BUTLER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT START DATES
Edgewood: Aug. 18
Fairfield: Aug. 16
Hamilton: Aug. 10
Lakota: Aug. 16; kindergarten phase-in days (vary by building) Aug. 17 and 18
Madison: Aug. 15 for junior school and high school students; Aug. 17 for elementary students
Middletown: Aug. 10; kindergarten on Aug. 17
Monroe: Aug. 17
New Miami: Aug. 18
Ross: Aug. 15; kindergarten on Aug. 18
Talawanda: Aug. 17; kindergarten on Aug. 22
The calendar pages are turning and the clock is ticking toward the start of a new school year for more than 50,000 students throughout Butler County.
The 2016-2017 school year will include some historic changes for some local school systems, including construction of new school buildings.
And some area districts will have new superintendents, including Fairfield, Ross and Butler Tech schools.
Lakota Schools, which is the county’s largest public school system and the eighth largest in Ohio, opens classroom doors on Aug. 16.
While changes will be few at the 22-school district, Lakota’s popular district website is being revamped as is its communications system for reaching out to its 16,500 students, their school families and its nearly 1,000 teachers, says Lakota Spokeswoman Lauren Boettcher.
“Lakota is unveiling a redesigned website and a new mass communication system, available to parents, staff and community members alike,” said Boettcher.
“Both build upon our continued efforts to share school and district news in a timely and progressive manner. The new site …will feature a dynamic design, including a lot more photos and other elements that give it a more contemporary look and feel. And the new communications system gives subscribers the ability to customize their notification preferences for receiving different types of communications by phone, email and text message,” she said.
Other districts among Butler County’s 10 school systems that will be unveiling new websites are Middletown and Butler Tech.
In Fairfield and Middletown, the new school year will bring major physical changes along with some construction dust and traffic detours.
Fairfield is building three new schools – Compass Elementary, Central Elementary and the Freshman School – all scheduled to open prior to the 2017-2018 school year.
Middletown will be building a new middle school next to Middletown High School – the two schools will be attached by a shared athletic center – while also renovating the high school building.
Destini Burns, spokeswoman for Middletown Schools, said “the 2016-2017 school year will be very exciting and will be the beginning of transformation for the school district.”
“We have recently completed strategic planning for the district, have a major construction project underway and new, exciting, course offerings that will have our Middies engaged and prepared for career and college,” said Burns.
Monroe Schools will have a more brightly illuminated and energy-efficient school year thanks to a $690,000 upgrade of classroom lighting and HVAC improvements in the district’s two school buildings.
And Hamilton Schools are providing new and free pre-school to 120 youngsters and expanding learning technology in grades 7 through 9 at Garfield, Wilson and the Hamilton Freshman School.
About the Author