Winter 2013 - Franklin Local School District

...a caring, child-centered, educational community.
Our Vision: A community striving for excellence through education.
Franklin Local
Feeds Families
By Frank VanKirk, Franklin Local Community
School Principal
On Friday, January 4, 2013 the Franklin
Local School District conducted a districtwide
food drive to help replenish the supply
of non-perishable food items at local food
pantries that serve area residents. Entry to
the game that night was a food donation, so
those who came supported our Varsity boys
basketball team and contributed to a worthy
cause as they took on Maysville in the Power
Plant. Thank you to those who helped people
in need while showing your support and
Electric Pride!
3 easy ways to
keep informed
about happenings
in the district –
Website –
www.franklin-local.k12.oh.us
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@FranklinLocal
The Franklin Local School District Newsletter is a publication mailed to
every district resident in the interest of keeping the public informed of
the happenings and trends in our schools.
Board of Education Meetings: 3rd Thursday of Month, 6:30 pm
Sharon A. McDermott, Superintendent
Franklin Local School District
360 Cedar Street
POB 428
Duncan Falls, OH 43734-0428
Volume 36 Edition 1
Franklin Local Receives Award
By Sharon McDermott, Superintendent
“It is an honor to recognize these 15
schools and 14 districts for their extraordinary progress with students,”
said Jim Mahoney, executive director, Battelle for Kids. “The exceptional
growth these educators have made with students is a testament to the hard
work they’ve put forth to improve their schools and districts. The schools
and districts receiving this award are to be applauded for their efforts to
advance student learning.”
Race to the Top:
The Franklin Local Success Story
By Shannon Fitz, Director of Instruction
On Monday, November 12, Battelle for Kids presented 15 Ohio schools and 14 Ohio
school districts with the 2012 SOAR Award for High Progress in one or more of the
following three categories: School, District, and Most Improved. These annual awards
are designed to acknowledge Ohio schools and districts participating in SOAR, Battelle
for Kids’ school improvement collaborative, for their academic progress in multiple
grade levels and subjects over the last school year (2011–2012). Franklin Local School
District received a Most Improved
District Award. They were among
the top eight percent of districts out
of 120 participating SOAR districts
receiving a Significant Progress
District Award.
Pictured L to R: Jim Swingle, FLSD Board Member; Bryan
Walker, FLSD Teacher, Michael Sawyers, Acting Ohio
Superintendent; Shannon Fitz, FLSD Director of Instruction;
Susan Lent, FLSD Board Member; Sharon McDermott, FLSD
Superintendent; Tom Snowberger, Battelle for Kids Board
Member; Frank VanKirk, FLSD Principal; Stephen Michel,
FLSD Teacher, Jennie Woodard, FLSD Teacher.
The Franklin Local School District has gone from
red to green during the Race to the Top grant
period, our Performance Index has increased
over six points, and the Franklin Local School
District was rated Excellent for the first time ever
for the 2011 school year. Our efforts have been
recognized with a 2012 SOAR Most Improved
Award!
At Franklin Local, our biggest need over the
years has been the ability to offer a rigorous and relevant curriculum that meets the needs of all students. We have a strong
need to intervene early with students entering school and closing the achievement gap between our identified subgroups. The
challenge has been finding a way to make big changes in a small district.
Being part of RttT and the Ohio Appalachian Collaborative has allowed us the opportunity to go down a path that we may
never have chosen. This grant gave us the collaborative ability and the foresight to embrace transformation within our district
through new standards surrounding college and career readiness and using data as a tool for improving teacher effectiveness
and student performance. Our collaboration with more than 20 other OAC districts and our distributed leadership approach
for professional development has been the support system we needed to move forward with such an ambitious task. Above all,
the efforts of our teachers have been without a doubt, the biggest factor in our success.
Race to the Top in and of itself has been no small challenge. The challenge in the Franklin Local School District has been
keeping up with the level of innovative change expected through Race to the Top. The work of RttT has not only upped the
rigor for our students, but for teachers and administrators as well. FLSD teachers have diligently kept the pace set through our
RttT Scope of Work, but not without each and every one of us being pushed professionally.
As we move forward on our RttT journey, we will continue to be challenged by the scope of work that we have set forth to
accomplish. We are confident though that the Franklin Local School District will continue to thrive as we connect for success!
