SIDNEY 00 For the first time since the Covid 19 pandemic shut down schools across the nation in March of 2020, Sidney City Schools administration and staff finally feel a sense of normalcy. The 2022-23 school year is well underway, and they’re finally seeing a light at the end of what has been a long and wavering tunnel.

PBIS Nearly all of our schools have implemented their tier-one positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), with Sidney High School working to establish its PBIS foundation. PBIS is an approach Sidney City Schools uses to promote school safety and positive, appropriate behaviors, and is a state requirement. With PBIS, we teach kids about behavior expectations and strategies. The focus of PBIS is prevention, not punishment.

At each school, we have a few simple ideas used to guide how everyone works together, both children and adults — these are our expectations. The expectations guide how we act and talk with each other in every part of our school building and school day. Each of our schools has a different PBIS structure, setting expectations for various environments within the school, on the playground, or during arrival and dismissal. A school-specific PBIS matrix is found on each school’s site. Talking with your child about these school-wide behavior expectations helps the tone for a more successful school experience.

Families are important members of the school communities. When schools and families work together toward their common goal of helping all children to be successful, it is much more likely to happen. These same expectations can be useful at home. Parents and guardians might find the matrix type of chart useful to help guide their child’s positive behavior at home.

Parent University Family engagement events have always focused on family connections—families having a positive and engaging experience in the school environment, after hours. Often focused on a theme, all who attended engaged in literary, mathematical, artistic, and sometimes, physical activities. During these events, administrators and teachers also hoped to provide parents and guardians with information and resources to build on learning at home, but they often found time constraints and focus to be a challenge.

“Under the advisement of the Student Wellness Advisory Group and with the addition of family & community engagement coordinators, we were able to develop a new parent engagement program known as Parent University,” says Brooke Gessler, Assistant Superintendent.

Parent University is a partnership between families and Sidney City Schools in which parents and guardians are invited to join our community of learners. The goal of Parent University is to provide learning opportunities for parents to better understand ways to support their student’s academic success and personal well-being. We welcome parents and families to explore topics related to mental health, well-being, equity and inclusion, development, resources, and academics. Parent University is a combination of workshops and presentations, all centered around students and families with the purpose to grow together and prepare everyone for success.

In the first year of Parent University, topics covered included study skills, bullying, mental health in school-age children, school resources (and how to use them), community resources like Big Brothers Big Sisters, and positive parenting solutions. The final Parent University of the 2021-2022 school year was youth motivational speaker, Jeff Veley, speaking on the power of resiliency resilience in situations of bullying or harassment. Thus far in the 2022-2023 school year, Sidney City Schools has held Parent University on the topics of giftedness, bullying, suicide, school resources, study skills, and fine/gross motor skills.

With the help of Family & Community Engagement Coordinators Paige Barker and Denny Morrison, the district has garnered sponsorship of Parent University and is able to offer gift cards to local eateries as an attendance raffle prize. These gift cards are sponsored by Buckeye Ford of Sidney. Additionally, to help make it easier for parents and guardians to focus on the topic at hand, Sidney High School National Honor Society members babysit kids in a nearby classroom.

“Our goal is to get as many parents, guardians, and community members to come to Parent University to grow their knowledge and expand their parenting resources,” added Barker.

Parent University is held at Sidney Middle School and is open to the public whether you have a student attending Sidney City Schools or not. The goal is to help as many people in the greater Shelby County community attain resources and information to strengthen our youth and our greater community.

For more information on Parent University or to view upcoming Parent U events, visit https://www.sidneycityschools.org/community/family-community-engagement.

College and Career Readiness at Sidney High School

Many educators and education experts stress the importance of college and career readiness in students, particularly at the high school level. Sidney’s administration and teachers have worked to institute this important concept into the curriculum at SHS.

Sidney High School partners with Edison State Community College to offer college courses on the Sidney High School campus through Colleges Credit Plus. More than 18 College Credit Plus courses are available at Sidney High School. Students are also able to take classes off the school campus on the college campus of Edison State Community College. Sidney High School counselors work directly with Edison State to ensure student success.

Sidney City Schools works with the local Workforce Partnership of Shelby County to support career readiness for students. In addition to career preparation courses, a Career Coach (funded by Workforce Partnership of Shelby County and the Shelby County United Way) works 1-on-1 with students to assess their skills and interests and provide employers who are hiring which match their skill set. The goal is to ensure those students who do not have plans following graduation are linked with local employers for suitable and sustaining employment.

Sidney High School administration has worked tirelessly to increase the number of career pathway course options available to students. Among the varied courses offered at SHS, career pathway options include computer programming, construction and manufacturing, family and consumer sciences, graphic and multimedia arts, medical, and vo-ag, with opportunities for pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, and/or work-study release in construction and manufacturing, culinary, medical and welding.

Please visit our website to learn more about Sidney City Schools. Our social media accounts highlight student and staff achievements and can be found by searching @sidneyschools on Facebook and Instagram. For any specific questions, email questions@sidneycityschools