DR. DEREK ARROWOOD
Hamilton Heights Superintendent
Despite the potential impact that can be a byproduct of an extended holiday weekend in this season of COVID-19, I get the sense that our families went into this holiday with more mindful intent. What I have seen on and off school grounds is encouraging and that we are aligned in our effort to keep kids in school well into the fall and beyond.
Talk about effort. I want to give a shout out to the Hamilton County Health Department for their relentless dedication to our community. As long-standing public health advocates, the staff have been an invaluable resource to our schools. They are helping to shine a light on the extraordinary measures Hamilton County School districts are taking in their efforts to keep students and staff safe and in school and reduce the risk and transmission of COVID-19 on their campuses.
They unveiled their showsomeclass.org website this week. This site features a wide variety of helpful information and data including locations and times for testing sites, dashboard for positive school cases, and school district policies, along with a weekly video interview titled “From the Frontlines.”
In fact, last week I had the pleasure of speaking with WRTV’s Troy Washington about the new Show Some Class initiative and the positive impact it can have in our schools and community. Jennifer Tebbe and Lauren Knapp’s rooms at the elementary school were the highlights of the video! You can watch the segment in its entirety here.
You are invited to join this effort and be a part of the solution in our community. Click here to watch the first “From the Frontlines” episode featuring Principal James McNeany, Guerin Catholic High School. #KeepKidsInSchool
The U.S. Census Bureau will wrap up its counting efforts for 2020 at the end of this month. This includes collecting responses in-person, online, over the phone, and by mail. This year’s count is more important than ever. It is essential to how we will rebuild and how much of the desperately needed federal funding is allocated to our schools and in our community annually over the next decade. If you haven’t completed your census survey, please do so before the end of the month. Click here to learn more on how the census affects Indiana’s future educational funding.
Thursday marked a special day for the 26 HHHS students who participated in the Teach One to Lead One® (T1L1) program. This unique mentoring program between the school and local community mentors launched last year. A graduation celebration, originally set for June 23, was held in their honor. The T1L1 program, spearheaded by Kevin Yancy, T1L1 Central Indiana Community Champion and Whitney Gray, Assistant Principal, Hamilton Heights High School, returns for a second year and expects to reach up to 100 freshmen! We are extremely grateful to have this impactful program at Hamilton Heights. Click here to learn more about the program and/or to serve as a mentor.
Thank you for your support and continuing to look out for one another.
#WeAreHuskies