St. Marys had a record graduating class this year.  2022 saw 6 students graduate.  Finn Lacy (Carlisle) Pictured below; Xavier Anderson (Springboro) Pictured below; Isaiah Williams (Lakota); Caleb Eldridge (Franklin) Pictured below; Zakk Tipton (Little Miami) and Chance Gampfer (Franklin) are our outstanding graduates. 

Our graduates enjoyed a lunch from Raising Canes while family and friends gathered with staff to take pictures and remember and discuss their time at the Warren County Learning Center.  We have two students who will be attending Sinclair College in the fall as well as one student deferring his diploma and finishing his second year at the Warren County Career Center. 

Congratulations to all of our graduates and from the staff at the Warren County Learning Center we wish you the best in all your future ventures, and remember our time with you fondly.

Wellness Center students and staff have a lot to look back on and be proud of as the 21-22’ school year comes to a close. Students were shining examples of resiliency and perseverance as they weathered every challenge that arose throughout the academic term. The students were able to grow socially and emotionally through their engagement with peers, learning from classroom teachers/supports, engaging with their therapists, and most importantly integrating their learning with their families. They focused on their academics with great effort to achieve high school graduation and to start the next step in their life journey.

The Wellness Center is grateful for the opportunity to not only work with these students but to also share in their celebration of personal and academic success. We had the opportunity to have two graduation ceremonies including the graduates’ fellow students, family, and Wellness Center team members. Each event was a remarkable representation of the resiliency and drive that our youth possess.  The road to this point wasn’t easy for them however they persevered, overcoming their own unique challenges. They found ways to succeed, to overcome barriers, and are thriving moving into the future. Our students have been instilled with the truth that they are not defined by things of the past but by how they choose to move forward in pursuit of their dreams and goals. The Wellness Center team and the entire WCESC community is proud of their accomplishments and wish them the best of success!

The Warren County ESC Phoenix Academy students have been learning about animal adaptations.  As a follow up to their Animal Adaptations science unit and classroom projects Ms. Rose's class went to the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday 5/19/22.  They had a great day sharing their knowledge about animals with each other, learning from the amazing zoo staff and seeing the sights!  

Did you know?? 

The group learned that giraffe tongues are dark colored because of the amount of time they spend in the sun eating leaves in the wild.  The darker color skin on their tongues protects it from sun burn.  That was one of many fun facts the group learned yesterday!

April is National Autism Awareness Month and there are thousands of ways you can help support students with and without autism raise acceptance and awareness. The staff at Western Row Campus wore their Autism Awareness t-shirts every Friday in April to show their support for students with Autism.

On the last Friday of April, the staff came together for a group photo proudly wearing their shirts.

As TLC winds down their school year, many of our business partners wished a fond farewell to their interns for the summer.  Groceryland in Waynesville, Pdi in Springboro, Crossview Church in Waynesville, Ohio Living/Quaker Heights in Waynesville, and Stonehouse Tavern in Waynesville recognized their interns with small parting gifts on the interns’ last day of work.  The partnerships between TLC and these organizations is invaluable.  The interns have learned so many employability skills through their unpaid internships with these businesses.  Thank you for supporting TLC!!!  You are appreciated!!!

Thank you to Cartridge Brewing for partnering with the Warren County ESC’s Learning Center!  Gavin, a junior in high school, completed an unpaid internship at the Brewing Company.  Gavin worked in the kitchen unloading deliveries, preparing meat for smoking, and preparing other food for customers.  Some of Gavin’s team surprised him at work today with a balloon drop.  Gavin was also the recipient of the Prestigious Employee based “Hot Shot of the Month” award. The Cartridge employees voted to present Gavin this award.  Gavin stated that this has been a great experience and that he is looking forward to using his skills on jobs in the near future.  Anthony Cook, Cartridge Brewing owner, stated that having Gavin as part of the team has been a wonderful experience for him and his staff.  Cartridge Brewing looks forward to continuing the partnership with WCESC and working with more of our students.  Way to go Gavin!!! 

