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School Counseling Survey
The Aurora School Counseling Department is presently reviewing the K-12 program. Information is being gathered regarding needed services. Please take a few minutes to complete an online survey. Your input is valuable.
To take a survey, click here and enter the appropriate PIN.
* Miller and Craddock Parents: MCESPAR
* Leighton Parents: LESPAR
* Harmon Parents: HMSPAR
* High School Parents: AHSPAR
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“>Miller & Craddock Newsletter Download it as a PDF
Partners for Full Potential, an Aurora Parent’s Group ensuring that students with learning differences reach their full potential academically, socially, and vocationally,
invite you to join us
Tuesday October 21st, 7 pm, Howard Hanna Community Room
Understanding and Implementing
Special Education Rights
Presented by Special Education Attorney Aimee Gilman,
founder of Special Education Services
Special Education Services (SES) is a Community Parent Resource Center nonprofit organization. SES has served over 2000 families, special education professionals, and school systems.
Aimee is back by Popular Demand! Very informative!
Open time to ask your specific questions! She will also discuss how parents, collectively, can effectuate change in their school district.
This presentation is free, light snacks and beverages served.
Howard Hanna Community Room, 195 Barrington Town Sq. Dr., Aurora. For more information, please contact PFFP at (330) 995-4440 or aurorapffp@yahoo.com
What are the pre-school options in Aurora?
Preschools?
There are some listed on the links page
Aurora Co-op. Young Explorers, Aurora Daycare, in addition i think there is a program at the Lutheran church.
I am partial to the Co-op since all three of my kids went there, and i like to be involved and help at clas one a month
My husband and I researched preschools for our older son when we moved to Aurora. We looked at Hope, Young Explorers, My First School, Aurora’s Children’s Day Care Young Friends of Streetsboro and Aurora Co-op.
We personally chose the Aurora Co-op after researching the NAEYC accreditation rating of this school, http://www.rightchoiceforkids.org/ along with our visit to the various locations and the welcoming feel of the teachers at the Aurora Co-op. We can’t say enough about the teachers and the program – our younger son has attended two years and will start his third year in the 4’s program this Fall. You can visit them on the web at http://www.auroraco-op.com for additional information. I’d also suggest researching about parent involvement in a classroom and the benefits for the children.
PARENT MEETING
Open to the community!
Free event for parents- Dinner & Babysitting provided
April 26th @ 7 – 8:30*pm
342 S. Chillicothe Road, Aurora
(Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Center)
*Last ½ hour – co-op members “year in reviewâ€
Please RSVP by Friday, April 20th
330.562.7377
(Dinner & babysitting reservations required)
Guest Speakers :
Dr. Elizabeth A. Finley-Belgrad-
(Infant, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist)
Marcie Laubaucher-
(Speech & language pathologist)
Alisha Deininger-
(Occupational therapist)
Topics:
Children’s individual temperaments
Strategies to avoid behavioral problems
Suggestions on how to optimize children’s learning and development
SPONSORED BY AURORA CO-OP PRESCHOOL, DOCS FOR TOTS & OHIO ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN
HALLOWEEN TREATS TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS!
Halloween will soon be here. For those of you who do not have any children attending school, this is an ideal time for you to help support our schools – at no cost to you!
Many of the schools in the Aurora School District collect items for their “CA$H FOR TRASH” collection programs. These are items that would usually be thrown in the trash but are valuable to our schools.
The following is a list of items that are collected at our schools:
• Box Tops for Education (found on a variety of General Mills products)
• Campbell’s Labels for Education (found on a variety of Campbell’s products)
• Tyson Project A labels (found on some Tyson frozen food products)
What can you do to help? Please start saving the items listed above and on Halloween, offer them to your Trick or Treaters – in addition to their normal treats, of course! Many schools have contests to see which student s and/or class brings in the most “trash.” The children will be happy to have your “trash” to bring to school.
Once Halloween is over, please continue to collect valuable “trash” throughout the year. There are collection boxes located at Heinen’s, the Aurora Library and Lakeview Chapel or given to any Miller, Craddock or Leighton student. If we all work together, we can earn some extra money for the schools. Remember, it all adds up!
In the words of Tom McCall, “Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: ‘This is my community, and it’s my responsibility to make it better.”
Thank you in advance for supporting our schools!
on the pre-school question: does anyone know of a good, reliable in home provider for after school and “snow day” care in the Aurora School district?
I already posted this on cleveland.com, but just discovered this website for Aurora.
So what I want to know is how much money does Scholastic give to our schools to allow them the access to our children during their school day? On two occassions this week my child was taken from her classroom to review books and purchase them (if her mommy would have given her a check- which was the point of the guilt trip inducing “wish list”). What is the monetary value to Scholarstic to interupt my child’s academic learning time? I understand that the PTO benefits from this sale, but really….do we need small children being marketed to all week? By the way- it worked. I had to go to the book fair after work to purchase a book for my doe eyed child who gave me the “all my classmates got to buy books during school today look.
