New school year brings big changes to Butler County districts

The first of many opening days of classes at Butler County’s public school systems starts today with 10,000 students returning to Hamilton Schools.

While other area school districts will start later this week – Middletown and Lakota among them – and with more districts opening later this month, some sweeping changes are coming in the 2019-2020 school year.

Nearly 70,000 public school students will be starting classes this month in Butler County’s 10 school systems.

They are returning to school buildings with many changes including another adjustment in high school graduation requirements, enhanced security, new learning technology and even a radically different school calendar at Butler Tech career schools’ five campuses that will see students off on Fridays to work jobs.

The four high school classes from 2020 to 2023 will have three different graduation requirements.

ExploreMORE: Area school officials frustrated by new state graduation requirements

Butler Tech is also opening its newest partnership campus on the grounds of Hamilton High School as participating juniors and seniors will now have the option of learning career training in classes adjacent to the high school.

Hamilton has earned the state’s highest rating for its pre-school programs, said city school officials.

“From our Five Star pre-school programs and all-day kindergarten to our new program offerings for high school students with our partnership with Butler Tech, we are proud to serve the varied interests of our students,” said Joni Copas, spokeswoman for Hamilton Schools.

ExploreVIDEO & STORY: Butler Tech and Hamilton High School start historic partnership

Ohio’s eighth- largest school system – the 16,500-student Lakota Schools – will open classes Aug. 15 and for the first time 6th graders there will have access to their own laptops as part of a continuation of new program to provide laptops to thousands of students.

ExploreMORE: Lakota launches new program of giving middle, high school students laptops

And later this month Lakota will unveil only the second “cyber academy” computer science program for high school students in Southwest Ohio.

The new classes, which are designed to allow students to learn and earn certification while still in high school for employment in the booming cyber security industry, are the result of Lakota’s partnership with private industry – a trend spreading fast and wide throughout the county.

ExploreMORE: Lakota launches 1st cyber academy for high school students

In the coming school year Middletown Schools will see the beginning of a $10 million expansion of Rosa Parks Elementary to help alleviate classroom overcrowding.

Fairfield Schools will see more armed police officers in its schools, as the school recourse officer program there has been expanded.

ExploreMORE: Fairfield to hire more armed officers to patrol school buildings

Students in Ross Schools will be returning to a high school and middle school campus that features for the first time in the district’s history an artificial turf playing surface in its sports stadium.

ExploreMORE: Ross School officials unveil plans for districts first plastic turf field

And every school district in Butler County could be seeing some new faces on their school system’s governing board as two to three board of education seats are up for election on Nov. 5.

School starting dates for Butler County and southern Warren County districts are:

• Hamilton: Aug. 12

• Middletown: Aug. 13

• Butler Tech: Aug. 13

• Badin High School: Aug. 14 freshmen; Aug. 15 All other students.

• Talawanda: Aug. 14, grades 2-12. Aug. 19, kindergarten, 1st grade

• Edgewood: Aug. 15

• Monroe: Aug. 15

• Madison: Aug. 15, middle and high school; Aug. 19, elementary students

• Lakota: Aug. 15

• Middletown Christian Schools: Aug. 19

• Fairfield: Aug. 21