Re

Register here: Trauma and Resiliency Training-May 18

Congratulations to Chad Bridgman, who was selected to fill the remaining term of office of Warren County ESC Board member Jimmy Allen, who recently passed away. Mr. Bridgman is the Director of Workforce Development for Sinclair College and has actively supported the workforce initiatives at John K. Lazares Alternative School for the past four years, and he is also active with the Warren County ESC Business Advisory Council. Chad holds a Master’s degree in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Management from the University of Dayton. He and his family reside in Waynesville, Ohio where he currently serves on the Planning Commission for the Village of Waynesville. In addition to Mr. Bridgman the other members of the Governing Board are President Fred Anness, Vice President Jiles Farley, Nona Cress, and Sally Williams. Governing Board members serve four-year terms, and they must be residents of one of Warren County’s local school districts, which include Carlisle, Kings, Little Miami, and Wayne. Chad’s creative and energetic leadership skills will be a great compliment to the existing members of the Governing Board as they carry out the mission of Warren County ESC.

WCESC, along with Ohio School Boards Association, recognize Nona Cress for 20 years of service as a school board member.  Nona has been a tremendous support to WCESC overall, our programming, our staff, and especially our students.  As a retired teacher and member of Warren County Retired Teachers’ Association, she continues her dedication and commitment to quality education.  Her leadership, support, and knowledge are of incredible value as a board member.

NONA, WE SINCERELY THANK YOU!

We are grateful and appreciative of our MD Western Row Paraprofessionals every day! We would like to give them a special shout out for Paraprofessional Day April 6th! The are the BEST!

Dr. Sam Ison, Interim Director
Chris Specht, Assistant Supervisor

YMCA Wellness Wednesdays!
On February 2nd, JKLAS students started attending Wellness Wednesdays at the Lebanon Countryside YMCA. Students in need of Physical Education or Health credit have had the opportunity to participate in this weekly activity. YMCA instructors assisted in teaching circuit exercises, healthy eating, and cooking classes. So far, students have learned how to cook a chicken stir fry meal, pigs in a blanket, waffles, and chicken alfredo.

Mondays are for Community Service
Beginning February 14th, JKLAS students had the opportunity to participate in community service at the Lebanon Food Pantry. This kicked off a weekly community service program that takes place every Monday. By fulfilling their community service, this credit goes towards their home districts’ local community graduation seal. Students helped unload the food trucks, stock shelves, and sort donated clothes. Many of clothes that were sorted have been delivered to western Kentucky for families that were affected by the December 2021 tornados.

Bengals Super Bowl Party
On Friday, February 11th, JKLAS students participated in a Super Bowl party including a Cincinnati Bengals fan poster competition and had food from Waynesville’s B&B as well as Bengals themed cupcakes with Super Bowl rings on top. Staff also brought in their favorite Super Bowl party snacks for lunch.

Since the start of the new year, the mental health team has been busy within the programs and districts they serve!  Mental health staff are working hard towards the goal of providing effective, research-based services that allow students to grow and build resiliency. 

At Carlisle City Schools, Erica has been working on groups with elementary students.  She has been able to service 46 students in skill building groups since the start of the year.  Prior to the 21-22 school year, the elementary school did not have a separate mental health consultant position.  This year, Erica has been able to grow supports within the younger population.  Additionally, Tiffany Viel has worked hard at building PBIS lessons for Carlisle.  She works with a team of staff that plan monthly themes and activities for students!  Another district serviced is Waynesville.  Janet is meeting with students across all grades levels and has worked to help facilitate mental health knowledge during health classes at the high school.  At Little Miami School, Jessica, Laura and Meredith have worked hard to manage student situations and assist the school counselors in providing support across all grade levels.

The mental health therapist, Margie, is new within the Warren County TIP Program.  Previously serving at the Learning Center, Margie made the transition to the TIP Program in February 2022.  She is working hard to begin building the relationships with students to address the trauma presented within the student population.

Interns at TLC (Transition Living Classroom) have just begun their third internships of the school year. They are learning a variety of vocational skills at their new job sites. Pictured below are interns working at CityGate Church and Bentino’s Pizza.

