Schools

In the spring of 2020, like most other non-profits, Westlake Demons Athletic Boosters (WDAB) canceled its annual in-person fundraiser. 

“We got by,” said WDAB President Virnette House Browning. “Budgets were tighter and we had to cut back like many other non-profits in the area,” said House-Browning. 

But not this year. 

Saturday, April 9, was a great night for the organization. With over 300 attendees and support from many local businesses, WDAB raised nearly $25,000.

On Monday, April 11, the Ohio Department of Education announced its Class of 2022 Purple Star Schools, which included all four of Bay Village City School District’s schools: Normandy Elementary School (grades K-2); Westerly Elementary School (grades 3-4); Bay Middle School (grades 5-8); and Bay High School (grades 9-12). This is the first year the district has applied for and received this distinction, and Bay Village Schools is the only district in Cuyahoga County to earn this distinction this year. The designation is for 2022-2025.

The Ohio Department of Education announced that only 94 schools received the esteemed award for the first time. Overall, 263 Ohio schools received Purple Star designations. Purple Star schools show a significant commitment to serving students and families connected to our nation’s armed forces.

The Bay Village Board of Education has named Scot T. Prebles the new superintendent of the Bay Village City School District. The Board unanimously approved the appointment during a special board meeting on Saturday, April 2.

Prebles, who currently serves as superintendent of Forest Hills School District in the Cincinnati area, will start with Bay Village Schools on Aug. 1. His contract is for five years, and he will earn a salary of $180,000 per year.

“I am humbled by this decision and excited to get started,” said Prebles. “This will be a team effort and we are going to make you proud. I will do everything I can to maintain and expand the lighthouse district status of Bay Village Schools in our state and nationally.”

This report contains member observations and selected highlights of the March 21 meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education. It is not an official statement by the League of Women Voters, nor does it represent the official minutes of the meeting.

Resolutions

Resolution to express opposition to the passage of HB 290 (backpack scholarship program): The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution due to concerns that this bill would create significant damage to the fiscal stability of the Bay school system.

Resolution to authorize the Ohio Schools Council Cooperative to Advertise and Receive School bids on the District’s behalf: The board approved the resolution to authorize the Ohio Schools Council cooperative to advertise and receive school bus bids on the district’s behalf in anticipation of receiving state financial support for the purchase of new buses.

Resolution to express opposition to the passage of HB 327 ("divisive concepts" bill): This resolution was requested because of concerns that the bill's passage would damage the quality of instruction in the Bay school system. This resolution passed unanimously.

Six semifinalists have been chosen to interview for the Superintendent position in the Bay Village City School District.

The following candidates were selected from a pool of 29 applicants to be interviewed by the Bay Village Board of Education during executive session on March 14 and 15, 2022.

• Scot Prebles, Superintendent, Forest Hills Local School District, Cincinnati, OH

• Ben Richards, Superintendent, Valley View Local School District, Germantown, OH

• Char Shryock, Interim Superintendent, Bay Village City School District, Bay Village, OH

• Jeffrey Stanton, Human Resources Director, North Olmsted City School District, North Olmsted, OH

• Mark Stefanik, Superintendent, Tipp City Exempted Village Schools, Tipp City, OH

• William (Matt) Young, Assistant Superintendent, Cuyahoga Heights Local School District, Cuyahoga Hts., OH

Bay Village Board of Education President Paul Vincent said he was pleased with the number of candidates who applied, and the caliber of those applicants.

This report contains member observations and selected highlights of the March 7 meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education. It is not an official statement by the League of Women Voters, nor does it represent the official minutes of the meeting.

The Board approved the first reading of revised board policies which are available on the website, bayk12.org.

Various personnel changes were approved.

Finance Committee: School treasurer Meghan Rohde reported the external audit has been completed and no issues were identified. They are making progress on creating a 5-year priority list for capital improvements.

Policy Committee: This committee is developing rules and ethical practices for contracting with private vendors as well as ways to increase community involvement with the board. They are exploring the feasibility of broadcasting board meetings and options to facilitate more community input. Examples under consideration are changing the requirement to provide a home address before addressing the board to only stating town of residence, and decreasing the allotted time to speak from five minutes to three minutes to allow more people a chance to be heard within time constraints.

