NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio – In January, the North Royalton schools will assemble a Culture and Communication Committee that will seek to build better relationships and improve communication among staff, pupils and parents.

The committee will consist of staffers from each school and department, along with parents and citizens in the North Royalton district.

“The purpose of this group will be to focus on promoting a positive culture and develop a communication plan for the district,” district Superintendent Michael Laub told cleveland.com.

The district already has a communication plan but aims to improve it. New initiatives might include a phone app that sends news and emergency notifications to parents.

“Positive relationships begin with great communication,” Laub said. “We will formulate something that addresses internal and external communication, everything from monthly newsletters to parents to internal logistics.”

Also, the district will explore posting positive articles and messages about the schools on its website and through social media, and thanking its employees for their services, Laub said.

“In the last few years we have seen a lot of negative messaging everywhere,” Laub said. “There are a lot of positive things happening with kids and we have to celebrate them.”

The Culture and Communication Committee is just one part of the district’s new comprehensive five-year strategic plan, unveiled earlier this year.

The strategic plan also calls for assigning a school resource officer or SRO in each of the district’s three school buildings starting in February.

Laub said each police officer costs roughly $70,000-$80,000 in salaries, benefits and training, but the city of North Royalton has agreed to split the costs.

“We were able to find room for that within our budget,” Laub said. “It was something we really wanted to do and we found a way without adding to our overall costs.”

In addition, the district under the strategic plan will introduce “flexible grouping,” in which children within a class are grouped according to their academic levels.

“As kids learn and grow, you can move them in and out of groups, based on their needs,” Laub said. “We switch up the groups, so they are flexible.”

The entire strategic plan is outlined on the schools’ website.

Key elements

Here are other key elements in the North Royalton schools’ strategic plan. The district plans to:

Sharpen pupil transitions. The district already has transition and orientation plans that help pupils move from the elementary school to the middle school, from the middle school to the high school, and to vocational courses. Laub said the district wants to make those plans more focused.

For example, the district will underscore to pupils programs and services their new school offers that their previous school did not. For example, the high school will soon introduce two more advanced-placement classes, and middle schoolers need to know that.

“All kids need something different,” Laub said. “We want to meet students where they are and provide them specific opportunities.”

Create a College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness Plan.

Laub said the district already prepares pupils for life after high school. It offers courses that colleges like to see and partners with Cuyahoga Valley Career Center in Brecksville to provide vocational education. The district needs to do more.

“We should have a clearly defined pathway for all of our students,” Laub said. “We need to review what we have, clean it up and then effectively communicate it to staff, students and families.”

For example, pupils and families might not realize that district scholarship money isn’t just for those heading to college. It’s also for pupils seeking career credentialing, like in nursing assistance.

“We created a video to get out that message,” Laub said. “Military pathways are also important. If kids are interested in it, we need to show them how to get there.”

Establish a community service requirement. Now, the district encourages pupils to volunteer for worthy causes but doesn’t require it. That may change.

“Community service provides a wonderful growth opportunity for students,” Laub said.  “It looks great on a resume and college application because it shows a willingness to get involved and volunteer to help those around you.”

Train teachers in “English language immersion.” In this approach, non-English-speaking pupils learn English while simultaneously learning their lessons in, for example, math and science. Techniques might include labeling various classroom objects, like desks and computers.

This is especially important because the district recently experienced an influx of non-English-speaking pupils from Ukraine.

“We knew we needed to create new approaches to help those students transition and be successful,” Laub said. “We think we did a good job but additional professional development would help.”

“Identify pathways to digital citizenship.” This means showing students how to use computer technology.

“We need to work on everything from technical skills to the appropriate ways to engage on social media to how to be safe when interacting online,” Laub said.

Explore adding mental health supports. The district already employs school counselors and a social worker but will consider adding more support opportunities.

“Parents and students do not always know what supports are available for families,” Laub said. “This includes school supports and community supports.  We want to create a menu of items that clearly articulate what is available for those who need it.”

Renovate the North Royalton High School Performing Arts Center. The district is now exploring the costs.

“We haven’t done many updates since it was originally constructed,” Laub said. “Our greatest needs are sound, lighting and seating.  All will need to be replaced to some degree over the next few years.”

Build new locker rooms at the high school stadium. Now, the stadium has only home-team locker rooms. Visiting teams must use the high school or nearby middle school during pregame and halftime. The district would like to renovate an old bus garage into new home-team locker rooms and move visiting teams into the current home-team locker rooms.

“We are currently working with an architect to identify those (cost) estimates,” Laub said.

Renovate the bus garages. Laub said the district is working with architects to determine the cost. The bus garages are on Royalton Road near West 130th Street.

“We have about 60 people in and out of that facility daily and we have two total restrooms,” Laub said. “So restrooms are the priority. We also have a water line issue and some asphalt that needs replaced.”