District News

At Winton Woods City Schools, safety is a top priority. To ensure we are creating a proactive and safe environment for our students and staff, please read the updated COVID-19 protocols. Stay safe Warriors!

As the world slowly made the transition from COVID and masks, and students from virtual to in-person learning, the effects and remnants of the phenomenon still lingered. A Winton Woods High School junior Tia Griggs saw how the stress of school life affected those around her. This motivated her to find solutions which lead to her learning about insomnia and yoga. Through a high school organization and health awareness program CRUSH (Corps for Rural and Urban Success in Health) that focuses on the health and wellness of Winton Woods students and community, Griggs created a PowerPoint presentation for her peers to bring awareness to mental and physical health.

Winton Woods Alumni Robyne Walker Murphy is making her mark in New York City. Along with three other exemplary women leaders, Murphy was honored by the infamous Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) for contributing significantly to social change. The Met said, “From championing collaboration, leadership, and representation for women, to promoting healthy communities through advocacy and legislation, The Met's 2022 honorees are three remarkable women working across the arts, through philanthropic, and government awareness.”

For the seventh year, Winton Woods City Schools Music Department was selected as a 2022 Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation. Every year, districts around the nation are recognized for their top quality programs in the fine arts. When asked what made Winton Woods City Schools stand out from others, Winton Woods Band Director Danelle Ashbrook highlighted the staff and music teachers who go above and beyond.

Winton Woods High School senior Manuel McMenemy left it all in the pool when he swam in his last two races of his high school career at the Division I State Swimming Finals for the Para Athlete Division in Canton, Ohio. It was his second time competing at state. He placed bronze in the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, and shaved seven seconds off his 100 backstroke time. A time he had previously dropped seven seconds off last year at state.

When the new year begins so does the excitement and anticipation for what students in first to twelfth grade will showcase at the Winton Woods City Schools spectacular Night of Freedom event. An evening dedicated to powerful, inspiring, and bold presentations, performances, and artwork centered around the topic of freedom. For the first time in Warrior history, the two-night event was held at the beautiful North and South campuses.

It was an exciting day at Winton Woods Middle School when 17 General Electric (GE) employees and volunteers of the GE Next Engineers program made a special visit to the school to speak and spark students' interest in engineering. In 2021, the Next Engineers program was created in hopes of increasing the diversity of young people in engineering. During their visit, students participated in the “Tallest Tower Challenge” where they were tasked with building and designing towers that could support the weight of a golf ball.

We must be the change we want to see. But first one must put in the work. That is true of Winton Woods High School Josh Amstutz who was selected for the 2022 Global Educator of the Year by the AFS-USA program.  “I was so excited,” Amstutz recalled after receiving the news. Last year made a decade of him working in the district’s Global Studies program, six of those being the Coordinator of the Academy of Global Studies (AGS).

Each year, five devoted members of the community are selected by the community to make up the Winton Woods City Schools Board of Education. This year, the district welcomed two new board members Debra Bryant and Brandon Smith. They joined Winton Woods Board President Viola Johnson, Vice President Jeff Berte, and board member Paula Kuhn. Bryant and Smith were sworn in at the board organizational meeting on January 11. 

If you were to ask Winton Woods High School class of 2014 Alum Eric Behrendt what he wanted to be in middle school, he would have said without hesitation a black hawk pilot. Now, 10 years later, his dream has come true. “It was an intense process,” said Behrendt. “It’s definitely something you have to go get.” Time, dedication, and perseverance are just a few of the things it took to achieve this goal, not to mention aviation is extremely competitive. During the beginning of his application process, he visited four programs in different states to prepare for this opportunity.

Winton Woods City Schools is starting the 2022 year off right. In January, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) announced Winton Woods City Schools’ North and South Campuses, as one of the nine Ohio schools, to achieve the LEED Green Building Certification and two of three schools to receive the gold status. "Our new school campuses earning the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED - Gold designation means a lot to our schools, staff, students and families,” said Executive Director of Business Affairs Steve Denny.

On Thursday, December 4, Winton Woods City Schools took home the Ohio Division II State Championship title over Archbishop Hoban with a final score of 21-10 in Canton, Ohio. It is their second state champion title since 2009. This was the first season with Chad Murray as head coach along with Carlton Gray, the new defensive coordinator, and Greg Forest, offensive coordinator, who were hired this past spring.

As technology evolves, the influence that it has on society has made it clear that it is here to stay. How is Winton Woods implementing it in all classrooms to advance their scholarly academic careers? “At Winton Woods City Schools our instructional technology program extends well beyond providing each student with the device (Chromebooks),” said Winton Woods Director of Technology Rhonda Hobbs.