001Welcome hot dogs to the May and final Community Schools of Frankfurt superintendent town hall of the school year. I am Matt Rooda, the proud superintendent of the Community Schools of Frankfurt where we strive to ensure excellence for every student every day. The town hall, as you know, moving forward will highlight individuals and programs that are moving the needle for academics, athletics, performing arts, and safety in the school district. I am so excited about the great things that will be happening here at Frankfurt High School starting next year. These are things that set Frankfurt High School apart from area schools. This month, I invited Mrs. Jennifer Flynn to town hall. Mrs. Flynn is the principal at Frankfurt High School. The programs and personnel that Mrs. Flynn and her staff have worked diligently and passionately to put
002in place is the reason she is appearing on the last installment of the 2024 2025 town hall episodes this year. Mrs. Flynn, welcome to Town Hall. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. Great to have you. I'd like to know, let's tell our viewers, next year's a big year for high schools in Indiana as they begin the implementation of the new diploma tracks. Can you kind of share with the viewers a little bit about why that's such a big deal next year? Of course. The biggest change to the new Indiana high school diploma is a move away from a single core 40 diploma to a base diploma with a system of readiness seals. This base diploma will have a minimum requirement for all students with the option to earn seals dist demonstrating readiness for higher
003education, the workforce, or the military service. Students also have more personalized electives to choose from, encouraging them to align their coursework with specific goals. Um, you and your counseling team recently uh had a parent meeting with eighth grade parents and uh what was the turnout like for the meeting and will you continue to to host this annual meeting with eighth grade incoming nth grade parents? Absolutely. We deeply value the partnership between Frankfurt High School and our families. Our recent eighth grade orientation and parent night was very well attended and it provided a great opportunity to connect with our incoming families. During the event with a Spanish-speaking translator, we also shared important updates about diploma changes and what those mean for our students. We also reviewed expectations around attendance, behavior, and academic opportunities throughout our many
004pathways at Frankfurt High School. Parents worked alongside their children to review course options and build class schedules for the upcoming school year. And we do plan to continue hosting this veryformational and successful event annually. Additionally, we're also excited to introduce our students and parents to the Pathways program, which is a helpful tool that allows parents to monitor their child's progress towards graduation and to assist with course selection. Uh, Mrs. Flynn, recently at the school board, the school board approved a PE flexibility waiver for Frankfurt High School students next year. Why is this waiver so important? Mhm. It's a really significant step forward because it allows students at Frankfurt High School to personalize their high school experience while still meeting the state requirements by recognizing extracurricular physical activities like athletics or marching band or other approved
005programs as fulfilling the one semester requirement of PE credit. They gain greater flexibility in their schedules. Um, this enables our students to pursue additional academic coursework or elective courses that are aligned with their college and career goals. And if we do have any interested eighth grade students, they should see their guidance counselor um to for a form to complete or they can visit the Frankfurt High School website um to find one of the forms under student services if they would like to have their participation in an approved program fulfill their PE requirement. Just one of the many exciting things that are getting ready to take place here. We're going to break for a moment for Frankfurt or Farley's Frankfurt fun facts. And when we come back, you'll hear more about the great things happening here
006at Frankfurt High School. Welcome back to another episode of Farley's Fun Facts. It's May and that means Frankfurt's about to graduate a lot of seniors. In fact, we're about to graduate 260 seniors. I thought it'd be nice to share with you what our seniors plan to do after high school. About 43% of our seniors plan to go to a 4-year college or university, while another 30% are going to a two-year college or trade school. The other 20% going into the workforce, and finally, we have 7% of our students going to the military to serve our country. That's all for Farley String for fun facts. Have a great day, hot dogs. Welcome back to the May town hall with today's guest, Mrs. Jennifer Flynn, the principal at Frankfurt High School. Mrs. Flynn, let's talk about programs
007and and leaders that you've put in place to uh run those programs, what is the IC and all and although all high schools must offer it in Indiana, why is it unique here at Frankfurt High School? Mhm. The ICC stands for the Indiana College Corps and it is a statewide initiative that enables high school students to earn 30 college credit hours, which is the equivalent of one full year of college prior to their high school graduation. The program is designed to ensure students are academically prepared for post-secary education and that their credits transfer seamlessly to public colleges and universities throughout the state of Indiana. And while all Indiana high schools are required to provide access to the Indiana College Corps, Frankfurt High School distinguishes itself through a robust student centered approach. Frankfurt High School already
008has an extensive selection of dual credits, advanced placement courses, and also dual credits through our CTE, our career and technical education courses that are all aligned with the ICC. And what sets us apart is that all dual credit courses are taught in person by our own credentialed teachers, which eliminates the need for online instruction um and providing our students with direct access to expert educators. And in addition to that, our student services team provides individualized academic advising to help our students thoughtfully plan out their coursework and successfully achieve the full 30 credit hours of college credit. So that in combination of in-person instruction with our faculty commitment and personalized support really makes Frankfurt High School a leader in imple implementing the Indiana College Corps and maximizing its impact for our students. Thank you for help
