Category: Elementary

Wanted: School Bus Drivers

Have you ever considered becoming a bus driver?  We are currently hiring substitute and potentially full-time bus drivers for the Liberty-Benton School District.

  • Not sure about driving something big? Schedule a test drive and find out! (Serious inquiries ONLY).  Training is available to become certified.
  • $14.16 / hour (sub rates); $15.31 for full-time
  • Typical hours to sub are 6:20am-8:50am & 2:30pm-4:30pm
  • Trips and mid-day shuttle opportunities
  • Applicants must possess a Class B CDL with an S&P endorsement (or interested in becoming certified).
  • Must have an excellent driving record
  • Drug Screens, criminal background check, and physical must be passed for employment
  • Liberty-Benton School District an equal opportunity employer

Contact Matt Cramner at Liberty-Benton bus garage for more details:  419-422-9249 or pick-up and application at the Superintendent’s office at 9190 CR 9, Findlay.

Dr. Larry Cook Appointed Interim Superintendent

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Larry Cook as the interim superintendent for Liberty-Benton Local Schools. His post will begin January 1 immediately following the retirement of Jim Kanable at the end of the year. We are confident in his ability to lead our district and help bridge the transition of this key administrative position.  

The search for our next superintendent continues.  Thanks to everyone who responded to the superintendent questionnaire.  We are working hard to find a replacement that meets the needs of our entire community including staff, students, parents and district residents.  The target timeline to complete the search is February, 2017.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any board member to discuss.

Liberty-Benton Local Schools, Board of Education:

A.J. Granger, President ([email protected])
Vern Strong, Vice President ([email protected])
Mark Badertscher, Member ([email protected])
Steve Benson, Member ([email protected])
Tom Miller, Member ([email protected])

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Dr. Larry Cook

About Dr. Larry Cook
Larry Cook is originally from Vanlue and holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Toledo.  He has served in various administration capacities including the superintendent for Tiffin City Schools and Van Buren Local Schools along with related positions both academic and administrative for Ashland University, University of Findlay and North Central Ohio Educational Service Center.  

Cook is a graduate of Vanlue High School.  He is a published author and has held many advisory and board positions throughout his career.  He currently serves on the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA); Editorial Board for American Secondary Education; and Facilitator for Strategic Planning for AASA – The School Superintendents Association.

LB Hosts Grandparents Day

More than 800 guests visited Liberty-Benton Elementary and Junior High Schools on Monday, November 7 for grandparents day.  Grandparents were able to eat lunch with their grandchild(ren) and participate in classroom activities.  The day is organized through PTO volunteers who did a terrific job facilitating this day for all of our special guests.

Accelerated Reader Board – October

Congratulations to the following elementary students. These students read many books to make it on the AR Board for the month of October.

Kindergarten
Brenna Rosengarten – 2.8-KHO
Jillian Flake – 2.6 – KHO
Nina Meehan – 2.4 – KHO
Bentley Zachrich – 1.9 – KHO
Carter Bolyard – 1.8 – KG
Dexter Stripe – 1.8 – KG

First Grade
Seriella Hablitzel – 58.1 – 1SL
Taden Troyer – 38.0 – 1LW
Grady Latta – 37.5 – 1K
Trevor Gebhardt – 35.5 – 1H
Savina Simons – 34.0 – 1LW

Second Grade
Claire Johnson – 40.2 – 2O
Jackson Knepper – 38.0 – 2Y
Bryce Foster – 36.5 – 2LM
Megan Gerken – 31.5 – 2O
Graham Reichenbach – 30.2 – 2O

Third Grade
Aiden Lee – 214.6 – 3Sp
Calista Hamilton – 150.5 – 3Sp
Major Stevens – 147.2 – 3H
Cadence Gallo – 121.0 – 3W
Leyton Simons – 118.1 – 3SP

Fourth Grade
Reagan Knapke – 267.3 – 4T
Issac Sum – 105.1 – 4AB
Elizabeth Nauert – 91.9 – 4S
Gabriella Tuttle– 89.2 – 4S
Josiah Leichty – 85.8 – 4T

Fifth Grade
Nicole Susko – 278.2 – 5th
Athena Withrow – 267.8 – 5th
Jacob Elchert – 194.4 – 5th
Kiara Bauer – 191.2 – 5th
Emma Schroeder – 191.1 – 5th

Kanable to Retire at Year-end; Superintendent Search Begins

The Board of Education has received notice from Jim Kanable of his intent to retire from the district effective December 31, 2016.  The item will be placed on the agenda for Board consideration at the November 21, 2016 regular board meeting.  Transition plans are in the process of being developed to ensure leadership continuity for the District while the Board undertakes the process of searching for and hiring a new superintendent.    K-12 Business Consulting, a highly regarded professional search firm specializing in searches for high quality school administrators, has been contracted by the Board to assist with the search for a new superintendent.  Their service will be customized around a collaboratively developed search profile that includes the input from the staff and community through direct engagement.  Below is an invitation for you to participate.

