Worthingway Middle School Updates
1/29/2021
Message from Dr. Bowers:
We’re living through a global pandemic and it’s very difficult to think very far ahead as things seem to change and evolve daily. But, we know that this is our temporary state and we are planning for the future of Worthington Schools. Tonight our community Master Facilities Planning Task Force for Phase 2 will meet for the first time. Here’s what you need to know:
In 2015, the Worthington Board of Education engaged construction and school facilities experts to analyze the efficiency of our school buildings – both from a financial and educational standpoint. We partnered with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. This State of Ohio organization brought teams of architects and construction experts to walk each Worthington school. They provided individual assessments of every system within our schools. Based upon the OFCC reports, we learned that to bring our schools up to a statewide standard, we needed $260 million worth of replacements and renovations. The research revealed some of our buildings are in great shape and are just in need of some minor maintenance, while others could use extensive renovation or even replacement. That makes sense when you consider that some of our newest school buildings are 25 years old, while several of our schools are 50 years old and were not built with today’s learning in mind. We have done an excellent job with upkeep on the buildings, however, it’s not the appearance of the buildings that concerns us. It is the out-of-date infrastructure behind the walls (i.e. plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling) that is becoming more and more costly. Also, our student enrollment is growing! Families are moving to Worthington because of our great community and excellent schools. Managing this increased enrollment has impacted our school buildings in different ways.
In 2016, after receiving the OFCC assessments, we partnered with Cooperative Strategies to create a Facilities Master Plan. Sixty-one community members led by community chairs Nikki Hudson and Amy Lloyd invested 18 months to create a plan that would address our aging buildings, balance high school enrollment and create capacity for all students. (Our enrollment has grown by 1,200 students in the last five years and is projected to continue to grow by another 800 students in the next five years.)
We intended to come forward with this plan in phases. Phase One required funding of approximately $89 million dollars and was passed by the community in 2018. This plan provides capacity for our elementary schools by moving 6th grade to the middle school buildings in the fall of 2021. It will address our aging buildings by rebuilding Worthingway Middle School and Perry Middle School (Perry would reopen as a 6-8 grade middle school, while Phoenix and Worthington Academy and Rockbridge remain on that site.) The plan balances high school enrollment by moving to four traditional middle schools (plus Phoenix) with two middle schools feeding to each high school and by moving a current TWHS feeder elementary to the WKHS feeder pattern. As you drive through Worthington you see construction at all four middle schools. We’re on track to open our new, amazing educational spaces as 6-8th grade middle schools in August. You’ll love these spaces for our kids, and they should serve our community well for the next 60 years.
This is just Phase One of our plan. Tonight night a new community task force will meet for the first time in order to determine the path for Phase 2 of our long-term plan. The community selected the task force. As a district, we sent invitations to a wide range of community groups such as PTA’s, the library, townships, civic organizations, etc… and they determined who would represent their group. The task force will review the plan created by the original task force, they’ll update the data and they will engage the larger community over the next ten months to determine the best next steps for our district. This community-led plan will likely be presented to our school board for approval and ultimately to our community as a bond issue for approval in 2022. By phasing the work we are able to maintain our state-mandated debt limits and hopefully make the work more affordable for community members.
Worthington Schools is investing heavily in capital projects to better serve this generation of students while also planning for projects to serve the next several generations of students. These are exciting times in Worthington!
Dr. Bowers
Superintendent
Construction Updates:
Students will move into the new wing starting on Monday, 2/8. We will spend next week, in assist, helping students understand how to navigate the new area. We will discuss schedules and take building tours.
Upcoming Information
- Our move to the new area
- MS scheduling
- Feeder pattern/District updates (with videos)
If there are specific questions you have, please contact Mr. Kellenberger (nkellenberger@wscloud.org or 614-450-4300).
Water Bottles
We no longer have water bottles in the office. Students are permitted to bring their own water bottles and to refill them at our drinking fountain near the office.
8th Grade Families: TWHS/WKHS Scheduling
High school scheduling is starting. Mrs. Fei will be sharing a lot of information with our 8th graders over the coming weeks. This will include whole group and individual scheduling support and high school program information, likely via videos shared in assist AND in the school newsletter. Below is a timeline of upcoming events. As a reminder, current 8th grade students, who attend Slate Hill Elementary School, will attend Worthington Kilbourne High School next year. Information will be updated on our school website.
Timeline:
1/25 and 1/26: Curriculum Night videos shared.
1/26 and 1/27: Mrs. Fei to Social Studies classes to explain registration. Registration cards passed out (due back 2/2 and 2/3).
2/2 and 2/3: Signed registration cards due. Mrs. Fei to Social Studies to support student registration (students will physically register for high school classes at this time).
Mrs. Fei will contact OOLP families directly to provide support.
Linworth Experiential Program
Linworth Experiential will host Open Admission Night on Tuesday, February 2, starting at 7:00. We will have teachers, parents, and students available to answer questions after a short presentation. That meeting will occur at https://zoom.us/j/99639465350.
Linworth application
Please enjoy this short video about Linworth.
Leftover Remote Breakfast and Lunch Donations
Do you have leftover school breakfast or lunch items? Several families have volunteered to be neighborhood drop off locations for these items, including fruit and produce. These items will be collected and then donated to the Worthington Resource Pantry. Please see below for locations serving our school. Should you need the address for other locations across the district, contact Veena Gopalakrishna at Gopalakrishna.1@osu.edu.
● Worthington Park: 777 English Oak Court
● Worthington Estates: 6800 Alloway Street East
*this program will operate through the REMOTE or HYBRID School period.
Athletics
Please visit our school website for athletic information or contact Mr. Mosca (wmosca@wscloud.org) our school Athletic Director
There will be Spring Sport Information on the Worthingway Web-site the week of February 1. Information will include a spring sport video that will meet the preseason parent meeting requirement.
Worthingway Middle School
Dean/Athletic Director: Bill Mosca (wmosca@wscloud.org)
Counselor: Natalie Fei (nfei@wscloud.org)
Secretaries: Amanda DeBernard (adebernardi@wscloud.org)
Val Swearengen (vswearengen@wscloud.org)
Email: nkellenberger@wscloud.org
Website: https://www.worthington.k12.oh.us/worthingway
Location: 6625 Guyer Street, Worthington, OH, USA
Phone: (614)450-4300
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/WWPTA
Twitter: @nkellenberger1