Another Letter We Have Received ....

Editor's Note:   We would like to take a break from sharing "negative" issues (but are informative), and take some time to share more positive letters that our SEA members have often received!  We have obtained the letter writer's permission to publish their thoughts to the Strongsville Community.  Enjoy!  :-)

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I feel very blessed to have received an education from Strongsville High School.

The faculty willingly stayed after school to help me with research papers, college applications, letters of recommendations and many other projects. The chief reason I pursued History and Political Science at the college level is because of the Social Studies program at SHS. I became motivated and interested in these subjects because of my teachers at Strongsville. Although many faculty members taught the same subjects daily for many years, they remained vibrant and eager to help those who wanted to learn. I was an aid in the Mezzanine for the majority of my tenure at Strongsville. I can honestly say that teachers took a vested interest in their classes and instilled within us a thirst for learning.

Due to the many well taught AP classes, I was able to graduate from college two quarters ahead of schedule. I found Chemistry, Physics and Calculus to be less cumbersome than many of my peers in college because I took these classes from competent and caring teachers at the High school level.

            

I fervently believe Strongsville High School gave me an edge over my peers at Ohio University. I will always be grateful for the knowledge I accrued from Strongsville teachers. Soon, I will be attending graduate school in England to pursue a Masters in International Relations, and I just want to show my gratitude to the teachers that helped me find my true calling.   

Jay Medlock, SHS class of 2006

Another Letter We Received ...

Editor's Note:  We are changing the tone in the next few blogs.  We would like to share with you a sampling of the many letters our SEA members receive from their former students.  We have obtained the writer's permission to publish their letter.  They let us know that what we do is helpful to those in which we are entrusted.  Enjoy!


Dear Strongsville Board of Education:

 I am writing this letter as a reflection upon my thirteen years of education from the Strongsville City Schools, but most notably the last four I received from Strongsville High School.  I am a proud 2006 graduate from Strongsville High School.  At Strongsville High School I was both academically and athletically involved having played three years of golf and four years of baseball.  I am a proud member and captain of the 2006 Division I State Championship baseball team.  The education I received both in the classroom and on the ball field prepared me for a successful college career, and laid the foundation for a successful professional career.  The college preparatory curriculum taught at Strongsville High School allowed for an easy transition to the demanding courses I encountered at Baldwin-Wallace College.  At Strongsville High School I was taught the proper way to write letters and research papers, how to effectively give presentations, and efficiently manage my time given the workload and extracurricular activities I was involved in.

 Being a college athlete, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the constant school work and practice demands, but I was thoroughly prepared for the challenges thanks to my Strongsville education.  I am an accounting and finance major working towards my MBA in accounting, all of which I will receive this coming spring.  At Strongsville High School, I was able to take entry level accounting and finance courses which laid the foundation for the courses I took at Baldwin-Wallace. In my first accounting classes, I was one of the few students who had prior accounting education and was at a distinct advantage over my peers. 

The most important asset at Strongsville High School isn’t the curriculum though; it is the talented and dedicated educators who work tirelessly to push all students to reach their potential in life.  I write this letter today as a former student touched by the hard work and belief the teachers of Strongsville High School had in me.  My teachers pushed me to be prepared for college and to reach the potential they knew I had.  With their encouragement and care I was able to go on to Baldwin-Wallace College where I have been a Dean’s List Scholar for four years, a member of multiple honors societies, captain for the baseball team, and have signed a contract to work for the respected Big-Four accounting firm Ernst & Young.  The foundation for my success occurred at Strongsville High School where I cannot thank my teachers and mentors enough for their dedication and belief in me.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the quality of education I received in Strongsville and know I would not be in the position I currently am to succeed without it.

Thank you,

Justin Novak

Letters We Receive ....

To our community: we are changing the tone in the next couple of blog postings.  We would like you to  see a sampling of the many letters our SEA members receive from their former students.  We have obtained the writer's permission to post their letter to the Strongsville Community.  Enjoy!

One of the best measures of a successful high school education is the extent to which the students feel prepared and in a position to be successful at the undergraduate level.  Using this means of analysis, I would certainly say that Strongsville High School provided a successful and meaningful foundation on which to build upon graduation.

        As a senior biochemistry major at the University of Mount Union, I can attest to the exceptional foundation that Strongsville High School provided.  As a freshman, new to the undergraduate level of work and standards, I found myself far better prepared than most of my peers.  Whether it was in a freshman calculus course or an honors composition seminar, each day was a continual reminder of the great effort and commitment of each SHS faculty member who I had the pleasure of encountering.  What distinguished me from students from other districts was the extreme amount of critical thinking and application of concepts of which I was familiar.

        More importantly than academic success, SHS was most influential in demonstrating to me the ways in which to become an effective leader and a more mature student.  Faculty and Administration always held students to a higher standard and pushed students to think “outside the box” and truly be individuals.  As the Senior Class President of ’07, I had the pleasure of interacting with a diverse group of people throughout SHS.  These interactions were crucial in developing my leadership skills and primed me to become a critical leader at the collegiate level.

        The exceptional experiences and education that I received at SHS were instrumental into developing me into the student and leader that I am today.  Currently I am the Senior Class President at the University of Mount Union (Class of ’11), I am a presidential scholar, serve on a number of faculty and administrative committees, I am the president of two campus organizations and a founder of a third organization.  I plan to continue my education in dental school upon graduation and pursue a career in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

        I owe a great deal to the faculty and mentors that I encountered during my time at SHS.  I was fortunate to learn from teachers who brought their passion for their courses and their life’s experiences to the classroom each day.  These are the same individuals who worked tirelessly to provide me with practical applications of the concepts being covered and pushed me to grow as a student.  I feel fortunate to be a Strongsville High School alumnus and cannot speak highly enough about the education and preparation that I received.

Michael Border
Class of ‘07

(Editors Note:  It's letters like these that really mean a lot to us.  Regardless of what others have said about us in the press, letters like this let us know we fulfilling our end of the deal as responsible Educators of our Community's children.  Best Wishes to all!)