the event of negative situations. We hope you will act as informal communications liaisons with the community and let us know what you’re hearing so we can proactively provide you with the facts of what’s happening in your schools. Thank you for your support! 

KMS FIRST LEGO Leagues (FLL) competed at the Aurora competition on Saturday November 18th. Both robotics teams were asked to create an innovation project, build and program a robot and give a presentation on their teamwork. Steel Stingers (Calvin MacGillis, Maja Katic, Annie Urban, Noelle Fisher & Audrey Knaus) won the Motivate Award. This award celebrates a team that embraces the culture of FIRST LEGO League through team building, team spirit and displayed enthusiasm. Our other FLL team, the Hungry Hungry Hornets (Julia Cottrell, Alden Bradshaw, David Blankenship, Mason Picard, Naomi Blankenship & Will Cihula), won the Champion's Award. This award celebrates a team that embodies the FIRST LEGO League Challenge experience by fully embracing their Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in Robot Performance, Robot Design and the Innovation Project. This is the highest award at the competition and the first time the KMS have earned this award! Each team was selected to advance to the district tournament in January. Congratulations and good luck to both teams on the advancement.

Superintendent Report:

Mr. VanArnhem gave the superintendent report. He highlighted that a Community Advisory Committee meeting took place on 11/10/23 with representatives with a variety of stakeholders from our community. The state report card, science lab/stadium project, and safety were the main topics of discussion. He also highlighted that a district safety meeting took place with the administration, Kirtland Fire Department and Kirtland Police Department on 11/15/23. A variety of topics and procedures were discussed. Mr. VanArnhem congratulated the football team on making it to the final four and wished them best of luck on Friday. He also stated that a Kirtland community member came to the district and dropped off a check to pay off all the lunch balances across the district! Lastly, Mr. VanArnhem wished the students, staff and community a happy Thanksgiving. He mentioned how thankful he is to work and live in such a great community with so many amazing people!

Superintendent Recommendations:

The Board approved an agreement with the ESC of Western Reserve to provide a community liaison to work with students/families that need extra support. The Board also approved a Remote Learning Plan that replaces the old Blizzard Bags used when too many calamity days were used. There is also an agreement with the teacher’s union that we would have online learning take place after the seventh calamity day. We have not come close to this total but a plan is in place in case we need it. A lot of communication from the schools would take place prior to this happening. Lastly, the calendars for the next two school years were proposed. The Board will have a second reading on the calendars at the December Board meeting to formally vote on approving them. This advance notice allows school groups and families to plan well in advance for any trips.

• 24-25 Calendar

• 25-26 Calendar

• Why We Start Before Labor Day

The second reading took place regarding the policies found on our website at: https://www.kirtlandschools.org/PoliciesPendingApproval.aspx. 

The Board of Education approved the Five-Year Forecast. The Five-Year Forecast is used as a planning tool for the following purposes:

1. To engage the board of education and the community in long-range planning and discussions of financial issues facing the school district

2. To serve as a basis for determining the school district’s ability to sign the certificate required by O.R.C 5705.412, commonly known as the “412 certificate”

3. To provide a method for the Department of Education and Workforce and Auditor of State to identify school districts with potential financial problems

Key assumptions from the five-year forecast include the district benefiting from HB 33 as additional aid from the state can be expected in the following year. The full five-year forecast can be found here: https://www.kirtlandschools.org/Downloads/Nov%2023%20Forecast%20Report.pdf. 

The Kirtland Local Schools are known for academic excellence and strong community support, and have been recognized nationally and statewide for educational achievement. The district also maintains a long tradition of distinction in a variety of extracurricular activities. The Board of Education provides open and thoughtful fiscal management of the community’s investment in the school district’s high quality educational program by ensuring every dollar spent benefits students and the community.