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July/August 2008/Volume 9 Board Seeks, Listens, and Responds to Citizen Feedback on Facilities In response to feedback from our three cost-effective solution for this problem. Board communities this summer, the Board of Therefore, the Board has chosen to continue President Education has chosen to continue the with the discussions into the fall. Dave Pusti community engagement process through this The Berea City Schools are committed presented fall, rather than placing a bond issue on the to providing the best opportunities and information at nine ballot in November. The Board is committed learning environments for our students. facility Q & A to engaging the community in this process, We have a rich legacy of excellence, which meetings in as is evident by the number of opportunities is even more critical today. Therefore we July. provided over the past year for our citizens believe we must move forward and address to share their thoughts and ideas. Initially, the issue of outdated, inefficient, and education, enrollment, and financial expensive facilities that do not adequately students with 21st-century learning tools, needs were identified in district-wide provide the necessary learning environment keep our communities attractive, and save planning meetings in 2007-2008 attended to equip our students to compete in this over $1.5 million every year in energy and by hundreds of residents. Following the global economy. operations with this proposed plan. Facility Committee’s report in March 2008, As you may know, we are planning We appreciate the fact that many the district asked for additional feedback to close our administration building, community residents took the time to make from the community. Community priorities and considering renovating Big Creek their voices heard on this important issue. were ranked through an in-depth telephone Elementary in Middleburg Heights and As we move forward, we will continue to survey, and nine community meetings were Brookpark Memorial Elementary in Brook work with the community in providing held in July, involving hundreds of residents Park, and consolidating elementary schools the best opportunities and learning across the district. Throughout this process, in Berea. Our dated elementary schools may environments for our students. Please we heard clearly from our residents that look fine, but they have too much space for continue to be part of the process of helping these are tough economic times and that the our enrollment and are educationally and our students achieve dreams they never community would like the most efficient and operationally inefficient. We can provide imagined possible. State Auditor Recognizes District for Excellent Financial Accountability Auditor of State Mary Taylor’s office presented Berea City School District officials with the “Making Your Tax Dollars Count” award for their fiscal year 2006 audit.Fewer than five percent of all Ohio government agencies are eligible for this award. “The Berea City School District is truly dedicated to fiscal accountability. I commend Berea City School District officials for their hard work and encourage them to continue their commitment to efficient financial record keeping,” said Taylor. Certain criteria must be met to receive the “Making Your Tax Dollars Count” award. Standards include: • The entity must complete and submit a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). (from left, front row) Board Vice President Gale Patten, Board President • There must be no findings or issues present in the audit report. Dave Pusti, Board member Dave • There must be no other financial concerns involving the entity. Thurau; (back row) Board member Fred Szabo, Auditor of State Regional Berea City School District Treasurer Randal Scherf accepted the award on behalf of his Liaison, Michelle Stys, Treasurer Randy Scherf, and Board member Robert staff and the district. Drake. Paul Kish Named Midpark High School Principal The Berea City School District welcomes Paul Kish as the new principal at Midpark High School. Mr. Kish spent the last seven years as the assistant principal of Westlake High School, and prior to that, he was an assistant principal at both Avon Lake Middle School and Harding Middle School in Lakewood. Mr. Kish began his career in education as a high school English teacher at Tiffin Columbian High School and Gateway High School, Florida, where he also coached high school football, basketball, and baseball. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from The Ohio State University and his Master’s in Educational Administration from Bowling Green State University. Currently, he is enrolled at Kent State University where he is completing his Ph.D. Mr. Kish and his wife, Karen, have two children, Kaylee, age 14, and Luke, age 11. Midpark High School Student Panelists Midpark Librarian/Media Specialist Hold Discussion On Korea is Chosen for Trip to China Congratulations to Kathleen Maciuszko, Midpark librarian/media specialist, who through a competitive application process, was chosen to join approximately 400 educators from across the United States to travel to China from June 23 - July 1 on an educational tour called the 2008 Chinese Bridge Delegation. The purpose of the trip was to deepen American educators’ understanding of China, to discover ways to incorporate Chinese into classrooms, Dr. Kathleen Maciuszko and Mandarin teacher, Mrs. and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas Ching-Ling Huang, worked (from left) Midpark student panelists Gabrielle Matthews, Joy between American and Chinese educators. A together on the grant Viceroy, Greg Cherry, and Bryan Ciccarello, and (back row) number of organizations collaborated to make the application for the Beijing Mr. Cheon Joon-Ho, Economic Counselor, Embassy of the trip. In her preparation Republic of Korea; Ms. Gabrielle Price, Office of Korean Affairs, trip possible, including China’s Office of Chinese for the trip, Dr. Maciuszko U.S. Department of State; and Ambassador Charles L. (Jack) Language Council International, College Board, reviewed some of the Pritchard, Korea Economic Institute. the Asia Society, and the Chinese Embassy in materials provided by Ching- Ling and her students and Washington, D.C. Through the efforts of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs also by district gifted services As our delegate, Dr. Maciuszko is bringing teacher, Mrs. Linda Heath and Dr. Kathleen Maciuszko at Midpark High, on May 14, . back to our district a deeper tie to China and Ambassador Jack Pritchard of the Korea Economic Institute its educators. Dr. Maciuszko worked with Mrs. Ching-Ling Huang, who has and representatives from the State Department and the taught Mandarin Chinese to a group of 7th-graders from Ford and Roehm this Korean Embassy participated in a panel discussion with year, to formulate her proposal. The trip will enable her to assist Mrs. Huang students from Midpark High School about Korea and its by developing collections of Chinese language and culture resources in our economic issues. Student panelists were Gabrielle Matthews, libraries. On the trip, Dr. Maciuszko explored future cooperative ventures with Senior; Joy Viceroy, Junior; Greg Cherry, Sophomore; Bryan China, such as teacher exchanges, student exchanges, and distance learning Ciccarello, Freshman. Midpark’s three exchange students opportunities with classrooms in China. She sees this trip as an educator’s – Jasmin Israel (Germany), Yuki Ishii (Japan), Dejchart “golden opportunity at a time when globalization is accelerating.” Ruengtagdee (Thailand) closed the event by presenting gifts to The trip’s itinerary included arrival in Beijing followed by visits to a number each guest. That same evening, the three speakers presented of primary and secondary schools in and outside Beijing. The group observed an evening program for the public at the Union Club. Several classes, and met with educators and students. Midpark students were in attendance. Superintendents, Teachers, Students Meet with Educators from Saudi Arabia Fifteen local superintendents from Northeast Ohio school districts met with 11 ministers of education from Saudi Arabia on the morning of May 20 at the Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County. The visitors were interested in learning about U.S. public school education. The educators participated in small group sessions to discuss public education, funding, curriculum, and parental and community involvement in schools. Afterward, the Saudi educators met with local teachers and students to discuss school life, extracurricular activities, and other topics of interest to youth. Both Midpark and Berea High Teacher Jane Darrow, Berea Schools attended. The Midpark High students included Greg Cherry, High student Bryan Bohrer, Katie Fink, Sarah Jervis, Sarah Lambert, and Gabrielle Matthews. and one of the 11 Saudi Berea High was represented by students Philip Bassani, Bryan Bohrer, Ministers of Education visiting Cleveland. Allison Cassidy, Joe Sadek, and Mike Schnurr. Dr. Kathleen Maciuszko Partnering with Berea City Schools in (Midpark) and Ms. Jane Darrow (Berea) accompanied our students. education and the arts. Berea City School District Announces Partnership with Playhouse Square Berea City School District has officially been designated as a “Partner in Performance” by the Arts Education Department at Playhouse Square. This important and creative partnership reflects the district’s commitment to enriching student learning in and through the arts. Matt Deevers, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

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