009distinguishing that of what we're doing so well here Franker High School. So some exciting news. that just broke last week that you and your leadership team here um really put in to receive a grant that is going to kind of in in your words transform uh be transformative for kids here at Frankfurt High School. Can you talk to viewers about the early college network grant that uh you and your staff just received? Absolutely. It's truly an exciting time for Frankfurt High School. We're proud to share that the Frankfurt High School has been selected by the Center of Excellence and Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis to join the Rural Early College Network 2.0. And the opportunity comes as a part of a prestigious $10 million education innovation and research grant from the US
010Department of Education. And it's through Reckon, too, that Frankfurt High School joins 20 other rural high schools across the state and implementing um or expanding the early college high school programs. And for us, for Frankfurt High School, that means that we look to expand our opportunities for students to earn college credit beyond the Indiana College CP or beyond just the freshman block of credits that they can earn. And we're hopeful in offering our students an associates degree in partnership with IvyTech through this grant. And so that just means that more of our students will graduate with a significant head start toward college or career training. And for parents and students, that translates to a huge cost savings in college tuition. And so that's a really big deal. And what makes the partnership especially meaningful is
011the comprehensive support it provides. will receive mentorship from early college schools, um collaborate with peer educators and have access to enhanced professional development for dual credit teachers and for our counselors. And this initiative is not just about coursework. It's also about building a collegegoing culture, making higher education more accessible for students who may need additional support um to reach those goals. And all students, no matter their path, um whether it be to join the workforce, the military, or post-secary education, will benefit um from this opportunity. And as I've said before, the Recken 2.0 grant will be such a transformative opportunity for our students and for our school community. So, we're incredibly grateful for the leadership of our teachers here at Frankfurt High School and the support from Cell and Reckon and the chance to build
012a long-term um impact for Frankfurt High School through this partnership. I think what's uh exciting about this is it's it's increasing. It'll help increase the number of kids going to college. But, uh you guys are are looking at all kids here. We we uh we've got all kids who come in, they take different paths, and next year we're offering a an alternative program that Frankfurt High School has never offered before. Um kind of paired up with our virtual academy and the alternative school. They're they're separate, but they'll kind of work together. So, can you kind of tell our viewers about that exciting program that you'll put in place next year? Of course. So, at Frankfurt High School, we recognize that the traditional in-person school day doesn't work for every student all the time. Um, whether
013it's due to academic challenges, attendance concerns, health issues, or behavioral needs, no matter what, we're committed to meeting students where they are and helping them succeed. And that's why we're excited to introduce expanded programming in addition to the Frankfurt Virtual Academy through the Frankfurt Academy, our newly developed in-person alternative education option. And the Frankfurt Academy is designed to be a flexible, supportive environment where students can recover credits and continue progressing towards graduation um through structured in-person sessions. The program uses online courses which are aligned with the Indiana academic standards and are fully accredited ensuring that the students receive meaningful credits that count towards their high school diploma. Um, so they can attend in person during the morning or the afternoon sessions to complete their coursework. And each student receives individualized attention and support from a
014licensed Frankfurt High School teacher who's available Monday through Friday um during school hours and students and families engage in an intake process and they sign a contract to ensure that the goals and expectations are clear and aligned. Um, under the leadership of Mrs. Coral um who's done a fabulous job with the Frankfurt Virtual Academy. Um we'll be working in collaboration with her, our school counselors and administrators and support staff and building a strong foundation for our students who need an alternative route to graduation at Frankfurt High School. And so the Frankfurt Academy is not just a credit recovery program. It's a commitment to our belief that learning is for everyone and every student deserves a path to success that works for them. So students and parents who are interested in attending Frankfurt Academy or the
015Frankfurt virtual program can complete an application that's found on on our website on the Frankfurt High School website. And with all this, are you adding any new staff in order? So this this is what's so impressive about this with with uh looking at kind of where uh we are with tuition support and being able to uh you know next year. Are you adding any new staff to be able to do all this? I was up for the challenge. Somehow we were able to uh miraculously make it work with our current existing staff that we have. Um and we feel it's really important to have a great fit for the staff members working with our students in the alternative um program like a Frankfurt Academy. Um and so we handpicked them and they're kind of going