January 2013

Roseville Elementary School Moves
from “Continuous Improvement”
to “Effective”
By Dustan Henderson, Principal
Roseville Elementary School is rated “Effective” for the 2011-
2012 school year. This rating is the result of meeting 7 out of 10
indicators, which is up from 3 during the 2010-2011 school year. Our
Performance Index went up from 79.3 to 86.2. This is a good indication
that our students are achieving at higher levels. We have increased
our advanced test results from 4.4% to 12.0% as well as decreased
our limited test results from 14.7% to 11.6%. We also met Adequate
Yearly Progress. The improvement that we are most proud of is the
fact that our Value Added Data shows Above Expected Growth. This
means, on average, our students made more than a year’s worth of
growth last year. We are proud of this accomplishment and have our
sights on an “Excellent” rating for this school year.
Chalk on the Walk
By Beverly Bell, School Social Worker
Roseville Elementary students from grades 4-6, participated in our
annual “Chalk on the Walk” event held this past October. With
the help of students from Mid-East Career Center and the Career
Development Coordinator, students drew pictures of themselves in
their future profession. The students were very creative with their
depiction of their career choices. Community judges for this event
were Roseville Mayor Kim Dixon; utility clerk LuAnn Bruce; and
school mentor Bob Pletcher. Special thanks to Robin McQuaid
from Mid-East Career and Technology Center for providing all the
chalk, prizes, photographer and written materials to make this event
a success.
While the judges had a very difficult time with such good pictures on
the sidewalk around the school building, the winners were: fourth
graders Shelby Abella, Michael O’Neill, and Mariah Wimer; fifth
graders Mindy Evans, Russell (Val) Kern, and Hayleigh Alton; and
sixth graders Austin Wamack, Hope Wheeler, and Harley Moore.
This is just one of many career exploration activities that Mrs. Bell,
our school social worker, organizes throughout the school year for
our students.
Fifth grade students and teachers
from Duncan Falls Elementary
planned a day full of special
events honoring veterans for
their dedicated and loyal service
to our country. The planning
started with a veteran’s project.
Students interviewed a veteran,
many of them family members,
in order to learn more about
their experiences. Each student
created a scrapbook honoring the
veteran, incorporating what they
had learned from their veteran
Page 2
interview. Scrapbooks were
quite impressive, capturing the
life and unique experiences of the
veteran.
For the Veteran’s Day Celebration,
veterans enjoyed the presentations
of their scrapbooks and dessert in
the decorated cafeteria. Following
dessert, a school-wide program
honoring all veterans was held.
The program included special
pieces by fifth graders as well as
a song from each grade level. The
program concluded with a collage
Philo Junior High Academic Progress
by Rob Preston, Philo Junior High School Principal
Philo Junior High’s OAA testing results from the 2011-12 school
year were extremely promising. PJH met 6 of the 8 state performance
indicators, including the state attendance requirement. We improved
the percentage of students’ proficient or better in all tested areas,
and improved our school performance index from 92.7 to 95.6 - the
highest ever recorded at PJH! Philo Junior High also MET AYP
(adequate yearly progress) requirements from the Ohio Department
of Education. We had 5 teachers receive a “Most Effective” rating,
which is the highest rating in the value-added system, on their
personal value-added reports.
We are extremely excited to continue with the initiatives we used
last year with the idea of making adjustments to further our growth.
One of the changes that we believe will greatly benefit our students
is the addition of “block” math classes for all students. This means
every student will receive 94 minutes of instruction in both math and
reading/English daily. We have had great success in the past with
“block” reading/English classes and were fortunate enough to modify
our schedule so we could increase math instruction time as well this
year. Everyone, including staff, students, and parents, had a hand in
our successes from the 11-12 school year. Let’s continue to make it
our focus to work together and be successful.
Kaidan Dunkle shows off his Data Binder.
Alivia Sims, Gracie Ehrick, Jace King,
Caleb Johnson and Delaney Carmichael
proudly display their work.
of pictures of our veterans set to
music.
A special impromptu encounter
between Mrs. Reed’s kindergarten
class and a veteran in uniform
occurred in the hallway before
the program. A student from the
kindergarten class said, “Hey, Mr.
Soldier.” The veteran stopped and
leaned over to talk to the young
boy. “We have a song for you.”