In October, Bay Village Schools announced that five Bay High School students were recognized in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP), including Semifinalists Milan Oppewall and Aden Bergstresser.

Bay High School Principal Jason Martin was recently notified by NMSP that these two Semifinalists have both advanced to Finalist standing in the 67th annual competition.

These academically talented high school seniors are now eligible for Merit Scholarship awards totaling more than $30 million to be awarded later this spring. These Bay High School seniors are two of only 15,000 Finalists of the more than 1.5 million NMSP entrants.

The Bay Village Education Foundation recently selected the “School Bus Little Library Project” as recipient of a Maynard Bauer Leadership Fund (MBLF) Award. The project proposal, submitted on behalf of the Bay Village City School District Transportation Department, was inspired by Bay bus driver (and Bay alum) Sue Naso.

Transportation Department employees will work in conjunction with Bay High School Computer Assisted Design (CAD) students to design and construct a bus-shaped little library which will be installed outside of the bus garage near the sidewalk to the high school. Once complete, the little library will be stocked with reading materials suitable for all ages that promote literacy and bus safety. It is expected that the project will be completed by late spring 2022.

Congratulations to Bay High School alumnus and Super Bowl champion, Ted Monago, the assistant director of college scouting for the Los Angeles Rams. This 1987 Bay High School graduate got his football start right here in Bay Village, playing for the Rockets. He then went on to play football for Arizona State University as a walk-on athlete.

Monago, who comes from a family of seven children (six of whom graduated from Bay High School), says he was "an average athlete and normal student," but it was the community and school district that prepared him for success.

“We call it the ‘Bay Bubble’ because it’s a unique community,” Monago said. “Quality teachers, dedicated coaches and active parents were always around us, guiding us to become who we are today.”

Annabella Mayer, daughter of David and Jacquelyn Mayer and a junior at Bay High School, earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36.

Fewer than half of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2021, only 4,055 out of 1.29 million students who took the ACT earned a top composite score of 36.

Annabella plays volleyball and participates in track and field at Bay High School. She is also active in Bay High Key Club and serves on the service club’s leadership team. She is a class officer and member of: Student Council, National Honor Society, Model UN, Bay Student Boosters and Bay Village Education Foundation. Annabella also plays the cello in Bay High School’s orchestra and participates in school musicals.

The Westlake Educational Foundation is excited to announce Matthew Eck as the winner of a new 2022 Chevy Trax, donated by Serpentini Chevrolet of Westlake for the benefit of Westlake City Schools’ students.

With the drawing scheduled for halftime of the Westlake boys’ varsity basketball game on Friday, Feb. 4, the forecast did not bode well for an in-person event. Reminiscent of the Foundation’s first car raffle drawing in February of 2021, which was impacted by Covid and a snow day, whether the 2022 drawing would be in front of a live crowd or not was becoming a game-day decision. 

Heavy snow resulted in schools being closed on Thursday and Friday, meaning the basketball game may or may not be played as scheduled. The condition of the roads at mid-day would determine the game’s fate. Fortunately, the snow stopped, and the city’s crews were able to clear the roads. The basketball game was on, and the Foundation’s car raffle drawing would occur at halftime as originally planned.

How do you engage students who have missed out on a year of “normal” academic learning? How do you foster a mindset of perseverance amid challenges? In this current Covid-impacted environment, these are the questions facing teachers everywhere. And for a group of Westlake Elementary School teachers, bringing creative and innovative learning techniques into the classroom is their answer to these questions.

As students returned to in-person learning last year, Westlake Elementary School teachers noticed differences in how students dealt with being in a classroom with their peers and tackling daily educational assignments. When three of the teachers – Brandi Mattingly, Becky Kowalski, and Erin Vanek – heard about the opportunity to apply for a grant from the Westlake Educational Foundation, they applied and were ultimately awarded a grant to purchase KEVA Blocks.

Bay High School is proud to announce that 15 students received 22 awards in the 2022 Scholastic Writing Awards. Of these recognitions, three were Gold Key awards, four were Silver Key awards and 15 were Honorable Mentions. The Gold Key award is the highest honor of distinction in this competition.

Senior Carli Mendelow received a Gold Key in the Writing Portfolio category; Junior Sarina Poling received a Gold Key in the Personal Essay & Memoir category; and Emilia Ullom received a Gold Key in Poetry.

