With the close of the 2021-2022 school year, it is time to congratulate another group of outstanding
seniors who formally became graduates on June 4, 2022. Approximately 200 graduates received their
diplomas representing the Greenville Schools Class of 2022. This class can be proud of how they endured
the Coronavirus global pandemic the past three years and all the challenges that went with it. The class
was able to navigate these challenges successfully. The 2022 class has had many academic and extracurricular
accomplishments while at Greenville, and we commend each and every graduate. We wish all
graduates much success and happiness in their future endeavors, and they are now welcomed as our
alumni.
Our district now turns its attention to the preparation for next year. Academically, we continue to focus
on teaching twenty-first century learning skills to all of our students. We strive to continue to improve
our performance on end-of-course, ACT, web and work key exams at the high school and career tech
building and on the Ohio Achievement Test in grades three through eight. These tests will continue to be
given online for the most part. We will also begin to staff our building for the 2022-2023 year to replace
personnel who have retired or left for other opportunities. Annual cleaning of our buildings and grounds
will also take place as will needed repairs and inspections in our buildings and with our bus fleet.
At the K-4 elementary level, we will continue to offer our Kids Read Now summer reading program along
with our Summer Bridges program for standards-based summer learning. At the K-8 grade levels, we will
offer summer school to allow students extra time for academic recovery. Summer School at the K-8 will
be held the first three weeks of August. Contact the building principal or the curriculum department at
Memorial Hall if interested in the Summer School program.
Summer School is also available at the high school and will be held in June and the first two weeks of
July. Summer School courses will be blended learning in physical education and health. There will also
be courses in algebra I or II and geometry as well as the Virtual Academy for make-up recovery credits
including English. Again, contact the high school principal or the curriculum department at Memorial
Hall with Summer School registration questions. All courses at the high school are pending having
enough students for enrollment. Transportation and lunches are again provided at no cost as well as
course registration being free for all summer K-12 course work within the district as a continued effort of
our academic recovery plan related to the pandemic. Social and educational counseling are also available
as needed and requested through our summer school programs.
At the high school next year, we will continue to implement the College Credit Plus courses for the ninth
year. We now offer CCP from several colleges and universities including Edison State, Sinclair, and
Wright State. Many of our students continue to take advantage of the CCP program. In fact, this year
five of our high school graduates also received associate’s degrees at the same time as their high school
diploma.
At the elementary level, many of our students continue to participate in our supplemental eSpark program
using their iPads. All of our elementary and middle school students continue to participate in our
Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) online testing assessments again using their iPad devices.
This test is given three times a year and allows our staff to see how students are aligning to their end-of -year state test and see the reading and mathematical level gains they are achieving.
Across the district, other curriculum plans for next year include the purchase of textbooks and
supplemental material in the discipline of language arts, grades 6-12. We continue to incorporate a six-year
cycle to upgrade our curriculum material by content area.
Much of the focus this summer with maintenance projects will be on finishing phase two of our stadium
project at Harmon Field with the completion of the new Field House. We are hopeful to have the Field
House complete by August 1, 2022. Presently things are moving along as scheduled, and we hope the
community, student athletes, coaches, and trainers can enjoy the new facility this fall.
Another major focus in maintenance this summer are three separate roof repairs on Memorial Hall that are
presently being coordinated with Mote and Associates.
The district will also be cleaning and sealing the terrazzo floor at the K-8 facility, cleaning and varnishing
gymnasiums at the high school and middle school, completing painting projects at Memorial Hall and the
high school, placing a new roof on the storage barn at the high school, as well as routine and annual
landscaping updates and/or repairs across district grounds.
A special thank you and congratulations to our seven class of 2022 Valedictorians that each gave
wonderful addresses at Greenville High School’s One Hundred and Forty-Eighth Commencement
exercise. The seven honored Valedictorians in the class of 2022 were Carmen Badell-Kestler, Laikyn
Bruner, Hannah Gartenman, Jack Marchal, Libby McKinney, Nathan Miniard, and Kate Rehmert.
The district would like to highlight several recent accomplishments by students and staff:
— Brittni Walker for being recognized as a 20 Under 20 Award winner through her involvement in
Career Tech employment at Greenville City Schools and a part of the Darke Economic Regional
Tri-County Award program
— Tammie Riffle for being selected as our Darke County Teacher of the Year
— Five of our graduating seniors who earned their associates degrees from Edison State Community
College at the same time as their high school diploma including: Jenna Leigh Hughes, Kaijsa Alexis Maxwell, Reina Lynnmarie Gibson, Madison Nichole Werner, and Jason Lee Byrum Jr.
— Sierra Crist winning the Board of Education Outstanding Art Award at the annual Waves of Pride
— Andrew Abell and Jack Marchal District qualifiers in boys tennis
— Emily Gibson (Discus) and Crocket Parsons (Pole Vault) Regional qualifiers in track and field
— The Greenville Girls Softball team qualifying for the Regional competition and winning the
Division II District Tournament as well as MVL Divisional and overall MVL Championship
— Susie Blocher for being MVL Softball Player of the Year, First Team All-Southwest District and
Second Team All-Ohio in softball
— Jerrod Newland for winning his 500th High School softball game being named Coach of the Year
All Southwest District
— First Team Miami Valley League Spring Awards
Softball: Kylie Hamm – pitcher; Ashlyn Zimmer – infielder; Saige Fellers – infielder; Susie Blocher – infielder
Boys Tennis: Jack Marchal – singles
Baseball: Matthew Edwards – outfielder
Girls Track: Addie Klosterman – high jump; Samantha Suter – pole vault
Academic Team: Maxwell Jordan
The close of the 2021-2022 school year will mark the retirement of some of our employees. Staff
members retiring at the end of the year and in some cases during the year include Lisa Beasecker, Carl
Brown, Cindy Lou Hunt, Rachel Jones, Eric Lorents, Jeff Miller, Krista Quellhorst, Lisa Spille and
Melinda Robbins. Two of these staff we have re-employed and were happy to do so. For each of the other
retiring employees, we wish them the very best in their retirement and future endeavors. Please join me in
thanking each of these retiring employees for their dedication and commitment to Greenville City Schools
and our students. Collectively, these staff members had 206 years in education with 178.50 of those years
at Greenville.
Also, this year Dave Westfall retired for a second time after 42 years in education. Likewise, we wish him
all the best and thank him for his years of service as a teacher and coach. Finally, we will sincerely miss
our longtime Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Laura Bemus, who
passed away shortly after her second retirement this past May. Laura Bemus was a dedicated,
hardworking, and enthusiastic employee that left a message with all of us to always be kind, friendly, and
positive in everything we do. Our thoughts continue to be with her family.
We wish all of our students an enjoyable and safe summer vacation full of relaxing time with family and
friends. The Superintendent and Treasurer’s Offices are open all summer. As always, feel free to contact
me by phone at 937-548-3185, ext. 4010, or email at [email protected] with any questions you have
about our district. Thanks to everyone for helping us all with another wonderful academic year.
To all our students, parents, staff, and community members, stay safe over the summer and enjoy your
break. We look forward to working with everyone again next fall. Greenville City Schools is a great
place for students to learn and teachers to teach. Go WAVE!
Doug Fries
Greenville Schools Superintendent
