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Warren City Schools Superintendent/CEO Steve Chiaro has been named the recipient of the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation’s 2024 Ohio Superintendent of the Year Award.

Dr. Renee T. Willis, Ph. D., Executive Director of the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, explained in a letter to Mr. Chiaro that honoring educators and elevating the teaching profession is a core mission of the foundation. 

The letter reads, “We are deeply honored by your Board President’s high regard for you, leading to your nomination for this esteemed award. As you know, I am personally aware of your great work through the Ohio Mid-Sized Collaborative.”

The prestigious honor is the highest accolade the foundation bestows upon an educator. The recognition also brings a $10,000 grant from the foundation to the school district in Mr. Chiaro’s name. 

Mr. Chiaro will be celebrated at a banquet during the annual Jennings Educators Summit on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Warrensville, Ohio. At that time, he will be presented with his Superintendent of the Year Award. 

Additionally, the foundation plans to visit the Warren City School District during the 2024-2025 school year and feature Mr. Chiaro on its website.

Warren City Schools Board of Education President Patricia Limperos nominated Mr. Chiaro for the award. In her nomination letter, she wrote that Mr Chiaro “embraces and exemplifies your organization’s core values of Deep Learning and Excellent Teaching.”

She wrote further that Mr. Chiaro believes that the district’s youngest learners deserve a strong start to their academic journey; that every student deserves a chance to excel; that each student should be “met where they are” that all students are worthy of the best educational opportunities and facilities; and most importantly, “that every student graduates from Warren City Schools prepared for their own individual successful future.”

Moreover, the district’s work within the Whole Child Framework is grounded in Mr. Chiaro’s long standing commitment to collaborating with a breadth of community partners to ensure that the needs of students are met.

His strong leadership, vision, deep community partnerships and long standing partnership with CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning) – a national network of researchers, educators, and advocates purposed to make SEL part of a high quality education for all, to meet students’ social emotional needs all supported Warren City School District’s recent removal from any negative state or federal designations. Ms. Limperos lauded Mr. Chiaro’s unwavering support of the continued academic improvement of the school system. 

Mr. Chiaro is in his 27th year of working for the Warren City School District. He has served as a teacher, principal, supervisor of school improvement, associate superintendent, and for the past 10 years, superintendent/CEO. 

Warren G. Harding High School graduating honors student Nathan James signed his college letter of intent on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

The student-athlete announced he plans to attend Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio.

Nate has earned a position on the college’s track and cross country team. He plans to pursue a career in physical therapy as a sports physical therapist working alongside athletes.

He served two years as varsity captain on the soccer team, and has earned 11 athletic letters and four academic letters at Warren G. Harding. His name is in the school record book, as he has the school record in the men’s 5k, 3200m, and 1600m.

Run. Jump. Toss. Make the shot.

Normally, none of those tasks would be an issue for the students participating in the obstacle course inside the gymnasium at Warren G. Harding High School on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

However, several of them found it more difficult once they donned a pair of goggles that cause the wearer to display behaviors typical of individuals impaired by alcohol at various BAC levels.

The simulation was presented by four of their classmates who have been participating in the Trumbull County SMASH (Students Making A Safer Highway) program. The program is a collaborative effort among the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio State University Extension Trumbull County, and nearly 60 students various school districts within Trumbull County. The group meets throughout the school year at the Trumbull County Educational Service Center.

The simulation served as an end-of-year demonstration to share with their peers their efforts to encourage safer highways.

The obstacles course involved jumping hurdles, tossing a ball into a bucket/tub, “riding” through a set of cones and attempting to shoot a basket into a basketball hoop.

Student Council members from the Jefferson PK-8 School spent their evening on Wednesday, May 9, 2024, inside Warren City Council Chambers.

Warren City’s Sixth Ward Councilwoman Honeya Price, after visiting the students at school, invited them to attend a City Council meeting.

“I just wanted them to see a Council meeting in person and a bit of what we do,” Price said.

Students in each of Warren City Schools four PK-8 buildings experienced a taste of what it means to balance a budget and work “to make ends meet” each month during “Real Money, Real World” simulations May 7 and 8.

The project was made available to the students through a partnership with the Ohio State University extension. 

Lessons in their math classes the week prior to the stimulations prepared the students for the real life situations and money management activities.

Marie Economos of the OSU extension said the goal is to prepare the students for life challenges as they transition into becoming adults.

Each students was assigned a career, a monthly salary and a specific number of children. They visited various stations, making spending choices along the way that were based on their family situation. The goal was to have enough money “to make ends meet” at the end of the month.

The four classroom lessons were designed to prepare students to assume the role of a 27-year-old adult who is the primary income provider for a family. Students learned to subtract savings, taxes, and other deductions
from their monthly income. The amount of money left over is what they spent during the simulation activity.