These submissions were entered into the competition by Bay High School English Department faculty members Erin Beirne and Dr. Kristen Srsen Kenney.

The Westlake City Schools District joined more than 700 school districts throughout Ohio to celebrate January as School Board Recognition Month.

“Our school board members are citizen-servants who shoulder critical responsibilities and often make difficult choices for our district,” superintendent Scott Goggin said. “Their focus is always on the future success of the children in our district. Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is one way to say thanks for all they do.”

Serving as a link between the community and classroom, school board members are elected to establish the policies that provide the framework for public schools.

Did you know that Bay Village has offered high school for 100 years? It’s true! Parkview School was completed in 1922, and served grades 1-12. The two-story brick building was built where Bay Middle School now stands, with land purchased from the Cahoon Park trustees. A third story was added to the building in 1925.

Here are some other historical snippets, as shared by the late Bay Village historian Kay Laughlin:

Blue and white started being used for Parkview athletic uniforms soon after the new school was built, and Parkview High School became Bay High School in 1947, thanks to a name-change petition by the Class of 1947. (The Class of 1947 graduated with Bay High School on their diplomas.) Then, in the fall of 1947, a Bay High School sports team took the field under the name Bay Rockets for the first time.

During its Jan. 11 Organizational Board Meeting, the Bay Village Board of Education swore in newly elected Board members Amy Huntley and Dr. Andrey Stojic, as well as retained Board member Dr. Scott Schulz. The oath was delivered by District Treasurer Meghan Rohde.

Upon completion of the swearing-in ceremony, the Board’s first matter of business was electing officers for the 2022 calendar year. Paul Vincent was voted President and Dr. Scott Schulz as Vice President.

“This year’s Board has such a vast array of skills, talent and experiences to bring to the table,” said President Vincent. “As a Board, we are all motivated to continue pursuing student-focused academic excellence for our learning community.”

At the Dec. 6, 2021, Bay Village Board of Education meeting, two resolutions were passed honoring retiring Board members Lisa Priemer and Dave Vegh. 

Both resolutions highlighted the extraordinary level of commitment and dedication these Board members have given to Bay Village Schools during their time of service, including leading during a pandemic. 

“The resolutions passed by our Board in honor of Lisa and Dave shared the specific projects these two outstanding Board members have worked on for our district, but the thank you notes they received from our students really captured the true spirit of their gifts to our district,” said Interim Superintendent Char Shryock. “Both Lisa and Dave have been student-focused leaders during their tenure, and I thank them for that.”

“A glooming peace this morning with it brings … for never was there a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo!” boomed the Prince of Verona to assembled citizens gathered around, many of whom lay slain on the ground, thus ending the beautiful and tragic story of two star-crossed lovers. After a brief pause, the room erupted into laughter and applause, perished characters rising to their feet to grab their backpacks as the bell rang and the Prince of Verona (Marie Hunt, 9th grade) rushed off to get ready to cheer at the season’s first home basketball game.

The performers this day were freshman English students at Bay High who had just ended a week of collaboration, education, and performance with a pair of actor-educators from Great Lakes Theater, the renowned local classic company. The relationship between BHS and Great Lakes has been a wonderful tradition that was, like so many others, halted during Covid-19 protocols. This school year the actors are back in the building, masked (of course) but excited to work with students in person again.

For the Observer's annual last-issue-of-the-year feature, students from Mrs. Hun Piazza’s fourth-grade class at Westlake Elementary School share favorite family traditions.

Around this time of year, my family plays Hide the Pickle. In this game, we hide the pickle 5 times. To decide who gets to hide the pickle, the first one who finds the shiny green pickle ornament in the box of decorations, gets to hide it first! This year my sister got to hide the pickle first. First, the pickle is hidden on an easy level. It’s hidden as easily as possible on the Christmas tree. Once the pickle is found, it’s hidden again at a medium level. Once it’s found again, it’s placed in the most hidden spot on the tree. Once that's found, the entire family gathers and splits into two teams. We decide on what will be the main course for our Christmas dinner. Then the pickle ornament is hidden one last time. Whichever team finds it first, their dinner is picked for Christmas evening. While we wait for that day, our entire family hides the pickle just for fun. This is my most favorite Christmas tradition. Happy holidays!
– Cecelia P.

