Dear Van Buren Family:
We are so happy to have our buildings filled with students again, and we appreciate the role everyone played in making yesterday a smooth first day back to school after a summer of planning and development to ensure the continued growth of our students.
Our top priority is the well-being and academic growth of every student, and one way we will continue to push students to reach their academic potential is with three new high school Advanced Placement (AP) classes. In 2024-2025 we introduced AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, and AP 2D/3D Art, and this year we have added AP Statistics, AP United States History, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture. These classes will give students the opportunity to earn college credit based on their AP exam scores, and students who want to take College Credit Plus (CCP) classes at Van Buren with our teachers will have the opportunity to take English Composition I & II through Columbus State Community College and Government 111 through Owens Community College.
To help students prepare for whatever post-high school paths they choose, we have also added other new classes in 2025-2026. Freshmen can now take Advanced Biology I, and all high school students have the opportunity to take Home Repair to either prepare to enter the Construction Skills program at Millstream Career Center or learn real-world skills they can use in their own homes.
Additionally, we are focusing on giving students more opportunities to become bilingual by the time they graduate because of the benefits, such as processing information more efficiently, they will reap throughout the rest of their lives. Because of these positive long-term effects, sixth graders will take a quarter-long Spanish Exploration class exposing them to the language and culture. Seventh and eighth graders will have the opportunity to take a semester-long Introduction to Spanish class to help them decide if they would like to take Spanish I in middle or high school. Finally, eighth graders interested in pursuing the Biliteracy diploma seal can take Middle School Spanish I, which will also put them on the path to eventually take AP Spanish Literature and Culture.
We have also added new staff to ensure we are creating a culture of learning that enables all students to achieve and grow. At the district level, School Psychologist Ryan Borger and Speech-Language Pathologist Stephanie Danchisen have joined us and will serve the entire district out of the elementary building. In previous years we had shared these services with other county schools through the Hancock County Educational Service Center (ESC), but based on our need for full-time work, it will be beneficial to our students and district to provide these services in-house going forward.
Because of retirements and career moves, we have new teachers filling some positions this year. We are happy to welcome Rachel Corey (Fourth Grade English Language Arts), Brooke Post (Fourth Grade Social Studies), Erin Sparke (Seventh Grade English Language Arts), Dan Evans (HS Industrial Technology), Brett Farmer (HS Intervention Specialist), Josh Huber (HS Integrated Sciences), and Andrew Hunter (HS Mathematics) to our district.
While class offerings and high-quality teachers have the largest impact on academic growth, we also know having a welcoming school environment is essential to student success. Two of the improvements we have been working on throughout the summer that are approaching completion are the remodeling of the second-floor greenhouse and some of the restroom facilities in the high school. When finished, our students will have access to a modern, functioning greenhouse for their science and agriculture classes such as Greenhouse and Floriculture Management. Likewise, many of the restrooms in the portions of the high school built in 1967, 1972, and 1975–including the second floor staff bathrooms–have been updated in one or more ways, including ceilings, lights, plumbing, partitions, fixtures, hardware, and doors. We appreciate the work of Maintenance and Facilities Supervisor Casey Morman and his team to make these areas of our building functional for our students and staff.
Morman and his team also put long hours into other projects throughout the summer so we can show campus visitors and those simply driving by every day how proud we are of our district. Using safety grant money, they installed new stop lights on Main Street and exterior doors in the weight room and Industrial Technology shop. They also maintained the north parking lot by having it sealed and lined and ensured the new practice field along Main Street was ready for fall practices. Because of their efforts, our focus on the general upkeep of our landscaping, athletic fields, and buildings will continue to make our campus a source of community pride.
Finally, I want to share how much we appreciate the support of our community. When the Strategic Plan Advisory Team met on August 6, it was filled with community members willing to devote their time to providing feedback essential to the success of our district. When our Learning, Finance, Stakeholder Engagement, Facilities, and Athletics committees meet throughout the year, those committees are filled with community members with expertise in those areas so our district can run as efficiently and effectively as possible. When community members come to our campus to attend Opening Knight, athletic events, music performances, International Knight, and all of the other events happening throughout the year, they are providing a foundation for the success we all want our students to experience, and we notice and appreciate that support.
Throughout this year as we experience our Black Knight traditions and drive toward continued excellence, I am thankful we are all working toward a common goal–the success of Van Buren Local School District.
Have a great year, and GO BLACK KNIGHTS!
Sincerely,
Jason Inkrott, Superintendent
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