The entire class began to sing
the song “American Soldier” to
the veteran in the hallway. Such
DFE is Racing to
the Top
By Pam Hartman, Assistant Principal
Duncan Falls Elementary School
had a very successful year
academically during the 2011-
2012 school year. Through the
implementation of new programs
and initiatives, continuation of
current programming, coupled
with the hard work of our
teachers and determination of
our students, we met 8 out of 8
indicators, met the attendance
rate, and the Performance Index
was over 100. DFE also met
AYP and was above the growth
standard. All of this equated to
our school being rated “Excellent
with Distinction.”
Veteran’s Day Celebration at Duncan Falls Elementary School
a special way to ensure that
veterans know how much we
deeply appreciate the sacrifices
they have made to keep us safe
and our country free.

Franklin Local Saves $247,710 In
Interest Costs
By Chris Miller, Treasurer
This past summer, the Franklin Local Board of Education approved
refinancing bond debt from our 2004 school building construction
project. Moody’s (a credit ratings agency) reviewed the district’s
finances, management and demographics and assigned an outstanding
A-1 credit rating for Franklin Local. The ratings agency emphasized
the district’s strong financial position, management and other positive
factors that helped us lock in interest rates that were near historic
lows. Between the district’s positive bond rating, low interest rates
and other favorable factors, the taxpayers of the district will save
$247,710 in interest payments over the remaining years of this debt
issue. Our Board of Education, administration, bond underwriter and
legal counsel worked together to save money for the taxpayers of the
district.
Franklin Local Community School –
Academics
By Frank VanKirk, Franklin Local Community School Principal
Congratulations to the students and staff of the Franklin Local
Community School on the success of the 2011-2012 school year!
Over the past two years, our school’s Performance Index rating has
increased from 62.5 to 89.1 - that is up more than 26 points! We have
also seen an increase in our graduation and attendance rates. Eightytwo
percent of our tenth grade students passed their Reading, Writing,
and Social Studies OGT tests. This academic success helped us to
meet Adequate Yearly Progress and Value Added.
Philo High School Academic Progress
Update
By Bruce King, Assistant Principal
For the fifth year in a row, Philo High School has been rated as
“Excellent” by the Ohio Department of Education! Also, Philo High
School had the highest percentage of students in Muskingum County
who passed all five parts of the Ohio Graduation Test! What has
brought about this continued success There are a number of reasons,
but here are a couple.
Let’s start with our Freshman Academy. The Freshman Academy
was started three years ago to help ensure that ninth grade students
would get at least a year’s worth of academic growth in each of their
core subjects and receive at least four credits by the end of their
freshman year. The biggest predictor that a student will not finish
high school is when a student does not receive any credits during
their freshman year. For those students who struggle during the ninth
grade, intervention is provided on a daily basis or as needed. This
concept has been a driving force that has helped to increase our test
scores and will increase Philo High School’s graduation rate.
Another reason would be the fact that the Franklin Local School
District received the SOAR Award for being a “Most Improved
District” for academic progress due to our value-added reports that
show our students making a year’s worth of gain, and in a lot of
cases, more than a year’s worth. Our feeder schools have made great
strides in their academic endeavors and that carries over to the high
school.
Some of you have probably heard the saying that “you need to get
the right people on the bus.” We at Philo High School feel that we
now have the right people on the bus and our scores and student
achievements are proof of that. We already have 19 of our seniors
who have been accepted to a college/university and our average ACT
composite score for our seniors is 20.85. College and Career Readiness
plans are in the works for next year to better assist our students with
preparing for college and a career. Contact our Guidance Office for
more information.
“Attitude of Gratitude”
By Rob Preston, Philo Junior High School Principal
L to R: Cote Shultz, sixth grader, and
Caleb Shultz, eighth grader
With the holiday season upon
us, it is a great time to reflect on
things for which we are grateful.
At Philo Junior High, we have
taken “Attitude of Gratitude” as
our informal school motto. The
definition of gratitude is simple:
The quality or feeling of being
grateful or thankful. We find that
often we are thankful, but don’t
take the time to express it to
those for whom we are grateful.
William Arthur Ward is quoted
as saying “Feeling gratitude and
not expressing it is like wrapping
a present and not giving it.”
The staff at Philo Junior High
has made it a focus to have an
“Attitude of Gratitude” this year
and we would like to share the
story of two of our students who
have experienced tremendous
hardship in the past few months
but have remained positive.
Caleb Shultz is an eighth grader at PJH and his little brother Cote
is a sixth grader. Over the past six months, the entire family has
experienced several medical setbacks that would have challenged the
strongest of characters. The biggest challenge came this fall when the
boys and the rest of their family were involved in a rollover accident.