My favorite holiday tradition is what we do on Christmas Day. Often, my grandparents come for Christmas. First we take turns opening our stockings. They are full of miniature gifts from Santa. After that we eat cinnamon rolls. Next, we open presents. I like seeing what everyone gets, so we take turns. In the afternoon, we watch a Christmas movie. Last, we have a family meal. We eat a big ham dinner. I love our family Christmas traditions.
– Christian T.

Around this year, my family and I look for my elf on the shelf each year. When it is the day before Christmas we bake cookies for Santa Claus. We watch movies and we also try to give the Christmas spirit around the world. On Christmas Eve we sing a song for Santa to give him joy and make him happy. When Christmas day starts we start to open up our presents and before we open them we call our family members and say Merry Christmas while I am shaking the presents to see which one is mine. Before Christmas day we put our hands in a bag and close our eyes and after we open them we look at the paper and you don’t say who you got and then we give them a present secretly. On Christmas day we eat Santa’s cookies if he didn't eat them. Sometimes we go to our neighbor’s house and we yell "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and then I scream I am Santa. I always ask why I have to wait until Christmas to open my presents. And, it’s always the same answer, “Because Santa says so!” I love my holiday traditions.
– Mason N.

For the Observer's annual last-issue-of-the-year feature, students from Mrs. Julie McArn’s first-grade class at Normandy Elementary in Bay Village share favorite family traditions.

My family likes to bake Christmas cookies together. My favorite kind is gingersnaps because I like the different kinds of sprinkles that we put on top of them.
– Greta S.

We like to decorate cookies with candies and a bunch of frosting. I like doing this because we get to lick the frosting off our fingers in the end. It’s yummy!
– Andrew E.

On Christmas morning me and my brother wait in my mom’s bathroom and then my dad gets the camera. We all run out and we see the presents by the Christmas tree. I like this because then we get to unwrap the presents all together.
– Lillian G.

My favorite tradition is that we get to go to the lights at the zoo. There are lots and lots of different lights. We get hot cocoa too. It is very yummy!
– Malachi D.

On Nov. 15, the Bay High School Chapter of National Honor Society inducted 94 new members. Due to COVID, this is the first time the ceremony has taken place live at Bay High School since 2019. The event marked the 82nd annual induction ceremony at Bay High School.

Membership in the National Honor Society is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a high school student. It is the recognition of outstanding performance in both the classroom and the community.

November is Military Family Month, dedicated to military families in Ohio and around the world. The annual observance recognizes the commitment, dedication and sacrifices Ohio’s military families make for our military to remain organized and strong.

On Monday, Oct. 25, the Bay Village Board of Education passed a Resolution in Support of Military-connected Children and Families. The initiative, spearheaded by Interim Superintendent Char Shryock, realizes there are many military-connected families within Bay Village, and the goal is to provide them with the support and resources they need, to eventually become an official Purple Star school district, as recognized by the Ohio Department of Education.

“As Interim Superintendent, I have had the opportunity to personally meet our stakeholders, and I was surprised at the depth of experience we have within our many military-connected families, both active and retired,” said Shryock. “With the help of Bay Village Schools parent Bernadette Power and her husband, Mike, a Lieutenant in the Coast Guard, I was able to assemble a Purple Star advisory group to get this initiative underway. I am grateful that the Board also realizes the importance of the goal to become a Purple Star District.”

This report contains member observations and selected highlights of the Nov. 8 meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education. It is not an official statement by the League of Women Voters, nor does it represent the official minutes of the meeting.

The regular meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education was called to order at 6:35 p.m. by board president Lisa Priemer in the middle school cafeteria. Board members in attendance were Beth Lally, Scott Schulz, Dave Vegh and Lisa Priemer. Paul Vincent was absent.

Donation: The first order of business was the acceptance of a donation for the Carlene H. Bonds English as a Second Language scholarship for the Bay Village City School District by Devon Gess, choir director.

Staff recognition: William (Bill) Mears, Glenview was recognized on his retirement.

Board policies: First reading of several proposed revised Board policies occurred. These can be found at go.boarddocs.com/oh/bvcsd/Board.nsf/Public.