Interns participate in weekly community activities to gain independence, leisure and social skills. Recent outings included shopping at Jungle Jim’s International Market, playing games at Web Extreme, and completing an art therapy painting class. Below are photos of interns at the Waynesville Library where they completed a scavenger hunt, made their own buttons and learned about the wonderful creative technology in the library’s Creator Studio.

In the apartment setting interns practice daily living skills such as budgeting, banking, cleaning and food preparation. Cooking activities are some of the most popular activities at TLC. 

WCESC Nurses work in a variety of settings in many districts and WCESC program buildings providing school nursing services in clinics, classrooms, and 1:1 student patient care.

Terri Elam, RN, LSN, Supervisor

Jill Buffenbarger, RN, Supervisor
 

About WCESC Nursing Services

School Clinic Nursing

School clinic nurses are either a Licensed School Nurse (LSN) or are directed or supervised by a LSN to provide care for students in their building. Some tasks of the clinic nurse include providing first aid, coordinating care of students with chronic or acute health conditions, administering medications, performing procedures, training staff how to recognize and respond to common health-related emergencies, providing vision and hearing screenings, educating families, immunization surveillance, and collecting data for required reports submitted to the Ohio Department of Health.
 

Help for Ohio customers with higher winter bills

Winter brings colder weather, which can bring higher energy bills. That’s especially true if you use natural gas for heating–as natural gas prices are rising across the globe. These rising prices could have impacts for some electric customers, too. Our money-saving programs, tips and guidance can help you control your energy usage and reduce your energy bills.

Please see the pdf for cost saving tips here

Warren County ESC has again achieved Ohio’s highest rating that is awarded to educational service centers “High Performing.” This prestigious rating from the Ohio Department of Education is given to ESCs that have demonstrated a cost savings of at least 10% for the school districts they serve. WCESC continually provides substantial savings in the areas of school psychology, speech-language pathology, occupational/physical therapy, school nursing, and for students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Warren County ESC saved their client school districts a combined total of $5,247,008.40 (26.39%) in providing these areas and other quality services in programming and related services for students.

Workforce development is an important focus in every WCESC program. We partner with school districts to promote student success in school and their community, and we celebrate the success of students such as Gavin, who is working two days each week as an Intern at Cartridge Brewing. Gavin is an 11th grader and last week he participated in an interview and tour of Cartridge Brewing in Kings Mills. This week Gavin begins his work experience, he will work two days from 9-12 helping with overall kitchen prep, unloading of deliveries, and learning about the kitchen process. 

At WCESC, we love our School Psychologists, and we are thankful for their hard work supporting the districts and advocating for children. During the week of November 8-12, 2021 schools throughout the United States will celebrate National School Psychology Week (NSPW) to highlight the important work school psychologists and other educators do to help all students thrive. This year's theme is "Let's Get in Gear." The theme's acronym provides a challenge to grow both personally and professionally. It encourages us to engage in best practices and advocate for children's access to mental health and learning supports. To rise implies resilience and renewal despite the challenges of the past.

The Mason Lions Club members donating supplies to GOVS and donated three benches to our Western Row Campus. 

The dinner event and program recognized businesses/organizations that have exhibited a true team spirit and strong commitment to the MADE Chamber and region throughout the difficulties of the past year and a half.

ESPRIT DE CORPS VIDEO LINK

Attending Representatives of WCESC pictured L to R:Back Row-Scott Wilson, Mike Bidwell, Tom Isaacs, Pat Paré
Front Row-Christy Even, Dr. Kathie MacNeil, Sally Williams, Kara Dirksing

The superintendents of public-school districts in Warren County extend our thanks to the Warren County Commissioners for their willingness to provide funding for the employment of school nurses.  Commission President Dave Young and his fellow Commissioners Tom Grossmann and Shannon Jones support the pilot project that will reduce quarantines of healthy students in Warren County schools.

