The Raider Review
Winter 2026 Edition
A message from Dr. Jarred Zapolnik, Superintendent of South Range Local Schools
Dear South Range Community,
Welcome to 2026! As we begin a new year together, I extend my sincere appreciation to our students, families, staff, and community members for your continued commitment to South Range Local Schools. The Raider Way remains the foundation of our work—guiding how we improve student performance, communicate and collaborate with stakeholders, secure resources, and engage students in meaningful co-curricular and extracurricular experiences.
Student Performance
Our most recent results reflect strong academic momentum. The Spring 2025 Ohio School Report Card awarded South Range Local Schools an overall rating of 4.5 stars, demonstrating sustained excellence across key performance indicators. Building on this success, more than 60% of our third-grade students have already passed the Spring 2026 Third Grade Reading Assessment. Our third graders currently hold the highest average scale score in the area, with over 20% scoring at the Advanced level, a five-star performance that ranks first in the county.
We also continue to expand opportunities beyond the traditional classroom. The district has established new Career-Technical Education pathways, with plans underway to enhance the Carpentry program by adding courses to meet high demand while expanding both middle school and high school offerings. These efforts ensure students graduate prepared for college, careers, and service.
Communication and Collaboration
Clear, consistent communication remains a district priority. We continue to share information with our community through multiple platforms, collaborate in teams to improve academic outcomes, and emphasize the development of life skills. Since the summer of 2025, the district has also streamed Board of Education meetings, increasing transparency and access for our community. You can view meetings here: https://www.southrange.k12.oh.us/board-of-education-meeting-streams.
High Expectations
Through intentional planning and collaboration, the district continues to provide meaningful student engagement opportunities that promote academic growth, leadership, and personal development across all grade levels.
At the elementary level, students participate in Art Club, Storybook Stretches, and Math 24 (Grades 3–4), supporting early literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional development in developmentally appropriate ways. These opportunities are further enriched by numerous student performances throughout the year, including Veterans Day and Grandparents Day, which strengthen school–community connections and celebrate student learning.
At the middle school, students engage in programs such as eSports, International Food Club (Grade 8), Crochet Club (Grades 5–12), and Math 24 (Grade 5), fostering problem-solving skills, creativity, and global awareness. In addition, opportunities in Speech and Debate, Drama, and other activities continue to expand, reflecting the district’s ongoing commitment to increasing engagement and enrichment for middle-level learners.
At the high school, initiatives such as Day of Caring and Freshman Focus reinforce civic responsibility, leadership, and a successful transition into secondary learning. These efforts complement the district’s wide range of co-curricular and extracurricular offerings. A comprehensive list of high school activities is available on the district website under Raider Way – High Expectations.
Collectively, these opportunities reflect the district’s commitment to maintaining high expectations while supporting the whole child. For additional information on our district initiatives, please visit the Raider Way High Expectations section of the district’s website: https://www.southrange.k12.oh.us/raider-way-high-expectations.
Safety and Resources
Through intentional planning and collaboration, the district has pursued more than $220,000 in grant funding and has already been awarded over $102,000 to enhance school safety measures and support teacher professional development. These resources directly strengthen our learning environments and reinforce our commitment to student and staff well-being. Additionally, our Board of Education is adhering to the Master Facilities plan, ensuring responsible resource management. This spring, the District is looking forward to repaving and upgrading our parking lots!
The Raider Way is alive and well. Together, we will continue to build on our successes, address opportunities for growth, and ensure South Range Local Schools remains the community centerpiece—building on excellence. Stay informed by visiting our district website for updates and resources: South Range Local Schools.
Thank you for your trust, partnership, and unwavering support as we move forward into 2026.
With appreciation,
Jarred
Dr. Jarred Zapolnik
Superintendent
South Range Local School District
Student Performance!
Congratulations, December 2025 Board of Education Raider Profile winners!
⭐Grade 9: Mark Gallagher (not pictured)
⭐Grade 10: Claire Perry
⭐Grade 11: Kayden Less
⭐Grade 12: Adam Albaugh (not pictured)
Also pictured, Solena DeJesus and Quincy Bailey who were recognized for their work in organizing a drive for The Sojourner House.
Communication & Collaboration!
Students & staff engagement, and fun!
High Expectations!
Great job by middle school students for the winter 2025 production of Beauty and the Beast, Jr.
