Neighborhoodr : Athens, Ohio

Federal Hocking student builds mud-and-wattle home

AMESVILLE — Only a senior in high school, Rob Hammer already has a home he can call his own — one built with his own two hands and inspired, in part, by a project his father completed in college.

Rob Hammer, a senior at Federal Hocking High School, spent several months last year constructing a mud-and-wattle hut on his family’s property outside Amesville. The construction was done as part of Rob’s senior project.

Seniors at Federal Hocking High School are required to complete senior projects in order to graduate. Under senior project guidelines, students are required to research and develop a project that teaches them something new, and they must utilize an outside “resource” person as part of the project.

Read more from The Athens Messenger (subscription required). | Photo credit: John Halley, The Athens Messenger.

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9PM, Apr 5 2012

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Making her mark: Federal Hocking senior’s project teaches her shooting skills, places her at competition

STEWART — It was Alexandria Williams’ father’s frustration over his own marksmanship that piqued her interest in shooting and pointed her toward her senior project.

Alexandria, a senior at Federal Hocking High School, decided to learn about marksman shooting for her senior project, and placed 65th of 110 individuals in a recent shooting competition held in North Carolina.

Seniors at Federal Hocking High School are required to complete senior projects in order to graduate. For their senior projects Federal Hocking students must research and develop a project that teaches them something new and uses an outside “resource” person.

Read more from The Athens Messenger (subscription required). | Photo via The Athens Messenger.

For other posts about Federal Hocking Local Schools, click here.

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Federal Hocking released from fiscal oversight

STEWART — After nearly five years, Federal Hocking Local Schools has been released from state fiscal oversight.

The district entered state fiscal emergency status in May 2007. As part of the process, the state auditor’s office appointed a commission to oversee all financial decisions made by the district.

The district’s Financial Planning and Supervision Commission — the group appointed by the state of Ohio to oversee Federal Hocking’s finances while the district was under fiscal emergency — formally approved a resolution disbanding the commission Thursday. The state auditor’s office earlier in the day released the district from fiscal emergency.

Read more from The Athens Messenger (subscription required) or read for free from WOUB. | Photo credit: John Halley, The Athens Messenger.

For other posts about Federal Hocking Local Schools, click here.

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Federal Hocking mock trial team heads to regionals

One of Federal Hocking Local Schools’ mock trial teams will be heading to regional competition Friday.

Federal Hocking humanities teacher and mock trial coach Nick Warmke said of the six teams that participated in district competition — two from Federal Hocking, two from Jackson, one from River Valley and one home-school team — one of Federal Hocking’s teams won, and will participate in regionals.

The mock trial competition is put on every year through the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education. Competitors argue a specific case, and are judged based on how well they did so. Usually the cases are loosely based on existing Ohio or U.S. Supreme Court cases. This year’s district event was held Feb. 3.

Read more from The Athens Messenger (subscription required).

For other posts about Federal Hocking Local Schools, click here.

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Amesville third-graders raising money to help orangutans

AMESVILLE — Amesville Elementary third graders concerned about farming practices that have put orangutans in danger are collecting money to help protect them.

Students in Jadey Gilmore’s third-grade class have been learning about orangutans, and about a month ago read an article about an orangutan rescue center on the Indonesian island of Borneo helping the animals. The students became interested in the cause, and have been collecting money ever since in the hopes of adopting three orangutans through Orangutan Outreach.

Orangutan Outreach’s mission is to protect orangutans in their native habitat while providing care for orphaned and displaced orangutans until they can be returned to their natural environment, according to its website, redapes.org.

Read more from The Athens Messenger (subscription required). | Photo credit: John Halley, The Athens Messenger.

Related topics: Federal Hocking | Local Schools

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Homeschooling rises in Athens District

Despite an “excellent” rating from the state, Athens City School District has one of the largest numbers of home-schooled students in Athens county — a statistic that could indicate the public is dissatisfied with the area’s education.

Kevin Mattson, professor of history at Ohio University, said he pulled his son out of Athens schools after the first grade because he said his son was not receiving adequate services.

“He wasn’t getting any attention or services for the learning disabilities he had, including ADHD and dyslexia,” Mattson said.

Read more from The Post. | Photo credit: Lydia McDermott, via The Post.

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School funding formula delayed again

Area school superintendents are not surprised at yet another delay in setting up a new school funding formula for Ohio districts.

State Rep. Ron Amstutz told The Associated Press recently that he did not expect the Legislature to present a school funding formula before 2013, when the next state budget is written and a new legislative session begins. Amstutz is a Republican and chairman of the House Finance Committee.

“We thought that was going to be the case,” said Alexander Local Schools Supt. Jeff Cullum. “We’ve been hearing rumors for a while that it probably would not be ready this year.”

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Local schools chosen for pilot program, grant

A $250,000 grant will allow schools in Athens and 17 other Southeastern Ohio counties to implement a transportation program, which could spread to the rest of the state.

An Ohio House Bill created the Educational Shared Services pilot program, which was signed by Gov. John Kasich in June, said Patrick Gallaway, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.

“The program is to fund a pilot project, which we hope to expand statewide,” he said.

District putting plan in place to improve learning

STEWART — The Federal Hocking Local School District will implement a plan next summer designed to improve the district’s academics, the school board decided Monday.

Supt. George Wood outlined the plan for the school board at its regular meeting Monday, noting this District Improvement Plan would “guide us for the next three to five years.”

The plan seeks to improve academic achievement for all students in mathematics and reading — with a special focus on economically or educationally disadvantaged children — and to improve communication with families so they may become more involved in their child’s education. To achieve these goals, the district is looking to focus its resources on early education and elementary education, Wood said, because studies have shown it is far easier to achieve educational gains if started early, rather than playing catch-up later in a student’s studies.

Read more from The Athens Messenger (subscription required).

RELATED: Trimble-area children to receive cradle-to-career help (WOUB | The Athens NEWS | The Post).

For other posts about local schools, click here.

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