Wilmington City Schools (WCS) plans to focus on three main goals for 2025: Strategic Planning, their Ohio Improvement Plan, and a new career readiness program.
Strategic Planning:
According to Superintendent Tim Dettwiller, WCS “hasn’t participated in strategic planning in over 20 years.” However, since November 2024, over 30 community members, made up of parents, business owners, and future parents, have had multiple meetings with a consultant. They discussed student behavior challenges, parent and community involvement, the community’s perception of the schools, and the creation of a new mission statement. They also received input from high school students and Pupil Services Director Natalie Harmeling.
Ohio Improvement Plan:
WCS plans to fulfill its Ohio Improvement Plan in 2025. The three focus areas are student attendance, student behavior, and academic improvements. In the 22–23 school year, 29.7 percent of WCS students were considered “chronically absent.” By the 25–26 school year, the district plans to decrease the number by eight percent.
The district also plans to decrease the number of reported behavior incidents by ten percent over a two-year period.
WCS also plans to improve student scores in English Language Arts and Math. Their goal is to improve the overall score for K-12 students by 10 percent in both subjects by June of 2026.
Wilmington Future Ready:
The career readiness program will provide all high school students with work experience. Those experiences could be job shadowing, an internship, a paid work experience, or more. The district hired Stephanie Butler, former Director of Marketing and Communications at Clinton Memorial Hospital, to serve as their Career Coach. “Stephanie’s focus is to connect our high school students to the work world through unique work experience opportunities. Look for a WCSD student working with you in the near future,” stated Dettwiller.
Learn more about WCS at wilmingtoncityschools.com