Both boys sustained severe injuries. Caleb was taken by MedFlight
to Children’s Hospital while Cote was taken by squad to Children’s.
Both boys received follow-up treatment after their release, including
an additional surgery for Caleb in November.
Charles R. Swindoll said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90%
how you react to it.” Through all of these hardships, both boys have
been in school with positive attitudes and have tried their hardest to
be just “one of the kids.” Knowing what this family has been through,
the PJH staff has great feelings of gratitude towards the Shultz family,
namely Caleb and Cote for their perseverance and positive attitudes
through these trying times.
As a side note, Caleb was even well enough to go on the 8th Grade
Washington, D.C. trip with his classmates. We encourage you to take
some time this holiday season and say, “Thank you,” to the important
people in your life. We have found that expressing gratitude feels just
as good as receiving it.
Jennifer Woodard, social studies teacher;
Stephen Michel, math teacher; and Frank
VanKirk, principal represented the Franklin
Local School District and the Franklin Local
Community School at the Ohio Alliance for
Public Charter School and the Ohio School
Board Association state conferences. At the
OAPCS conference, the team shared how FLCS
uses project based learning to develop 21st
century skills, strengthen local partnerships,
and increase student engagement. The OSBA
presentation focused on how FLCS has developed
community-based projects to benefit its students
and community. These projects successfully built
relationships with the community and increased
support from stakeholders.
Page 3

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www.franklin-local.k12.oh.us for events and updates.
FRANKLIN LOCAL SCHOOLS
360 Cedar St., PO Box 428
Duncan Falls, Ohio 43734
Non-Profit Org.
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B0XHOLDER
Sportsmanship Summit By Troy Dawson, Philo High School Principal
Terry Ohlinger, the Philo High School Athletic
Director, and I have noticed an unsettling trend
over the last few years. Although we both
believe athletics provide enrichment for many
of our students’ lives, we have seen proper
sportsmanship decline. There has been a shift
from fans cheering for their team to fans finding
ways to show up or put down the opposing team
and/or the game official. Players on TV beat on
their chests after dunking a ball and scream at
the opponent. I have witnessed otherwise nice,
respectful people (adults and students) yell mean
and hurtful things at the referee because they
did or did not call “travel” during a basketball
game. Student cheering sections have chanted
mean and degrading chants that do nothing
but increase the chance of violence. When the
whistle blows to start a contest, does it give us
the right to forget our manners or the right to
yell whatever we want no matter who it hurts
The answer is, “No.”
Mr. Ohlinger decided to do something to try to
reverse the growing trend of unsportsmanlike
conduct. Mr. Ohlinger believes that the power to
do so lies within our young people. He decided
to host a Sportsmanship Summit and invite four
student leaders from each Muskingum Valley
League school to attend. The idea was well
received by the principals and athletic directors
of the MVL as well as the Franklin Local School
Board of Education.
On November 20, 2012, Mr. Ohlinger hosted
the Sportsmanship Summit at the Cornerstone
Full Gospel Church’s youth center called
The Barracks. Athletic directors and/or
administrators from each MVL school except
New Lexington brought four student leaders
to the event. New Lexington students were on
Thanksgiving Break and, thus, were unable to
attend the summit. A continental breakfast was
provided as well as a wonderful lunch by our
very own Franklin Local Food Service Team.
The purpose of the summit was to help students
recognize what poor sportsmanship is and
help them brainstorm ways to improve it. Mr.
Ohlinger was the moderator for the event. I
spoke to share my reasons for seeing a need to
improve sportsmanship. The Ohio High School
Athletic Association Assistant Commissioner,
Jerry Snodgrass, spoke about the need for
improved sportsmanship throughout the state.
Muskingum Valley League Commissioner
and referee, Scott Welker, spoke to share the
perspective of a referee.
The students came up with some good action
steps they will take to improve sportsmanship.
Please consider attending one of our sporting
contests and see if you can tell a difference
in the sportsmanship being displayed. More
importantly, please do your part to help promote
good sportsmanship.
I would like to thank Terry Ohlinger for tackling
such a huge task, and I would like to thank our
student leaders, Mark Murray, Megan Yocum,
Elijah Talk, Stacee Chesnik, and Hannah Daley
for doing their part to help.
L – R: Megan Yocum, Hannah Daley, Elijah Talk, Mark Murray,
Stacee Chesnik, and Athletic Director, Mr. Terry Ohlinger.