In response to the concern on the Scholastic Book Fair at Craddock…
PTO DOES NOT benefit from the sale. All proceeds benefit Craddock School Library. The proceeds are used to purchase books. No school time was lost – this was conducted during their normal library time. Many of the books are very outdated or worn out and this is the opportunity for the library to refresh their books and selections for the students. Please contact one of the members of the PTO executive board to discuss your concerns.
I loved that they allowed my child to make a wish list – which gave me the opportunity to review the list and have a discussion about what he could and could not purchase.
We had then decided to attend the family night and make the selection together. We had fun while there – they did a great job – I thought. I was thrilled to see his excitement about adding books to “his library” and knew by supporting the book fair – we would also contribute to Craddock library. We even did some birthday gift shopping while there! :)
RE: Book Fair
As in all school fund raisers the source always benefits or they would not be involved in fundraisers. However, all of the proceeds earned by the school go to new library materials for Craddock. Because of the Book Fair your child will have the opportunity to borrow updated books during their weekly scheduled library trip. You are under no obligation to attend any evening events after school. I do understand the idea of pressure to buy but there were books as low as $2.00 at the fair. You will find that fund raising is a must to support the supplementary needs in our schools. Because of fund raising by the PTO, our children attend field trips for little to no cost, our older children have been able to get cutting egde technology to keep them competitive. There is a new safe playground for the kids at Miller. You will be hard pressed to find a school district that doesn’t fund raise. Choose the ones you believe in and ignore the ones you don’t wish to participate in. By the way, we should really say thank you to all the mom’s who took their time to help with this great fundraiser. Can’t wait to see the great books my kids bring home at library because of it!!! I hope you will join the PTO. It is a great feeling to know you have helped improve the educational experience of our children!!! You are welcome and we need your help!!
Most of the people I know who have moved to Aurora within the last few years have cited the incredible school system as one of the top reasons. It really astonishes me that the small requests for help (rather than charity) are met with this kind resistance. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather buy a book or two for my kids (which we regularly buy anyway, btw) and have it benefit the school than 10 candy bars or some other thing that I would not regularly buy for my kids (OK, I buy them for myself…). Bottom line for me, what distinguishes Aurora schools from other, not-so-hot school districts in this area comes down to having parents that care enough about ensuring high quality education for their kids that they actively support the schools- with their time, their support in fund raisers and their active encouragement to the staff (especially the teachers… no, I’m not one). If you don’t care about helping to maintain the educational system, consider it an investment in your property values- school system is the most essential driver for property values (next to unscrupulous sub-prime lenders).
Hey i think zambonigirl was having bad day. I know that my kid came home with a $40 wish list. I wish i could have bought them all for her. But i’m glad she was excited about the night. I had a enjoyable time going to the school and seeing the artwork and we even snuck a quick visit to the classroom. Enjoy your kids, too soon they are teenagers!
Hi, I’m Rita Scott. I live in Aurora and am the founder of Young Explorers, and I can tell you a little about our preschool.
We are, to my knowledge, the biggest and most academically driven program in the city. Each year, we graduate about 40 children into kindergarten, and have 4 classes for 3 year olds, 4 classes for 4 year olds, and 1 class for pre-kindergarteners. Our preschool teachers all have 4-year college degrees in Early Education (which means preschool-3rd grade), and our ratios are between 9-14 students per teacher, depending on the program.
We use the Ohio Department of Education’s Standards for Preschool as the basis for our curriculum. This is a relatively new standard (about 3 years old), so not many schools have managed to adopt it yet.
On top of the academic content, we use the Montessori method of teaching, which is a world-renowned method based on respect for the child and the belief that all children learn at their own pace and in their own way (auditory, visual, etc). Our students are welcomed to the school each day, have a community time, and then go through the day’s lessons at their own pace. We try to not interupt them when they are concentrating and encourage open-ended outcomes (so all art does not look the same, for example). I love to hear about how well our grads do in kindergarten from their teachers there.
This all may sound kind of serious to some people, but I see happy kids when I visit their classes. Our parents seem to be college grads who expect their kids to be college grads some day and want to get them started on a good education early. We have half-day students and full-day students (with extended activies as an alternative to traditional child care).
Lastly, I just have to say that there is no such thing as a bad preschool in Aurora. We’re lucky – we have all sorts of programs and philosophies here.
Partners for Full Potential (PFFP) is an Aurora parents group ensuring that students with learning differences reach their full potential academically, socially and vocationally.
They will be hosting a Resource Night on Thursday, April 24th at 7pm at the Howard Hanna Community Room.
Gather info on your child’s specific needs, meet with fellow parents to share ideas and concerns – and learn that there are other parents who are going through or have gone through what you are. You are not alone! PFFP services all Aurora district students from preschool through high school. This event is free, open to all, snacks and beverages provided – adults only please.
For more information, please contact PFFP at aurorapffp@yahoo.com
Is it back to business as usual for the school board?
I’ve noticed that they no longer have audio podcasts of their meetings available. The openess was short lived.
