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No school on Friday but staff will report for professional development
PF full. JPGSpecial education director Jonathan Burras leads a District Leadership Team subcommittee meeting early Wednesday morning at the Raemelton administration building.

      Students will not be in class on Friday, March 9, but district teachers, administrators and support staff will report to work for school safety training and in-depth discussions of academic issues.

      Friday will be the last of six professional development days that began before the start of the school year in August. Sessions will be at Mansfield Senior High/Mansfield Middle School, Malabar Intermediate School, Sherman Elementary and the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center.

      “School safety will be a priority. We will have the third in a three-part series of active shooter training,” said Martin Linder, director of school improvement.

      Mansfield Police Department personnel will direct the training, as they did on Dec. 20 and Jan. 3.

      “There will be a heavy dose of academic discussion for our staff at different levels,” Linder said. “Among the elementary staff topics will be the Handwriting Without Tears series. Secondary teachers and principals will review and discuss student academic growth reports.”

      Grade-level meetings will focus on mathematics, science and English language arts.

      The food service, transportation and maintenance will have training sessions geared to their respective areas.

      On Wednesday the 41-member District Leadership Team (DLT) met at the Raemelton administration building before the start of school for three simultaneous sessions on leadership, student achievement and climate and culture.

      The team of administrators and teachers meets monthly from 6:30 to 8 a.m. before dispersing to their respective buildings.

      “We were hyper-focused Wednesday on student achievement data and what additional resources we need from the Ohio Department of Education to continue moving forward,” Linder said.

      “We also continued our focus on climate and culture in our buildings, the social and emotional health of students. Since July we have spent a lot of time on strategies to improve climate and culture.”