📑 Keep Up to Date with All Board Policies 📑
South Range Schools works each month to revise, update, and adopt several NEOLA policies.
Community members are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these policies, as they play a critical role in guiding the district's operations and decision-making. All board policies are available for review on our website at BoardDocs.
South Range Board of Education
Mrs. Terri Lally (President)
Mrs. Liz Johnson (Vice President)
Dr. Jack Dawson (member)
Mr. Tyler Bates (member)
Mrs. Laura Chismar (member)
The latest and greatest from our district
Our Raiders are hitting their stride as we begin the second half of our school year. Students are exploring their interests, making impacts in our community, and representing The Raider Way in their extracurricular activities and sports.
The South Range Local School District is proud to announce that U.S. News and World Report has awarded South Range Elementary and Middle School with the publication's "Best Schools" designation.
South Range Elementary and Middle School are recognized as two of the "Best Schools" in the country as a result of each building ranking in the top 40% of schools in the state. To view the official ranking visit the below websites:
https://www.usnews.com/.../elementar.../ohio/district-108265
https://www.usnews.com/.../middle.../ohio/district-108265
Raider Nation, this national recognition is the result of the incredible, collaborative efforts of our staff, hard-working students, and YOU, our community. We are #StrongerTogether and will use this award to motivate our continued efforts toward getting better every day (#GBED).
Happy New Year: An Update from Mr. Matos, SRES Principal
On behalf of the staff at South Range Elementary, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year in 2026! I would personally like to thank all of our parents and community members for your support this school year. From the mitten tree and our fall fundraiser to our Holiday Sing concerts, our parents' generosity always comes through to help our staff, students and community. Your donations are noticed by everyone, and we appreciate all of your kindness. This year, our elementary families donated over 1750 nonperishable food items and hygiene supplies to help us create our first care closet and pantry. Each week, these items are used to help families in need here in our community and this would not be possible without the love and support of our South Range family.
Our students continue to work hard and "Get Better Every Day" as they remain focused on doing their best. Our K-4 students are beginning their 2nd round of their MAP benchmarking assessments and our 3rd grade students completed their first attempt of the Ohio State Test in English Language Arts in October. For all of our students, we are prepared to move forward and work towards continued academic success. Our boys and girls throughout the K-4 are striving every day to improve their academic, social and emotional growth and we are seeing great gains in all areas. Again, I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and good luck as we begin 2026!
Curriculum
Our K-2nd grade math teachers continue to explore and implement our Amplify Desmos math series and our 3rd and 4th grade math teachers are implementing the iReady math series to create consistency within and across grade levels. This has proven to be a beneficial process as our teachers are collaborating on which instructional practices and strategies are working well and which strategies need to be examined further. In addition, our Building Leadership Team is continuing to work with all grade levels, K-4, on both Writing and Oral Reading Fluency Goals this year. Our goal is to improve our students’ writing across the elementary to prepare them for more rigorous writing prompts as they move throughout their elementary years and eventually into middle school and to improve their reading fluency skills.
PTO
The elementary PTO is our main organization that provides various types of support to the students, staff and administration for our many classroom and curricular needs. I would recommend to any of our new or existing parents, to become a member of the PTO to meet new parents and to get involved with many of the events that take place at our school. As December came to an end, the PTO helped support our holiday celebrations with treats after our Holiday Sing programs in kindergarten and 2nd grade and running our classroom parties before winter break.
As we move into the beginning of the new year, the PTO is preparing to have its annual 3rd and 4th grade Valentine’s Day dance in February for students and their fathers or a special male figure in their lives.
The annual PTO Auction was held on Saturday, November 8th, 2024 at the Lake Club. The auction is the PTO’s largest fundraiser of the year and all proceeds from the auction go directly to our students, staff and classroom needs. The funds are also used to provide educational enrichment opportunities for our students throughout the year. Several of these opportunities that are provided by the PTO include Junior Achievement, that is a combined effort with parent volunteers and the High School students in the fall; a Scrappers baseball game and a day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame last May. This year, on January 9th, the representatives from the Cleveland Cavaliers will visit our elementary school to perform a basketball clinic assembly.
