BCSD News & Information

5/2-5/6 Staff Appreciation Week

5/9 Board of Education Work Session

5/23 Board of Education Regular Meeting

5/26 Commencement

5/30 No School, Memorial Day

The Berea City School District is celebrating Staff Appreciation Week (May 2-6, 2022). We want to ensure that you have ways to give thanks, encourage, and celebrate a BCSD staff member who has made a difference in your life or the life of your child or family this school year. BCSD is fortunate to have an incredible team of staff members both inside and outside the classroom who have our students' academic and well-being at the heart of everything they do.

We have created a simple and fun way for you to reach out to someone special and send a word of thanks and encouragement. Simply fill out the short form linked below, select a postcard to send, write a special note, and your digital message will be delivered!

For the past two years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has offered waivers to Nutrition Services Programs across the United States, allowing these programs to offer all students breakfast and lunch, at no charge. These waivers will expire on June 30, 2022. This means that starting next school year, 2022-2023, the Nutrition Services programs across the nation will return to normal, pre-pandemic operations. Families will once again be asked to complete and submit a current school year Free/Reduced Meal Application if they would like to see if their students qualify based on the income of all family members. In the past years, the first 30 days of the school year carryover status from the previous school year. Since there were very few meal applications submitted over the past couple of years, there are a few things that parents/guardians can do to ensure their students are ready to start the 2022-23 school year and eliminate the possibility of charges.

1. Complete a 2021-22 meal application. This will give the student(s) a 30-day carryover status to start the 2022-23 school year and give families time to complete the new 2022-23 meal application at the start of the school year.
   
   
2. Complete the 2022-23 meal application as it is made available by USDA before the start of the school year. Doing this will cover the student for the entire 2022-23 school year and no other steps will be necessary unless there is an income change during the school year.

The Berea City School District Nutrition Services Department will provide notification as soon as USDA makes the new 2022-23 meal application available, in order for all families to be able to complete the meal application as soon as possible at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.

The Nutrition Services Department is committed to assisting families and making this transition back to normal operations as easy as possible. Please feel free to contact the department at 216-267-2142 or email bcates@bereaschools.org

All students will take their Chromebooks home over the summer. Please click and review this information on how to clean and take care of your Chromebook.

Berea City School District celebrated the amazing talents of our students at our District Art Show over the weekend. Pieces on display included ceramics, digital art, drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, and more! Our students and teachers have been hard at work all year and the show celebrated the work of student artists from every grade level. Click the button located below to see some of the artwork that was on display!

Last month, Superintendent Tracy Wheeler presented at the annual State of the Schools luncheon hosted by the Berea and Middleburg Heights Chambers of Commerce. She discussed many of the topics stakeholders were interested in hearing about:

• Academics and curriculum transparency
• Strategic plan goals
• Communication
• Safety and security
• Financials
• JEDI, CRT, SEL
• Bullying

Children who will be five years old on or before August 1, 2022, are eligible to attend kindergarten. Visit our website to register and view kindergarten information and resources.

Please contact the city of the program you are interested in with any questions.

Berea

Session 1: June 6-10 – 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Session 2: June 6-10 – 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Session 3: June 13-17 – 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Session 4: June 13-17 –12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Download the registration form

Brook Park

Session 1: July 18 -22 – 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Session 2: July 25 -29 – 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Register online

Middleburg Heights

June 13-23 – 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Register online

Berea City School District has been once again honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. Now in its 23rd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the district answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

“Music education is important to this district and its students,” said Superintendent Tracy Wheeler. “Our music educators do an incredible job and this recognition provides an opportunity to showcase the outstanding support of music programs provided to our students.”

Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015 and a stated emphasis on a well-rounded education, many school districts have re-committed to music and arts education programs. During the pandemic, music and arts programs were a vital component to keeping students engaged in school. ESSA provides designated funding for well-rounded educational opportunities through Title IV Part A Student Academic Success and Achievement grants. NAMM Foundation research has revealed that these grants are being widely used by school districts to address instructional gaps in access to music and arts education.

Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music: After two years of music education, researchers found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically trained children than in those without music training. Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention, and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound: young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.

The Annual Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes alumni who have made a mark in their career, positively contributed to society, or achieved success in a worthwhile endeavor.

After a two year delay due to the pandemic, the District inducted four graduates of Berea and Midpark High Schools and three staff members. Alumni inducted were Keith Berr, BHS ‘72; Charles Richie, BHS ‘65; Craig Adams, MHS ‘79; and Tim Conway, MHS ‘82. Staff members were named honorary alumni. They were James Gorsline, Leroy McCreary and Richard Vale, who was inducted posthumously. Learn more about the inductees by the watching a recording of the event below.

Community members will have the opportunity to review the proposed curriculum for the new courses of AP Human Geography and Quantitative Reasoning. The option for review will be available starting Wednesday, May 11th through Wednesday, May 18th and is available upon request at the Berea Board of Education (390 Fair Street, Berea) from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The Berea Board of Education holds regular community conversations to give the public access to board members outside of the formal public participation setting of a meeting. Residents will have the opportunity to meet and discuss any concerns they may have with two board members during a 30 minute time-slot set aside prior to each Board of Education meeting in 2022. The goal of this effort is to more effectively connect with the public and learn more about the community. Visit our website at www.berea.k12.oh.us/boe for a list of 2022 meeting dates.

• Berea-Midpark student named one of ‘Best and Brightest’ for 2022

• Brook Park passes resolution in support of public schools

• Seven inducted into Berea Schools Hall of Fame

• Berea City Schools superintendent extols student, staff resiliency at annual address

BCSD uses Peachjar, an electronic flyer posting and distribution system to distribute school flyers and approved flyers from community groups and organizations that sponsor activities of an educational/enrichment nature for students and staff >> view current flyers