Consent items:

• Certified Personnel – activity contracts for extended day at Normandy were approved
• Special project contract – homebound instruction and mentor teachers contracts were approved
• Service contract of English language tutor at Normandy was approved
• FMLA for two individuals was approved
• Supplemental contract for ski club advisor was approved

The Bay High School Key Club recently held an Animal Protective League (APL) donation drive. Three bus loads of donations were sent off to the Cleveland APL, Friendship APL of Lorain County and the Berea Animal Rescue to help the shelters’ animals in need. Countless items were donated by the community, making it a huge success.

“It really could not have been such a success without the generosity and support of our community,” said project co-chairperson Miya DeBolt.

The high school’s Key Club dropped off fliers to neighborhood homes the weekend of Oct. 8, and returned to the homes to collect donations a week later on Oct. 16. The Key Club collected many donations from doorsteps, and collected countless more from the donation drop-off location at Bay High School throughout the weekend. As donations were being made through the weekend, some Key Club members helped to sort and box the items.

Bay High School trumpet player Adam Ward was recently selected for the Ohio Music Education Association’s All-State Jazz Ensemble. Ward, a high school junior, auditioned alongside top high school musicians from all over the state.

This year’s All-State Jazz Ensemble will be conducted by Grammy-award-winning bassist Todd Coolman. The Ensemble will rehearse in January, and then play a concert at the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Convention, which takes place in Cleveland this year, from Feb. 3-5, 2022.

“Only five trumpet players were selected for this throughout the state, so this is exciting,” said Darren Allen, Bay High School band director.

This report contains member observations and selected highlights of the Oct. 25 meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education. It is not an official statement by the League of Women Voters, nor does it represent the official minutes of the meeting.

The regular meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education was called to order at 6:35 by Board President Lisa Priemer in the Middle School library. Board members in attendance were Vice President Dave Vegh, Mrs. Beth Lally, and Dr. Scott Schultz. Mr. Paul Vincent was not in attendance.

Acceptance of Donations: Dr. Ed Horvath, physician, former colonel, U.S. Army Medical Corps, and member of VFW Post 9693 of Bay Village presented a $20,000 scholarship check to be used for students pursing a military career. Dr. Horvath said that the VFW hopes to continue to contribute $500 per year in years to come.

The Board also accepted a donation by Pat Jensen of a variety of musical instruments and accessories.

Westerly Elementary School, a grades three and four building in the Bay Village City School District, has again been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for 2021. This is the second time in five years the school has received this national honor.

Westerly Elementary School is one of only 325 schools in the United States to receive the honor this year, as announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona, and one of only 11 Ohio elementary schools.

Westerly Elementary School is a multiple National Blue Ribbon awardee, 2015 and 2021. It is unusual for schools to receive the honor more than once, and Westerly is receiving the distinction for the second time in the least amount of years possible – there must be five years in between each Blue Ribbon’s awarding.

Bay Village City School District is proud to announce that five students have been recognized in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program, an annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships.

Aden Bergstresser and Milan Oppewall have been named Semifinalists, and Jonathan Douglas, Angelica Jameson and Sean Smith are recognized as Commended students. All are seniors at Bay High School. These students were identified based on their 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) scores.

National Merit Semi-Finalists

Aden Bergstresser is looking to attend University of Michigan, Cornell University or Harvard University to study Applied Physics. He plans on pursuing a career in the aerospace industry. This Key Club and National Honor Society member is also on the BHS tennis team, and he volunteers for the Village Project and Cleveland Angels. HIs favorite subject is physics. Aden’s hobbies include playing chess and sudoku. He is the son of Amy and Art Bergstresser.

Milan Oppewall is field commander for the BHS Marching Band. She is also part of Symphonic Band, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Band and Pit Orchestra, playing both the clarinet and tenor saxophone. Her extracurricular activities also include: yearbook co-editor, vice president of the senior class, and treasurer of Thespians and Key Club. Milan is also a member of National Honor Society, Project Earth, Pupil Assisted Learning and Young Philanthropy Fellowship. Her college studies will include Business Administration & Management, and she hopes to attend The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University or University of Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Tarra and Chris Oppewall.