Students who are exposed to COVID 19 but who do not have any symptoms of illness will not be required to quarantine if they have a negative test at day 3 and again between days 5 to 7.  This adds a significant amount of new work to school nurses, and they cannot be successful without additional assistance.  The Warren County Commissioners have allocated federal dollars the County received for COVID relief to allow the Warren County Educational Service Center to employ these nurses on behalf of the school districts.

The Ohio Department of Health is piloting a Test & Stay program in 10 Warren County districts that will begin the week of September 27. Test & Stay is a testing initiative for asymptomatic close contacts of students with confirmed COVID-19. This testing program will allow asymptomatic close contacts to remain in school if they receive an individual rapid antigen test (BinaxNOW) two times during their quarantine period and test negative, as well as wear a face mask while inside their school. Click here to view more 

Our Western Row Campus and The Wellness Center were visited by some furry and slimy friends this September! Our students were able to interact with some very cool animals and learn about them too. We couldn’t thank Cool Critters enough for stopping by and adding some extra joy to our day.

#WhatIsBaloosStory
This year as the Warren County ESC focuses on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging one of our focuses is to bring everyone together and what better way to do that, then through the love of dogs in our community?  

Baloo The Therapy Dog is a four-year-old rescue dog who has been trained by our Director of Social Emotional Learning, Mike Bidwell to be a therapy dog through the Pet Partners organization. Last spring Baloo and Mike passed the intensive therapy dog training and certification process which was a huge accomplishment for this team! Baloo was rescued from severe neglect and had to learn to depend on Mike to learn safety and trust. Baloo has taken this training to the next level and now loves to share what he has learned with students and staff at WCESC! Baloo will be visiting with Mike when Mike does his weekly visits to the school programs and the ESC office.  
Students and staff have the option of visiting with Baloo when he is visiting programs and opportunities to pet and spend time with Baloo will be presented on a regular basis. Many students and staff have already gotten to visit Baloo and students have shared they cannot wait to spend more time with him. Baloo would like to add thank you for all the belly rubs and he is excited to meet more Phoenixes being Safe, Mindful, Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn!  

The Ohio Department of Health’s goal is to keep K-12 students in school, in-person five days a week. To achieve this
goal, schools must work with their local health departments to identify students who are direct contacts of a positive
case. In-person learning is very important for the development of our children, and can be conducted safely even in the
face of COVID-19, particularly when schools employ layered prevention strategies including vaccination of teachers,
staff, and students who are eligible, masking, social distancing, good ventilation, and good hygiene practices. Adopting
layered prevention measures in schools now will help ensure students can learn in-person as much as possible this
year, and keep children participating in extracurricular activities. Quarantine and isolation remain key strategies for
preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

Important note: Exposure risk assessments are necessary and should be conducted by local health departments
in cooperation with local schools to appropriately identify who should and should not be quarantined. Local health
departments have authority to implement the quarantine and isolation process in accordance with Ohio Revised Code
3707.08.

-Click here to read more

Quarantine and isolation remain the cornerstone of public health work. For decades public health has used quarantine
and isolation as a tool to control the spread of communicable diseases. The local health departments continue to have
the authority and responsibility to issue quarantine and/or isolation orders when appropriate and necessary. Local
health departments are encouraged to consult with their local legal counsel regarding this information and
specific scenarios. Health Department Authority for Quarantine, Ohio Revised Code

-Click here to read more 

Studies show face masks reduce droplet emission, infection risk, and COVID-19 incidence.

In addition to the studies cited below, the Ohio Schools COVID-19 Evaluation, published Jan. 29, 2021, showed that
children who were close contacts and appropriately masked had rates of COVID-19 that were similar to children with no
known COVID-19 exposure in school.

Laboratory experiments have found that almost all types of masks can greatly reduce droplet emission and viral shedding by ihttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.htmlnfectious wearers.

• Fischer, E. P. et al. Low-cost measurement of face mask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech. Sci.https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html
Adv. 6(36), 3083 (2020).
• Leung, N. H. L. et al. Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks. Nat. Med. 26, 676–
680 (2020).

-Click here to read more