Newark City School District
Newark City School District is a public school district in the city of Newark, Ohio. The district is the largest in Licking County, with nearly 7,000 students.
District history
The district was formed in 1848 after the passage of a voter petition to unify the schools in Newark under one system. The first school board was elected on September 19, 1849. A "Negro school" operated from 1859 until 1888 to provide segregated education to African American children in the Newark district.
At the request of the U.S. government in 1940, the district initiated industrial training programs that were intended to assist in national defense. The shops operated 24 hours a day, six days a week, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, became directly funded by the government to expand into a second building and thirty-five classes. It has been estimated that the district trained 8,000 people between 1940 and 1945 with skills essential to the national defense industries.
As of 2005, three additional elementary schools and two middle schools are slated to begin construction.
In mid-2005 Newark City Schools began to phase out its former system of schooling. Under the former system, grades K-4th went to elementary school, grades 5th-6th went to intermediate school, 7th-8th went to middle school, and grades 9th-12th went to High School. Under the reformed system of schooling, grades K-5 go to elementary school, 6-8 goes to middle school, and 9-12 goes to high school. Former intermediate schools include Central Intermediate and West Main Intermediate. Central is now a private school and West Main is a vacant facility.
As of September 2006 construction is underway on Carson, Cherry Valley, Hillview, and Legend Elementary Schools as well as Heritage (old Lincoln), and Liberty Middle Schools
District management
The district's Board of Education consists of five citizens elected to staggered four-year terms, with one president, one vice-president, and three members. In addition to the general goal of educating the district's students, the Board has the specific duties of hiring the district's superintendent and treasurer, overseeing the annual budget, and approving contracts with district employees. Board meetings are open to the public and held in the high school library.
The superintendent is directly responsible to the district Board of Education, and implements board policies. He administers the district's educational programs and has final responsibility for curriculum, staffing, and evaluation. All district employees are responsible to the superintendent, except for the treasurer, who is also a direct employee of the board. In cooperation with the superintendent, the treasurer manages the district's financial, legal and contractual affairs.
Board of education
- President - Molly Ingold
- Vice President - Mark Christenberry
- Member - Thomas Bline
- Member - Robert Handelman
District Administration
- Superintendent of Schools- Douglas Ute
- District Treasurer- Jeffrey Anderson
- Assistant Treasurer- Patti Stocker
- Athletic Director- Jeff Quackenbush
- Community Outreach Coordinator- Seth Roy
- Director of Certificated Personnel- Barbara Quackenbush
- Director of Classified Personnel & Business Manager- Dave Altepeter
- Director of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction- Maura Horgan
- Director of Elementary Curriculum & Grants Management- Melinda Vaughn
- Director of Special Education & Pupil Services - Linda S. Price (grades preschool-4)
- Director of Special Education & Pupil Services - Jean Brown (grades 5-12)
- Coordinator of Special Programs - Gemma Zimmerman
- Supervisor of Attendance & Home Schooling- Bobbi Nash
- Supervisor of Food Service Operations - Linda Altepeter
- Supervisor of District Transportation - Jason Kee
- District Technology Supervisor- Angela McCutcheon
- High School Linkage Coordinator- Josh DeVoll
- Middle School Linkage Coordinator- Dava Kaltenecker
Schools
Newark Digital Academy
Grades K-12. An online, state-accredited distance learning program.
- Principal- John Lutz
- School Counselor- Brett Montgomery
- School Social Worker- Amanda Adams
Newark High School
Grades 9-12. Average enrollment is approximately 1700 students; an additional 150 students attend the Career Technical Education Center (C-TEC) associated with the school. The staff is around 190. The high school was built in 1959 and opened in 1961. The current high school is campus-style, with 7 classroom buildings, an auditorium, a gymnasium, and the facility in which the entire district's lunches are produced. Newark plays division I athletics in the Ohio Division of the Ohio Capital Conference. Major athletics rivalries are with Lancaster High School and Zanesville High School.
Building Administration
- Principal- J. Mark Fullen
- Assistant Principal- Kimberly Suriano (Freshman & Sophomores)
- Assistant Principal- Tom Bowman (Juniors & Seniors)
- Dean of Students- Jessica Corum
School Counseling & Guidance
- Director & School Counselor- Michelle Lott (Sits and looks at the pretty glowing box on her desk)
- School Counselor- Doug Franz (Juniors)
- School Counselor- Molly Stayer (Sophomores)
- School Counselor- Scott Koebel(Freshman)
- School Counselor- Sherri Pastiva (School within a School)
Department of Fine Arts
- Director of Orchestra- Christopher Lape
- Director of Bands- Zakary Wilkins
- Director of Theatre- P. David Williams
- Director of Choirs- Kimberle Wigglesworth
A Call to College
A Call to College is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 by Jane Cook McConnell and Lou Mitchell to work with Newark City Schools to help promote college access for students in Newark, Ohio.
Administration
- Executive Director- Diane DeLawder
- Director of Early Awareness- Janet Shultz
- Director of College Preparation & Success- Brett Underhill
Middle Schools
Grades 6-9 . Wilson and Lincoln (Lincoln is now called "Heritage") are the oldest of the three Middle school, Liberty opened in 2007. Two former Middle schools of Newark include Roosevelt Middle School and Lincoln Middle School. Both were built in the early 1900s.
- Heritage Middle School (former Lincoln Middle school)
- Principal- Tom Suriano
- Dean of Students- Brent Fickes
- Liberty Middle School (former Roosevelt Middle School)
- Principal- Diane Henry
- Dean of Students- Nicholas Myers
- Wilson Middle School
- Principal- John Davis
- Dean of Students- Cynthia Baker
Former Middle Schools
- Lincoln Middle School (Originally Abraham Lincoln Junior High School)
- Roosevelt Middle School (Originally Franklin D. Roosevelt Junior High School)
- Central Junior High School (Renamed John F. Kennedy Junior High School briefly,name reverted to Central School when it was converted to use as an Intermediate school).
- Benjamin Franklin Junior High School (Now Benjamin Franklin Elementary School)
Former Intermediate Schools
- Central Intermediate School (now a privately owned school)
- West Main Intermediate School (now the temporary home of McGuffey Elementary School)
- Kettering Intermediate School (Was changed to Elementary school until it was demolished)
Elementary Schools
Grades PK-5, though some only cover K-5.
- Ben Franklin Elementary School
- Carson Elementary School
- Cherry Valley Elementary School
- Hillview Elementary School
- John Clem Elementary School
- Legend Elementary School
- McGuffey Elementary School
Former Elementary Schools
- Mound Elementary School (Now an architecture firm)
- William E. Miller Elementary School (Now a branch of Mount Vernon Nazarene University)
- North Elementary School (Demolished in late 2009)
- Conrad Elementary School
- Maholm Elementary School (Now a private school)
- Kettering Elementary School (Demolished, Heritage Middle school was built on location)
- Hazelwood Elementary School (Now a Church Ministry)
- Keller Elementary School (Now Licking County Alcohol Prevention Program-LAPP)
See also
- WGSF (TV) -- defunct television station owned by the school district; lives on today as a cable channel
- List of school districts in Ohio