The Bay Village City School District is big on tradition, including heritage Homecoming events such as the Thursday Night Bonfire and Friday Homecoming Parade (fondly known as the “candy parade” to many). A few new events have been added to the lineup this year, including a chalkfest, to bring even more families and residents out to celebrate Homecoming Week. Below is a complete list of events taking place throughout the week.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
"Where’s Your Spirit Wednesday" (Chalkfest)

• 3-4:30 p.m. – Bay Middle School students are invited to come to Bay Library to chalk the walking path in between BMS and the library with Homecoming spirit messages.
• 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Come show your One Rocket Nation spirit with the Sunshine Girls (Bay Village’s own chalk artists Lizzie Durny and Stacey Gepperth). Families are invited to share Homecoming messages and Rocket spirit messages in chalk along the south sidewalks of Wolf Road (Bay Middle School side) from Bay Middle School to Bay High School (which is also Friday’s parade route). Buckets of chalk will be placed along the sidewalks for everyone to use, or you can bring your own supplies.
• Orange safety cones will be placed along Wolf Road (south sidewalks) to mark areas with chalk buckets.

Thursday, Sept. 23
Westerly “Walk to School with Dad/Someone Special”

• 7:30-8:05 a.m. – Westerly Wolves will walk to school with Dad or someone special, and enjoy donuts and juice before the morning bell. Participants will meet at the playground.

The start of the school year brings a new website and mobile app for Bay Village Schools. The district rolled out its new digital tools last month during a soft launch, officially announcing the new website, www.bayk12.org, on Friday, Sept. 3.

The district’s goal is to create an information hub where district families and Bay Village residents alike can easily find resources in as few clicks as possible.

The new mobile app is also now available to download for free on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app will help subscribers stay updated on all things Bay Village Schools, with access to events, documents, district news and emergency notifications.

The Westlake Alumni Association announced two new members to the Westlake Alumni Hall of Fame, one Athletic and one Distinguished. Lisa Downing Schuette and Frank Sarna, posthumously, will be inducted this fall during homecoming week.

Lisa will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. She was class of 1992 and Division 1 state high school swimming champ for the 200 free and runner up for the 500 free. Lisa still holds two pool records with Westlake. After graduation, Lisa attended and swam with great success for Ohio University. Lisa is a wife and mother of three living in Avon cheering on her children in their individual sports.

Frank Sarna will be inducted as a member of the Distinguished Hall of Fame. Frank was an outstanding student and track athlete who graduated in 1975. Frank individually held or was a part of relay teams that set five school track records during his high school career. After Westlake High School, he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy.

The Bay High Key Club recently received the Legacy Award at the 2021 Thirst Project Legacy Summit. This virtual conference honors school groups that advocate for ending the global water crisis. The Legacy Award recognizes the group that has done the most for this cause by raising awareness, fundraising and campaigning to ensure everyone has safe drinking water.

Bay High Key Club President Angelica Jameson accepted the award on behalf of the club, with Bay High Key Club Thirst Project committee members Lucy Gillette and Mary Catherine Murtaugh also in attendance.

Key Club members, along with the Kiwanis Club of Bay Village and the Bay Village community, raised $12,428 in May with their Virtual Walk for Water fundraiser. Over the last five years, their efforts have raised more than $48,500 to aid in the fight to end the global water shortage.

The Westlake Demons Athletic Board (WDAB) will host its annual Spirit Rally and Membership Drive on Wednesday, Aug. 11. The purpose of the community event is to celebrate the start of the school year, introduce coaches and student-athletes and raise critical dollars to support the teams.

Sponsored by North Coast Jaw & Implant Center and held at the UH St. John Stadium at Westlake High School, the Spirit Rally will begin at 6:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. All community members are invited to attend. The event will feature the WHS cheerleaders and marching band, food trucks, games and activities.

During its July 14 Special Board Meeting, the Bay Village Board of Education voted unanimously to appoint the district’s Director of Teaching and Learning, Char Shryock, as Bay Village Schools’ Interim Superintendent. Her expanded role begins Aug. 1.

Shryock has served as the district’s Director of Teaching and Learning since 2011. She will succeed Superintendent Jodie Hausmann, who resigned on June 14 and who remains with the district through July 31.

Prior to coming to Bay Village Schools, Shryock served the Fairview Park City Schools for nearly 22 years as a teacher, technology integration specialist and curriculum leader. Throughout her career, Shryock has been recognized for her efforts, knowledge and talents, including being named Teacher of the Year by the Fairview Park City Schools, Administrator of the Year by the Science Education Council of Ohio (SECO), named Outstanding Math Educator by the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Math, and receiving the Oak Tree Award by the state of Ohio PTA Council.