October 24, 2016

Dear Liberty-Benton Community Members,

Selecting the person to serve as our next superintendent is a most important task for the board of education.  We would like to solicit your help early in this process to identify the values, skills, and experience the Board will be looking for in our new superintendent.    Your input is being sought because you are interested in our school district and in the education of our youth.

To provide your input, the Board is inviting you or your representatives to meet with our search consultants at one of the times designated below.  Please feel free to attend any of the meetings if the time assigned to your group is inconvenient.  The sessions are designed to last about one hour.

Included below is a link to the Leadership Profile Assessment form which we would like you to complete.  If you cannot attend a meeting, you may still complete the Search Profile Questionnaire before November 11, 2016.

Again, on behalf of the Liberty-Benton Board of Education, I want to thank you in advance for your assistance with this very important task and I hope you will find the time to provide us your feedback.

Our sincere thanks!

On Behalf of the Board of Education
Lisa Dobbins, Treasurer/CFO

superintendent-search

ESSA Walk-In

Thank you for all who participated in the Walk-In.

We had 65 parents, community members, teachers, board members, and administrators at our Walk-In. Also in attendance was Tanyce Addison, who is running for the State Board of Education in District One. We had short speeches by Bruce Otley, Mary Jo McFarlane, Brian Burkett, and Tanyce Addison.

This Walk-In was organized to let lawmakers in Columbus know that change needs to happen regarding the excessive testing our students must endure. The new Federal law ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) is our chance to be heard and be a voice for change.

 


2016-2017 Red Cross Blood Drive

The Liberty-Benton Middle School and Elementary School American Red Cross Blood Drive was a huge success on Monday, September 12. Thank you for those students who asked others to donate. Those donors were able to help save 105 lives. Thank you also to the following middle school students who gave their time to make the drive happen by volunteering to work with Mrs. Pickett: Robbie Crossman, Trey Stanton, Austin Hanni-Wells, Riley Irwin, Karmen Makowski, Beth Seidel, Tara Green, Rissa Green, Jenna Green, Ellie Eberhard, Autuem Symmes and Evan McMonigal. What a great example of serving in our community.


Liberty-Benton Shoe Bank

Do you have extra cleats or athletic shoes cluttering your house? Want to help find them a home and help out your LB teammates? We are starting a shoe bank for the LB athletic teams.

Goal: Collect cleats & athletic shoes so if anyone needs to borrow a pair for the season, they will have access to them.

Drop off: If you have cleats or shoes that you would like to donate, please contact Rob Ogborn, 419.889.7670 or [email protected]. We would like to try and start collecting them soon to have them ready for the athletic camps.

Pickup: Contract Rob Ogborn to see what sizes are available and arrange a pick up time.

Returning: At the end of the season, we would like you to return the shoes if still in playable condition.


Elementary School Technology Report for May

The culmination of a Liberty-Benton student’s elementary school years is the infamous State Report. Fifth graders, every year, look forward to this momentous event. This year’s fifth grade rallied around the technology that has been made available to our elementary school students.

Fifth graders used desktops and home computers to research their state for information on: state flowers, statehood dates, population, weather, and early settlers, to name a few.  Students then researched the internet to obtain images of the state flower, state bird, and state flag.

Students used their iPads and home computers to type their reports in a word processor. Apps such as Easy Bib were used to create their bibliography. Students also created Excel spreadsheets and imported the data into graphs to display their state’s population over many years, or average rainfall and many other facts.

Fifth graders created a display board highlighting interesting facts about their state, such as: state flag, state maps, and goods and services the state provides. Many students even provided the actual goods for their presentations!

On Tuesday, May 24th, the fifth grade students setup their display boards along with any products they had collected and invited the elementary school to come see their display boards and Tellagami reports. The fifth grad sure ROCKED THE STATE REPORTS!!!!