Students spent their money at the various stations on items typically found in a monthly budget, including housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, child care, and transportation. Throughout the activity, students kept track of their finances and attempted to complete the simulation with a positive
balance.

Warren G. Harding High School seniors Mia Jones and Nathan James were among the Trumbull County high school graduating students honored Friday, May 3, 2024, at the 2024 Scholarship and Recognition Breakfast.

Nathan was awarded a District-Level Franklin B. Walter Award ($500 Textbook Award). Mia was awarded a $1,000 First Place Community Fund Scholarship.

The annual event is hosted by the Trumbull County Educational Service Center Governing Board and this year students in attendance were award, collectively, nearly $40,000 in scholarships.

Creativity and skill were on full display Friday, April 26, 2024, for Warren City Schools’ Annual Art Show.

The event, held inside the large gym at Warren G. Harding High School, featured art works created by students in each of the Warren City Schools five school buildings.

These awards went to the following students:

• Superintendent’s Award–Precious Harden–8th Grade, Willard PK-8 School
• Mayor’s Award–Karina McDonald–11th Grade, WGH High School
• SMARTS Award–Kassie Sacco–12th Grade, WGH High School
• Best in Show–Kassie Sacco–12th Grade, WGH High School

The Warren City School District and the The Warren High Schools’
Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Committee of the Warren City Schools’ Foundation have recognized Warren G. Harding High School’s top students of the Class of 2024.

The students earning Top Honors are:

SUMMA CUM LAUDE

• Dobry Dupont
• Caleb Gardner
• Nathan James
• Mia Jones
• Camille Richardson
• Renn Rohrer

MAGNA CUM LAUDE

• Sarah Bell
• Lauren McCormick
• Carter Knupp

CUM LAUDE

• Kylie Wertz

Scholarship Recipients

The Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Committee of the Warren City Schools’ Foundation has named these students 2024 scholarship recipients:

• Sarah Bell  
• Donovan Boyd  
• Dynasty Brown   
• Jacob Daugherty
• Dobry Dupont
• Imani Ellison-Lyons  
• Wayne Harris, Jr.
• Jameire Honzu   
• Nathan James
• Kariyae Johnson 
• Mia Jones  
• Carter Knupp   
• Milon Lee
• Dustin Letourneau
• Faith Mason
• McKenna Murphy
• Faye Moore
• Lauren McCormick 
• Camille Richardson   
• Renn Rohrer  
• Antonio Smith
• Michael Tsilimos  
• Dasani Williamson

Warren City Schools’ Annual Art Show is set for Friday, April 26, 2024, inside the large gym at Warren G. Harding High School. Hours are 5 to 7 p.m., with an awards ceremony at 6 p.m.

Warren City Schools will prepare students for the 2024 solar eclipse with a variety of activities centered around the April 8 historic event.

For starters, all students and staff will receive a complimentary pair of eclipse glasses so they can watch the sky safely as the moon passes between the earth and the sun.

Parts of the Mahoning Valley are in the path of totality, with Trumbull County in the direct line of passage.

The district, in anticipation of the solar eclipse, announced school will be dismissed two hours early on Monday, April 8.

But before they leave for the day, students will have a variety of opportunities to learn as much as possible about the eclipse. Activities will vary based on the students’ grade bands/pods.

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS

• Grades 3-8: Students will use ultraviolet beads to discover why we wear eclipse glasses during an eclipse.
• Grade K-2: Students will make models of an eclipse to understand the pattern of the moon, earth, and sun.
• HIGH SCHOOL GRADE LEVELS: Using the PASCO wireless weather sensor and the SPARKvue app, Suzette Jackson, Warren City Schools Assistant Curriculum Director, Grades 6-12, will gather data during the eclipse, including temperature, humidity, illuminance (the amount of light spreading over a given surface), and wind speed. At a later time, high school students will take the qualitative data, such as the darkness and the cooler temperature that they experience during the eclipse, and connect it to the quantitative data the weather sensor will gather.
• ALL GRADE LEVELS: Students will make a pinhole projector that they can take home and use during the eclipse to indirectly see the moon covering the sun.

Prior to April 8, students will receive literature to take home so they can learn more about the eclipse over spring break.

Students in grades K-2 will read the book Total Solar Eclipse: A Stellar Friendship Story.

Grade 3-5 students will read the book Eclipses.

About the Monday, April 8, 2024, Solar Eclipse:

• Eclipse start: 1:59 p.m.
• Totality: 3:13 p.m., with maximum effect at 3:15 p.m.
• Totality ends: 3:17 p.m.
• Eclipse ends: 4:29 p.m.

Here is a link to a live stream of the eclipse.