Worthingway Middle School Updates
3/5/2021
Dear Families: A message from Dr. Bowers
Worthington Schools has been working diligently throughout the 2020-2021 school year to address the many challenges brought on by COVID-19. We are so grateful to the Worthington community for their support and patience as we have navigated this past year together!
You’ve likely heard that Governor DeWine recently called on all Ohio school districts to develop their plans to address “learning loss” by April 1st. You may be wondering how this will impact Worthington. The good news is that this is something our district has been prioritizing for several months, taking into consideration the needs of students, families, teachers and staff, and we wanted to provide you all with an update on how we are approaching this.
We continue to strive to support all students both academically and socio-emotionally, and we know that driving positive academic progress as we recover from the pandemic is going to be critical to helping our students achieve success in the future. We also recognize that while all students and families have been impacted in some way by the pandemic, you have each had unique experiences, and not every student is in the same place emotionally or academically. Some students may be largely unaffected or even ahead, while others need enhanced support. The path forward is different for each student and family, and this progress will take time.
Today, we are excited to share with you the creation of BRIDGE, a new framework Worthington has developed in collaboration with other central Ohio public school districts (Dublin, Upper Arlington, Hilliard, Westerville and Grandview) to respond to this unique learning time. BRIDGE is designed to ensure that students at all levels of educational and socio-emotional progress and those most at-risk are supported in positive ways that best suit their individual needs. BRIDGE is aspirational, flexible, collaborative and driven by data, and we’ve created it in a way that can use our district’s existing resources in a larger, scalable and more meaningful way.
Worthington has been working with our partner districts to share best practices and plans for how to move forward. Our work is targeted on four areas: 1) social-emotional well-being; 2) academic achievement; 3) culture and climate, and 4) equity and accessibility. By prioritizing these four core points, we recognize that academic advancement post-pandemic requires a holistic response, with an equal commitment to capturing lost learning opportunities within a diverse group of students and scenarios, while also recognizing mental health impacts and creating positive, lasting socio-emotional outcomes for all students.
Over the next several months our Worthington leaders will be building out the four core points of progress for the BRIDGE program, focusing our efforts on enhancing and expanding our existing programs and strengthening our community and stakeholder partnerships. We recognize there are varying levels of learning progress that occurred in the pandemic. We’re going to make all possible efforts to embrace individual students in Worthington where they are and to assure no student is unnecessarily singled out based on their level of learning during COVID-19. Supporting and advancing effective learning opportunities for each student in Worthington will take time and requires flexibility and accommodation. We also will be looking to our amazing teachers and partners in our community to join us in this effort, to create new programming, and to identify innovative, engaging ways to connect with our students and to focus on both their hearts and minds.
This is work that we regularly do, but the scale of our efforts and the size of the need for these resources is greater than ever. Know that we are focused and driven toward success for each student in Worthington Schools.
Trent Bowers, Superintendent
Pick Up/Drop Off
Thank you for your support and understanding during pick up and drop off! A few important notes:
- Our bike rack has been moved to Rieber Street
- Walkers and Riders may exit via the new wing by Mr. Baird's room (we will help students with this during assist)
- Athlete Drop Off: Please drop student Athletes off at Guyer Street at the top of the parking lot (at the sidewalk); please do not pull in, students will be able to utilize the sidewalk to walk to the front door
- The parking lot is One Way toward Guyer
- Please be kind to families that have volunteered to help with traffic patterns, they are volunteering in order to help keep our students safe
Math Counts!
Families that qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch, please read on for information on P-EBT cards
Some of you may have already received a P-EBT card last spring and fall (P-EBT: Pandemic - Electronic Benefit Transfer). These are like SNAP ("food stamp") cards that can be used at any grocery for food. The latest card value may be as much as $350 per child for each school aged child. These cards are automatically mailed to families who qualify for Free & Reduced Lunch from the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services (ODJFS), using addresses that are automatically uploaded from school districts.
This is not a school program, but we want to be sure families recognize this mailing and know how to use it. P-EBT cards have been mailed recently, or will be soon, from ODJFS. Families: DO NOT THROW OUT THIS MAILING! Be sure to save the card as well as more funds may be added in the coming months.
More information here. https://jfs.ohio.gov/ofam/P-EBT-flier-2-3-21.stm
Linworth Visits
It's time for Linworth visits!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftdUTnyg86c&feature=youtu.be
Schedule a visit with your School Counselor or by calling 614-450-6900.
Linworth.org. Check it out!
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