For anyone who has a child that has very recently gone through Aurora public kindergarden: Can you please share with me your experiences. I am also, trying to get an idea of what books the teachers read to the students (ex. Junie b. jones, Magic Treehouse, Romona etc), what type of activities and learning methods are used. How do the teachers and the principal respond to parent interaction and questions/requests.
You can also email me at sarah AT perpetualmultimedia.com
Thank you,
Srhbug
I am rather disappointed in the recent change’s made to the Elementary Kids bus stops. Last year my child was picked up by our home, this year he is being made to walk a distance to the corner of our road. We live on a rural street, it is very unsafe for a small child to walk that far. When I spoke with the bus garage they were very uncooparative and they said that they will not change the stop. They have no consideration that I have 3 little one’s at home that I have to pack up everyday and hike or drive to the corner to make sure that my child gets on the bus safely. My question is why did vote for a levy that was suppose to make sure “cluster stops” would not occur? I don’t understand how they can make 7 year old walk 1/2 mile to a bus stop. Harmon and High school kids I can see walking, but not our little ones. Anyone in the same boat?
My children are picked up at the corner as well. It is a pain to pack up in the morning and drive them, but we’ve now been doing it for 2 years. Do you have neighbors that you can work out something with? We tackled it with our neighbors to share in the responsibilitiy. This year I have a sitter after school and I made sure she new that one of my biggest concerns is that she be at the top of the street after school to walk with my kindergartener.
Children in Aurora have been picked up in clusters for as long as I can remember. What is more annoying is driving through a development and stopping every 5 feet for kids to get off the bus. I don’t mind it if is a main street such as 82, 43, 306 or even Mennonite or Pioneer; however, stopping at every house in the Lakes or Woodview is ridiculous. When I was a kid my mom walked me 4 houses down to the bus stop and when I got older I walked myself. My child gets walked to the end of our street to get on and off the bus. Aside from making sense, it is also a money saver and environmentally friendly as gas is saved.
Frustrated Parent wrote “They have no consideration that I have 3 little one’s at home that I have to pack up everyday and hike or drive to the corner.” It is not the job of the city’s schools to take this into consideration. You need to take personal responsibility for your choice to have numerous children and plan your day accordingly either with child care/neighbor or family help or with allowing the time necessary to get everyone to the bus stop. The “it is everyone else’s problem” mentality about everything is hurting not just our city but our country. I am sure that no one who has experienced real personal tragedy would have too much sympathy for a mom who has to walk her child to a bus stop.
Partners for Full Potential, an Aurora Parent’s Group ensuring that students with learning differences reach their full potential academically, socially, and vocationally,
invite you to join us
Tuesday October 21st, 7 pm, Howard Hanna Community Room
Understanding and Implementing
Special Education Rights
Presented by Special Education Attorney Aimee Gilman,
founder of Special Education Services
Special Education Services (SES) is a Community Parent Resource Center nonprofit organization. SES has served over 2000 families, special education professionals, and school systems.
Aimee is back by Popular Demand! Very informative!
Open time to ask your specific questions! She will also discuss how parents, collectively, can effectuate change in their school district.
This presentation is free, light snacks and beverages served.
Howard Hanna Community Room, 195 Barrington Town Sq. Dr., Aurora. For more information, please contact PFFP at (330) 995-4440 or aurorapffp@yahoo.com
To the care taker of Olive Aurora please remove my comment about the bus stop. I thought this was a blog to get helpfull suggestions like “chicklet” gave or to try and find solutions for problems. The “longtime resident” comments are hurtfull and mean. What “longtime resident” may not understand is that we live in a rural area where their are no sidewalks and my child would have to stand on a blind corner where cars and trucks pulling in could not see. All I was trying to say was that we passed a levy to avoid cluster bus stops (not in developements with sidewalks where walking is safe) in rural parts of Aurora. My advice to you “longtime resident” is if you are going to be cruel keep your comments to yourself. So please Olive Aurora take my blog off so that the cruel comments can stop.
To Frustrated Parent:
This is a blog thus a place for people’s opinions. This is not a self-help web site. I’m sorry that my opinion hurt your feelings but I spoke what is true to me and have no guilt for saying it.
To address one thing you stated, my child walks to the end of a street with no sidewalks as well where cars are passing by at higher than the posted limits. It is what it is. I was simply saying that I’ve been behind the buses in the developments that stop every 5 feet and it is crazy.
Everyone wants to be more environmentally friendly as well as fiscally responsible but not if it inconveniences them personally.
Hey, i no longer moderate evey post before it appears. I would hope that we could try to keep in mind the similar etiquette as if you were speaking face to face.
Thus my opinion to Longtime Resident, the safety of our children in this city should be the responsilitly of every resident regardless of frequent stops by school buses. Plan your day accordingly so you don’t find yourself behind a bus stopping every 5 feet as to not inconvenient you personally. As far as being enviornmentally friendly, don’t you think being people friendly rates a little higher? Or when- You need a hug you go looking for a pine tree?
Nothing to say about a fire arm and ammo in the school? I’m surprised no one has brought this up. We are very lucky not to have had a school shooting. Every city thinks it couldn’t happen to them.