Superintendent

From the Desk of the Superintendent

April 2023

As we enter the final weeks of the school year, I want to thank everyone throughout our district and the community for their help in making the year a successful one. Success doesn’t happen by accident. Success takes diligence, flexibility, creativity and most of all, cooperation by many different people to achieve goals and aspirations. And the 2022-2023 school year has been a wonderful example of the great things that can happen when you combine all of the above ingredients into one recipe.

To list just a few examples…to open the school year, our students in preschool through eighth grade moved into our beautiful new PK-8 building, our athletic complex was given a complete facelift, students in all grades achieved outstanding academic success, and our performing arts and athletic programs attained unparalleled accomplishments. It’s been a great year to be a Whippet!

And speaking of being a Whippet…I have spent the past thirty-one years working in various roles in the Shelby City Schools; the last twelve years as the superintendent. This past October I announced that I would be retiring at the end of July and I want to thank the Shelby Schools and the community for giving me the opportunity to work alongside of you to make a positive contribution to our young people, to our school system and to the city of Shelby. It has been an honor and I am deeply humbled to have had such a memorable opportunity. Thank you!

As you read this newsletter, it’s very likely that the board of education has already, or is certainly on the verge of, hiring a new superintendent to lead the district in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. In early March the school district began the search for the new superintendent with the hope of hiring an individual in late April or early May. The Shelby City Schools is an outstanding school district that enjoys tremendous community support and I am confident that the new superintendent will, with the same assistance and encouragement that I received, help the Shelby City Schools flourish for many years.

Thank you again for a fantastic school year and for your support throughout my career. I hope you all have the opportunity this summer to spend quality time with your family and close friends, be safe; go Whippets!

Tim Tarvin
Superintendent, Shelby City Schools

From the Desk of the Superintendent

November 2022

As we enter the holiday season, traditionally a time in which we give thanks for the people and events in our lives that are most important to us, I want to thank the community of Shelby for their continual support, and patience as we opened our PK-8 building this fall. We are now blessed in Shelby to have all of our students on one campus for instruction and we have made sweeping changes and upgrades to our athletic facilities. Parents, grandparents, as well as the entire community have been outstanding partners, as together, we have learned new traffic patterns, bus routes, drop-off and pick-up routines and a variety of other changes brought about by our recent improvements. Despite these monumental shifts in our practices, our families have continually worked with our schools to, thus far, make this a successful school year. Thank you.

And of course, we are not quite done with the enhancements to our district facilities. Partial demolition of the middle school/high school on West Smiley is nearly complete and sometime after the first of the year the Board of Education offices will move from the downtown location in Central to the existing offices of the “old middle school”. Following that move, Central Elementary will be razed, as well as the grandstands at Skiles Field, and then, with the exception of the bus garage facilities, our transformation will be complete.

Shelby is a community with strong traditions but of course, traditions are not unique to our little corner of the world. All around the world the holidays are celebrated with meaningful and ingenious customs. Children in some regions of northern Europe leave hay and carrots outside the house on Christmas Eve because they believe Saint Nicholas arrives by horse. In a festive display, folks in more tropical parts of the world adorn their homes with mango leaves and decorate banana trees. Interestingly, historians believe that the first record of a decorated tree dates back to 15th century France. In fact, many believe this tradition was later brought to England by immigrants who had roots in that region of Europe and missed the ritual of decorating a tree. Traditions exist everywhere and many of them are very similar. That’s what is unique about people…for all of our disagreements, we still have more similarities than we have differences. So as you and your family celebrate the holidays and all of your wonderful traditions, whether it’s decorating the Christmas tree together or simply enjoying the company of loved ones, keep in mind that traditions, no matter how simple or how extravagant, are the ties that bind. From the staff at the Shelby City Schools to all of you have a safe and joyous holiday season.

Tim Tarvin
Superintendent, Shelby City Schools

From the Desk of the Superintendent

August 2022

The 2022-2023 school year is almost here; this one holds more excitement than most for the community as we look forward to our students filing into the new PK-8 building for the first day of school. Of course, when that first day will take place has been the subject of much speculation over the course of the summer.

Quite frankly, workforce shortages and supply chain delays have hampered the construction schedule for the PK-8 building, particularly in the pod that houses our students in grades 6-8. As construction progressed this summer, the district was faced with two options. One, to ensure that the building was completed in all areas before school began, the district could delay the opening of the entire PK-8 building. The district has always strongly believed that it is was imperative to get our students into the new building as soon as possible, so this was never a viable option for the district to consider. Two, Adena could focus most of their resources on the PK-5 wings to ensure substantial completion of those areas. This would hopefully allow the students in grades PK-5 to start school on September 6, with the outside hope that the 6-8 pod would also be completed by September 6th.

We are excited to announce that with the support and tremendous effort by the Ohio Facility Construction Commission (OFCC), Adena, construction manager, Garmann Miller, architect, as well as all of the subcontractors, the school year will begin as scheduled on September 6th for all students in grades 1-12. As is tradition, kindergarten and preschool students will start school a week later. However, there are two small caveats to the start of the school year.

First, on September 6th, school will begin in the PK-8 building for students in grades 1-5; unfortunately, students in grades 6-8 will have to attend classes in the “old” middle school for a few weeks while the 6-8 wing is fully completed. For that, I do apologize.

Second, certain construction and inspection milestones have to be met and approved by local and state jurisdictions before the district can take occupancy of the PK-8 building. The OFCC, Adena and the district are confident that these milestones will be met to allow school to begin on September 6, but please understand, if they are not, the start date for the school year could be pushed back a week or so until those milestones are resolved. If this were to happen, the district will communicate this information to you immediately. As mentioned earlier, the district strongly believes that it is imperative to get our students into the new building as soon as possible, even if the school is not 100% completed. As a result, as the school year begins, finishing touches will be taking place on certain aspects of the building during the evenings and on the weekends. Thank you for your understanding.

Moving all of our students onto one campus is very exciting, but it does create change, which can certainly be challenging at times. Please know that for several months, the Shelby staff has been laying out plans to ensure a smooth transition for students, staff and families. Throughout this newsletter, you will find information that will answer many of the questions you have about the new school and how it may impact your child or family. If you don’t find the answer to your questions, please call 419-342-3647 (DOGS). Ultimately, we want you to be as well informed as possible, so please, don’t hesitate to ask questions.

The summer of 2022 has most certainly been busy for Shelby households but I hope you have been able to spend time together and enjoy some fun family activities before the start of the school year. Thanks again for your incredible support, stay safe; go Whippets!

Tim Tarvin
Superintendent, Shelby City Schools