Cuyahoga Falls Police Investigate Another Bomb Threat at High School

Cuyahoga Falls High School was evacuated and shut down Friday morning following the bomb threat, according to our news partner WEWS Channel 5.

Cuyahoga Falls police have confirmed another bomb threat was called into Cuyahoga Falls High School around 7 a.m. Friday, according to our news partner WEWS Channel 5.  Students were sent home. Those who did not have a ride were sent to the Natatorium. Cuyahoga Falls Police and Fire are at the scene investigating. The school was unavailable for comment Friday morning.

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Macie

3:34 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013

sorry someone told me it was 3..   more ›

Cuyahoga Falls Picks up New Councilwoman, Football Coach; Superintendent Lands Contract Extension: News Roundup

It's been a newsy week in Cuyahoga Falls. Here are the biggest stories that broke in the city and local school system.

Council swears in new member Cuyahoga Falls City Council has selected Arden Barnhart, 56, to fill the Ward 3 seat recently vacated by her husband Ken.  Members of the Summit County Republican Central Committee for Ward 3 handpicked Arden to fill the post on Tuesday, reports the Falls News-Press.  She will be sworn into office at Council's May 28 meeting. Cuyahoga Falls High selects new coach Cuyahoga Falls High School has named Sean Flaherty as its new head football coach, reports the Akron Beacon Journal. Flaherty, 33, is a Stow High School and Walsh University graduate who has worked the last seven years as an assistant coach at Wadsworth.  This is Flaherty's first time taking the helm as head coach. He replaces Mike Miller who resigned …

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Cuyahoga Falls Schools Superintendent: 'We Are Not Profiling Children'

The district is working to create a safer learning environment with new security measures, but according to Dr. Todd Nichols, that does not include profiling children or creating a "list" of students who may be prone to violence.

On Jan. 6, the Cuyahoga Falls City Schools announced it would be working closely with the Falls police and fire departments to ramp up security in the district. Cuyahoga Falls City Schools Increase Security, Tighten Safety Measures The partnership translates in part to more police officers patrolling schools, additional monitoring devices and restricted access to schools while class is in session. Superintendent Dr. Todd Nichols told the Falls News Press the district would also focus on "the identification of individuals who may be at risk for violent behavior.” Given the comment, rumors circulated that Nichols intended to document the names of students who may be prone to violence. In an email to Patch on Monday, Nichols dispelled the …

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New Scholastic Rigors Will Redefine State Report Card Results: Falls Schools Superintendent

In this Letter to the Editor, Cuyahoga Falls Superintendent Dr. Todd Nichols touches on the district's downgraded state report card rating, but addresses the real focus concerning student performance.

To open the Superintendent's letter, refer to the PDF link below the photo.

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Falls Schools Superintendent Outlines Professional Development Plan

By reducing class time by an hour each Wednesday, Todd Nichols says teachers will have more time to train and prepare for a rigorous curriculum overhaul coming over the next two years.

Falls School Board Votes to Reduce Class Time for Teacher Development

The Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education voted 4-1 on the issue at a special meeting Monday night.

After weighing the pros and cons, the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education voted 4-1 to shorten Wednesday's by about an hour starting this year. Over the 36-week school year, the hour per week will give teachers six days of professional development to help prepare them for the sweeping federally- and state-mandated curriculum changes that will be implemented in the next two years. Board vice president Kellie Patterson cast the dissenting vote, saying the board and public needed more time to assess whether the scheduling change was the best approach to meet the educational challenges that lie ahead. Under the plan, the district's elementary school students would be released at 2:25 p.m. on Wednesdays versus 3:20 p.m.; middle school students …

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Falls School Officials Consider Shaving Class Time to Increase Teacher Development

The Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education is expected to discuss and vote on the matter at a special meeting on Monday, July 2.

Ready to see the class clock wound back by an hour one day per week next year? Falls school officials are vying for the plan, Board of Education president Dave Rump is behind it, students probably won’t mind, but what about parents? According to Falls Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd Nichols, the shift is intended to slightly reduce class time in order to increase professional development among teachers and prepare them for the incoming federally- and state-mandated changes to class curricula. PD, as it’s often called, refers to specialized training sessions that enhance teaching skills among educators. “As proposed, the district's elementary school students would be released at 2:25 p.m. on Wednesdays, as opposed to their usual dismissal …

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John Deike

5:20 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012

Good evening RL, teachers would need to be paid overtime if the professional development sessions were held outside of school hours, according to school officials.   more ›

Cuyahoga Falls School Officials Petition for 2013 Levy

Interim treasurer Jerry Zelenka and Superintendent Dr. Todd Nichols say the new revenue could go toward equipping classrooms with new technology and advanced digital tools.

Interim treasurer Jerry Zelenka has but one request for the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education to consider after his contract expires on June 30—place a new levy on the ballot. Cuyahoga Falls School Board Appoints New Treasurer During Monday’s regular meeting, Zelenka addressed the board saying it should put at least a 1-mill permanent improvements levy in front of voters by next March. At one mill, the five-year levy would raise about $730,000 per year for the school district and cost taxpayers about $96 for every 100,000 in property valuation. However, Zelenka stressed, the money can’t go to employee raises, benefits or wage step increases; it can only pay for building and grounds improvements, technology, buses or any “capital asset that…

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This Just In: Curtis Grimes Resigns From Cuyahoga Falls School Board

The two-term member sent a letter of resignation Thursday morning informing the Summit County Board of Elections and the school district of his resignation.

The Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education will soon be in search of a new board member given today’s news that Curtis Grimes will be stepping down, reports the Falls News Press. Grimes, a two-term member, said Thursday morning that “…it was time to go,” according to board president Dave Rump. Grimes’s motivations to resign are unclear, but the move may have coincided with his son, Zachary, graduating from Cuyahoga Falls High School Wednesday night at Blossom Music Center. Grimes sent a letter of resignation Thursday morning to the Summit County Board of Elections. It stated, “I … hereby resign effective immediately from the Cuyahoga Falls City School District Board of Education.”  In following proper procedure, Joseph Masich, director of the …

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Earl Elevant

1:12 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012

If Mr. Grimes has been saying he was going to resign, then where's his quote? Who is this information attributed to? Was it in the resignation letter? Where did it come from? Essentially, if this makes Mr. Grimes look bad and he didn't say it himself, who should he sue for libel?   more ›

Letter to the Editor: Zero Tolerance Policies Will Deal a Blow to Bullying

A local parent echoes the concerns of her children and asks school administrators to take a tougher stance on bullying.

Editor's Note: Given the controversy involved in this issue, the writer of this letter has asked to remain anonymous. I am a new parent in the Cuyahoga Falls City Schools. My children and I moved here last year. Everyday, my son (a very outgoing, popular boy in his last school) takes a deep breath before entering the high school, and everyday when I pick him up, he takes a deep breath of relief that nothing has happened to him. He tells me everyday going from one class to another he does NOT feel safe. He sees kids picked on, called names and sometimes hit or thrown around. This is something he has never experienced before. He lives in fear and wonders when it's going to be his turn. His so-called friends talk in a cruel fashion to one …

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