Grade Level Spotlight-3rd Grade
Each year, our 3rd grade students have two opportunities to take the Ohio State Test in English Language Arts. The first attempt is in the fall and the second is in the spring. We received the results of the fall test in December just before we left for winter break. This year, I am happy to report that our average score for our 3rd grade students was 712, which is in the "Proficient" range. This is in comparison to the Ohio state average of 688. I would like to say congratulations to our students and staff for their hard work on this first attempt at the 3rd grade OST. Our team will now work to look closely at our instructional strategies and testing data for areas of improvement and opportunities for growth. Again, congratulations to our students and staff on a job well done!
Raider Profile Students
At the November Board of Education meeting, the elementary school was honored to recognize our “Raider Profile” students. Congratulations to the following students who were recommended by their teachers for demonstrating the characteristics that define what it means to be a Raider at South Range Elementary!
⭐Kindergarten: Scarlett Rothermel
⭐1st Grade: Khloe Kenney
⭐2nd Grade: Bryce Fantone
⭐3rd Grade: Sawyer Smith
⭐4th Grade: Joey Biroschak
Happy 2026: An Update from Mrs. Ware, SRMS Principal
On behalf of the teachers and staff members at South Range Middle School, we would like to extend to each of you a Happy and Healthy New Year! We look forward to a second semester filled with many student successes and achievements!
Beauty and the Beast, Jr.
Under the direction of Mrs. Nicole Fryfogle and Mrs. Niki Dispenza, our middle school drama team presented Beauty and the Beast, Jr. in early December. It was a wonderfully entertaining production that showcased the many talents of our students beyond the classroom. Congratulations to all the students on a wonderful show!
Raider Profile Students
At the October Board of Education meeting, the middle school was pleased to recognize our “Raider Profile” students. Congratulations to the following students who were recommended by their teachers for demonstrating the characteristics that define what it means to be a South Range Raider!
⭐5th Grade: Marie Colatruglio
⭐6th Grade: Gabriella Ware
⭐7th Grade: Avery Conrad
⭐8th Grade: Harley Booms
An Update from Mr. Szolek, SRHS Principal
I am happy to share some highlights from our strong start to the second half of the year in the high school! From athletics to the arts to community service, our high school Raiders are leading the way at SR!
NE8 Champions!
Congratulations to Coach Giordano and our high school wrestling team on capturing the NE8 championship! The Raiders went undefeated on the night, downing Girard, Lakeview, Hubbard and Poland.
Honors Jazz Band
Following auditions, Mia Quinlan and Olivia Leskey were selected to participate in the OMEA Honors Jazz Band this year. The pair spent a day at Lakeview High School to rehearse for their performance at the DeYor in Youngstown on January 17th.
Day of Service
On December 19th, the entire high school staff and student body spent the morning volunteering in the community. Organizations and agencies visited include Bright Side, Goodwill - Salem, St. Vincent De Paul, The Rich Center, United Way, Goodwill - Boardman, Ursuline Motherhouse, Zion Lutheran Church, Mina’s Foster Closet, Diva Donations, Saybrook Nursing Home, The Way Station, Leonard Kirtz School, Goodwill - Austintown, Glenellen Nursing Home, and Caprice Nursing Care.
We are extremely proud of our students for the care and compassion they demonstrated on this day of service!
Students of the Month
Congratulations to our high school students who were recognized at the December Board of Education meeting as “Raider Profile” students who best define the Raider Way.
⭐Grade 9 - Mark Gallagher
⭐Grade 10 - Claire Perry
⭐Grade 11 - Kayden Less
⭐Grade 12 - Adam Albaugh
2024-25 Graduates of South Range
If you are a parent of or a student who graduated in 2024-25, please scan the QR code or click on the following link to complete an Exiting Student Survey so we know how you have been doing since graduation. The survey should only take about five minutes. Thank you for your feedback.
We want to give a special shout-out to our Transportation Department for keeping our buses rolling through snow, slush, and cold weather! Pictured is Transportation Director, Brenda Hammond, and Superintendent, Dr. Zapolnik, as they surveyed bus routes to ensure the safe travel of our Raiders after our bout with winter storms. Additionally, a huge thank-you to Mr. Dean Pagnotta and his facilities team for all their hard work in improving our parking lot after the heavy snow fall. Lastly, we'd like to thank community members Ky Tullis and Ed Schaefer for their extra help. #StrongerTogether
CONGRATULATIONS TO JULIAN TRANOVICH !
Julian has signed with Mercyhurst University for baseball.
