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!

Our Vision: Provide a personalized education for all students.

Our Mission: We educate students to be empowered citizens.

At the Board of Education Meeting, Mr. Puskas recognized Kirtland High School seniors Sam Gordon and Harper Hammond who have earned prestigious recognition as National Merit Finalists, placing them among an elite group of high school scholars nationwide.

The distinguished status makes Gordon and Hammond eligible for National Merit Scholarships, which are awarded to approximately half of all Finalists based on their academic excellence and overall achievements. The announcement of National Merit Scholarship winners is expected later this month.

To achieve Finalist standing, students must demonstrate exceptional academic performance through their high school career, including outstanding SAT or ACT scores that validate their PSAT/NMSQT results. The selection process also requires a recommendation from their high school principal, along with a comprehensive application detailing their academic record, leadership roles, community service, and a personal essay.

Dr. VanArnhem highlighted the following in his report:

• The PTA Auction is this Saturday at St. Noels and tickets can be purchased until this Thursday.

• The professional development day on February 10th included all district staff rotating through safety stations that included CPR, AED use, fire extinguisher use, allergy awareness and how to use an EpiPen, seizure awareness and how to administer NARCAN.

• We also had a district safety meeting on January 29th with staff, the KPD and KFD. We reviewed the bus safety training our drivers have been going through, discussed ongoing drills on campus and also analyzed a safety situation that another district went through so we could learn from their experiences from their situation.

• I am so appreciative of the support that we have from the City of Kirtland. On February 10th, the Kirtland Fire Department helped to lead safety training for all of the Kirtland staff on AED use, CPR, and NARCAN. The Kirtland Police Department was extremely helpful in providing support and resources when we dealt with a “swatting” email. The city of Kirtland road crews have been amazing all winter with clearing the roads but want to give a special shout out for them thoroughly salting on February 6th which allowed our District to stay open when many closed.

• I want to give a shout out to our transportation department who have been handling a variety of challenging weather this school year. On February 13th, we experienced a flash freeze situation and the roads turned instantly to ice between the middle/high school morning routes and the elementary routes. Our drivers quickly noticed the ice and made real time decisions in the name of safety for our students. I appreciate their professionalism, dedication and care that they show for our students daily.

• Our students continue to do amazing work and give back to others. Kirtland Elementary School raised $5,800 for the American Heart Association. Kirtland Middle School collected over 64 pounds of pop tabs to go to the Ronald McDonald House. During the Battle of 306, Kirtland High School collected over 220 items.

• Congratulations to our girls’ indoor track team and Coach JP Moran who qualified for the state championships at Spire. The 4x800 team consisting of Megan Urbanick, Sylvia Vosicky, Kylie Sayle, Izzie Copeland took 3rd in the State. The 4x400 team of Megan Urbanick, Sylvia Vosicky, Lexi Vosicky, Izzie Copeland took 4th in the State. Izzie Copeland took 4th in the State in the open 800. The top eight in the State are awarded All Ohio and receive medals, so the team earned nine medals with three events earning All Ohio. Five different athletes earned All Ohio at least once, some multiple times, and Izzie 3 times All Ohio! Coach JP Moran, who has been named conference coach of the year numerous times, was just named the District Two Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year.

• Sophomore Martha Roseler, a foreign exchange student from Germany, is a finalist for the Maltz Museum's Stop the Hate writing competition. This was part of a writing workshop with Honors 9-12 and English 10 students in the fall. Martha wrote the poem called "A Byte of Cookies." There will be an awards ceremony on April 3rd. This year, 4,419 students at more than 160 Northeast Ohio schools participated in the Stop the Hate contest and workshops, writing individual essays, poems, or group songs for a chance to win academic scholarships, educational grants, and prizes for themselves and their schools. https://www.northeastohioparent.com/worth-noting/maltz-museum-announces-2025-stop-the-hate-contest-student-finalists-winners-to-be-named-on-april-3/

• On Saturday, March 8, 2025, the Kirtland High School FTC FIRST Robotics Team traveled to Troy, Ohio for the State Competition, advancing through qualifying tournaments. After five rounds competing against the best 36 teams in Ohio, they were undefeated with a 5-0 record and ranked second. Despite their strong performance in the double elimination finals, they lost in close, high-scoring matches. This was Kirtland's strongest robot performance in the 13 years it has existed. Our match record this season was 31-14 including 7-6 in playoffs.

• Congratulations to the Kirtland Middle School teams who competed and presented at the state level this past weekend. Hungry Hungry Hornets consisted of seventh grader Naomi Blankenship and four sixth grade students. Naomi was instrumental in leading Cole Prymicz, Crosby Loschert, Ronan Popovich and Westley Kelly to create a working proof of concept for their drone project. They reached out to numerous experts to present their project in order to receive feedback to improve their project. They also designed and programmed a robot for the competition field. They shared their process with their team of judges. Hungry Hungry Hornets represented Kirtland well and finished their season being recognized for their community outreach.

• Steel Stingers consists of Audrey Knaus, Dmitri Blodgett, Danny Bryant, Calvin MacGillis, Andrew Urban, Noelle Fisher, and Maja Katic. The team has researched, collected data and shared with experts to develop a presentation about the impact of lack of sunlight on submarine officers. Our First Tech Challenge (FTC) high school students helped Steel Stingers 3D print glasses to help show their concept and develop their idea using the design process. The Steel Stingers also designed and programmed a robot that completed missions on the FLL field. They shared their design process with the judges at the state competition. Steel Stingers ended their season as one of the top teams in the state winning the Innovation Project Award.

• Best of luck to Coach Shawn McGregor and our boys’ basketball team who are playing in the final four at Otterbein College on Friday night. This is the second time in school history the team has made it this far and first time since 1991.

The Board voted to approve the following superintendent recommendations:

• A LearnWell Agreement, CCP Partnership with Lakeland, Food Service Agreement with Mentor Schools, a Separation Agreement, Increased Aide Hours, Bus Sale Agreement, Special Education Resolution, OHSAA Resolution, Emergency Action Plan, LEAF Contract the First and Second Reading of Policies.

*attachments to these items can be found on the district website: https://go.boarddocs.com/oh/kirt/Board.nsf/Public.

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. The strategic plan for the Kirtland Local Schools can be found at: https://www.kirtlandschools.org/Downloads/Kirtland%20Strategic%20Plan%20with%20Chart.pdf