A Message from the Superintendent
Mr. Todd Whiteman - Superintendent
Dear Foxfire Community Member,
Welcome to the 2021-22 school year at Foxfire Schools. The 2021 school year was by far the most challenging year in education across the country. The Covid -19 pandemic forced us to be remote the majority of the year. Remote learning brought many challenges and barriers. It created isolation, disconnection, accountability, and complacency barriers. I am extremely proud of how the students, parents and our staff adapted on the fly to Remote Learning that none of us were prepared for. I am even more proud of how our staff worked relentlessly on the fly to meet your child’s needs. Our staff made daily home visits during these times delivering food boxes, addressing technology issues, providing OT/PT/ Speech services, mental health counseling and tutoring right on our students' doorsteps. Our school resource officer and nurse made daily wellness checks on our students. The most amazing thing is that our staff traveled daily to serve students in 8 different counties and over 21 different school districts. Our home to school communication was better than it has ever been this past year. The 2021-22 school year brings new hope and excitement to a return to normalcy in the education world. However this past year has prepared us for the event should the virus or strand of it force us to go remote. It has also prepared us for the event of the flu season that would shut down a certain building or grade level. In the event of a snow day we will utilize remote learning in its place so there are no gaps in the learning process. We truly will not know the impact of loss learning from the pandemic on our students for the next three years. Despite the new challenges and barriers we face due to Covid-19 our vision remains to connect to our students and to create personalized pathways for success. We are extremely proud to be recognized as “The Model Drop Out Recovery School District” by the U.S. Department of Education and promise to build upon the tradition and culture we have established. Our culture provides a personalized, relevant educational opportunity as a compass for our journey. Foxfire is extremely proud of our rich tradition. Positive and personal relationships remain at the forefront of our success. We pride ourselves on Developing the Whole Child and providing innovative personalized instruction. We specialize in teaching at–risk youth by eliminating/reducing non-academic barriers and connecting our students to pathways, resources, and community connections. Foxfire provides a multitude of embedded services to address the non-academic barriers our students face which includes a full time school resource officer, licensed social workers, mental health counselors, drug/alcohol counselor, family counseling, school nurse, student services –transitions coordinator, and career readiness coordinator. We will always do what is best for students and live by the mantra that “Every Child Deserves a Champion.” Many of our students have been dealt a bad hand in life but they have two choices, they can play the cards they were dealt or they can fold. The goal is to create strong personal connections and personalize each child’s educational plan. Every member of our community is a critical stakeholder in the education of our students and their future. We need your collaboration, partnership, and support in meeting the needs of our youth and community. The 2020-21 school reports have been enclosed along with pertinent information for this school year. This calendar is just one vehicle that we use in communicating important information to you. We will also utilize the strong partnerships we have developed with WHIZ TV and Radio, WYBZ, as well as the Times Recorder, Y City News, Progress Book, Twitter, Parent Engagement Nights, Parent –Teacher Conferences, Home to School Newsletters, and Curbside Coffee. You can also utilize our district website that is updated daily to gain information, updates, and announcements by visiting www.foxfireschools.com. Parents, we welcome and expect you to play a vital role in your child’s education and future. Together we can accomplish more. I am proud, excited, and eager to begin a new and exciting school year. We will have to be more creative, flexible, and supportive than we ever have been and we expect our students, parents, staff and community to do the same. We are more excited to start this school year than any year since our doors have opened. If you have any questions or concerns please stop and see us at 2805 Pinkerton Road Zanesville, Ohio 43701 or call us at (740) 453-4509.
Yours in education,
Mr. Todd Whiteman - Superintendent