This report contains member observations and selected highlights of the July 12 meeting of the Bay Village Board of Education. It is not an official statement by the League of Women Voters, nor does it represent the official minutes of the meeting.

Board President Lisa Priemer called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm in the Bay Middle School library. Also in attendance were Vice President, Dan Vegh; Mrs. Beth Lally; Dr. Scott Schultz; and Mr. Paul Vincent.

Strategic Plan Presentation: The strategic plan will be presented at the Aug. 9 Board meeting. The equity audit is one part of the strategic plan. At that time, a series of town hall meetings will be announced. The town halls are being scheduled outside of a regular business meeting in order to allow all voices to be heard.

Public Comments: At this meeting, tickets were distributed to those who wanted to speak and were randomly selected. Those people were given five minutes to share their ideas. Mrs. Priemer allowed for an additional 10 minutes to the original time of 30 minutes in order to hear from more residents.

The Bay Village Music Boosters' annual membership and fundraising drive will be Saturday, Aug. 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bay High School students who are in chorus, marching band, orchestra and Rockettes will be going door to door on that day, asking Bay Village residents to support them through purchasing a membership or by making any monetary donation. All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax-deductible.

Westlake City Schools will be reconfiguring the area on which Bassett Elementary School now stands. With the building no longer in use and in need of expensive repairs, the school district has deemed it more economically beneficial to raze it. The district recently passed a resolution determining that the Bassett and Holly Lane land will be retained and turned into a green space open to the public, easing concerns of nearby residents who feared the grounds being sold to a private developer.

“The Bassett School building has been a valuable resource to our district for many years,” said Westlake Superintendent Dr. Scott Goggin. “We have no plans to sell the property as we find it will be more useful to our community as a green space. And the site will be more beneficial to Westlake Schools years from now when we will need a lot that fits the needs of a growing school district.”

Lindsey Holeman will be Bay Village Schools’ Director of Student Services. She starts her new position on Aug. 2, 2021. Holeman replaces Assistant Superintendent for Special Services Martha “Marty” Patton, who is retiring after 14 years with the District.

Holeman most recently served as Principal of Redwood Elementary School in Avon Lake. Prior to that role, she was Director of Student Services for Perkins Local Schools in Sandusky – a position she was promoted to after serving as that district’s Special Education Coordinator. The Huron resident has also served as an intervention specialist with Vermilion Local Schools, Perkins Local Schools and Sandusky City Schools.

While serving as the Director of Student Services for Perkins Local Schools, Holeman oversaw initiatives that resulted in increasing that district’s Gap Closing scores from 18-86% in three years, and improving all failing Value Added scores to straight As in one year.

The Bay Village Board of Education accepted the resignation of Superintendent Jodie Hausmann at the June 14, 2021, Board of Education meeting.

Superintendent Hausmann has accepted a position as the Executive Director of Connect – formerly known as North Coast Council – the largest Information Technology Center (ITC) in the state of Ohio, which serves 66 school districts. Superintendent Hausmann will work for the District through July 31, 2021.

The Board of Education will conduct a search for an Interim Superintendent to be named in the near future.

“We are sorry to see Superintendent Hausmann leave the District, but we thank her for her leadership and service to our learning community – especially during these last 18 months through a national health crisis – and we wish her well in her new role,” said Board of Education President Lisa Priemer. “We are looking forward to Jodie having an even greater impact on our District via her new role with Connect. The Board will keep our community stakeholders informed as we move forward with our search process.”

Westlake High School senior, Blake Wolfe, accomplished an extraordinary feat when he walked into the school on Friday, May 21, his final day. The 17-year-old graduate has never missed a day of school as a Westlake School District student from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Blake is a well-rounded honor roll student, member of the marching and symphonic bands, basketball team and a long jumper for the track and field team. He will attend Bluffton University to major in business and sports management and will play basketball for the Bluffton Beavers.

Blake’s perfect attendance was a challenge at times, as his doctor and dentist appointments, college visits, etc. were scheduled around his school and extracurricular schedule. He was pretty lucky as Blake was an overall healthy kid the past 13 years which allowed him to go to school daily.

It’s not easy to have perfect attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade, but Blake Wolfe is able to add this to his list of accomplishments.