016through some training already and working with Mrs. Horl um in preparation for next year. Uh, so we're very excited to welcome our our current teachers to also help us out with Frankfurt Academy. You bet. You know, everything rises and falls with leadership. You've got a lot of great programs in place. Can you share with the viewers some new leaders in the realm of athletics who will be in place uh next school year? Absolutely. Everything rises and falls on leadership and that's a principle that resonates deeply within the Frankfurt High School athletic community. Um, as we prepare to honor and to thank Mr. Kne House for an extraordinary 42 years of service as our athletic director, we reflect on his powerful legacy um that he leaves behind. And so his dedication and impact have been the
017foundation to hot dog athletics and the shoes um will certainly be tough to fill. Um but looking forward, we're thrilled to welcome Mr. Jeff Irwin as the new athletic director for Frankfurt High School. And Jeff brings over 20 years of resultsdriven experience in athletic leadership. Um he's a double graduate of Purdue University. Boiler up. Yes. And he has led programs at Southmont, Western Boon, Lawrence Central, and Babcock Neighborhood High School from the ground up there, which is in Florida. Uh his accomplishments are extensive. He's secured a record setting $500,000 corporate sponsorship. Yeah. He's managed 20 major athletic facility projects while he was at Purdue. And he was also uh he also led a team to a 5A state football championship and he co-authored the Indiana Interscolastic Athletic Directors Association inaugural strategic plan. So we look
018for Jeff's vision um to be key as we begin a new chapter in Hot Dog Athletics. Um, so we're excited to have our new athletic director on board and we're equally as excited to welcome Mr. Justin Kinsey who will be joining our athletic leadership team as well as the new head football coach. Um, Mr. Kinsey has gotten off to a great start already this semester with us. Yeah, he's been in the classroom out in the spring in the the spring football outside. Absolutely. He's been out there. He's already hit the ground running. um and his coaching experience in some larger diverse school districts across Indiana and Michigan are welcoming. He brings a fresh energy um and a connection to our student athletes. And so he's quickly built a great rapport with our players um and
019increased participation as well and kicked off that spring ball with some enthusiasm. And right now he still has their first fundraiser underway. Um so check our our social media for that if you'd like to be able to support our football players. but his passion and initiative are setting the tone uh for a promising season ahead. And so the next piece of the puzzle in our athletic athletic leadership is hiring our new girls basketball coach. So stay tuned for that. Okay. And as we enter the Monon Athletic Conference, the momentum is really building and so hot dog athletics are on track for success and we couldn't be more excited about the future of our hot dog sports. Great to hear. Thank you, Mrs. Flynn. Is there anything else that you'd like to share with the viewers?
020I know we've got a graduation ceremony coming up after Memorial Day. First time in a little while it's been after Memorial Day on May 31st at 10:00 a.m. Can be viewed on Who's Your Land TV courtesy of the Hot Dog Network. Anything else that you want to add with that or anything else happening here at the end of the year. So, we're thrilled to invite everyone to celebrate the class of 2025 at our graduation ceremony, as you said, on May 31st at 10:00 a.m. Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. and we encourage families and friends to arrive early. And this year, we're excited to start a new tradition, the cap toss in front of Case Arena. Yeah. And that'll follow the ceremony, weather permitting. And to help us with this special moment um with drone
021footage and with photographs, we kindly ask that parents and families and friends remain behind the concrete pylons as students recess out. So, we can't wait to celebrate the incredible achievements of the class of 2025. Well, well, thank you, Mrs. Flynn, Hot Dog Nation. I hope you enjoyed getting to know more about the great people and programs in place to provide excellence to every student every day here at Frankfurt High School. Thank you, Mrs. Flynn, for sharing information about your high school programs and staff. I think uh we expect to see some great things happening here at Frankfurt High School next year that will set our high school graduates up for post-secary success. Thank you for your leadership and your vision uh and your role here as the principal at Frankfurt High School. Signing off from
022the Hot Dog Network at Frankfurt High School. Have a wonderful day and enjoy roaming with Roa at Frankfurt Middle School. Thank you. Welcome to uh this session of Roaming with Road. I'm at Frankfurt Middle School. We're here in May at the end of the year. I'm going to be meeting with eighth graders and I'm going to be asking them what they are looking forward to the most about going to the high school next year and then what they're going to miss most about Frankfurt Middle School. So enjoy this session. This is Brenda, principal of Frankfurt Middle School. Mrs. Brenda, I'm going to be asking your kids here in a little bit, your eighth graders about what they're looking forward to about the high school next year and then what they're going to miss about the
023middle school. What do you think they might say to me today? So, I've actually I've been asking them this during lunch recently. They are scared to death right now to go to the the high school because they're afraid about new friends and things like that. It's a normal things, I think. I think they'll miss the house system. Okay. So, I'd like to know if I'm right, so you let me know. Okay. All right. I will. Thank you very much. Have a seat right here. You're on roaming with Roa. What's your name? Manuel Madera, but I go by Manny. Manuel. Now, are you of the Madera family that has uh that that plays in the band? And Okay. Brother. Oh, that's your brother. All right. You guys are talented crew. Yeah. Yeah. What I'd like to
024ask you today is uh what are you most looking forward to about going to the high school next year? And then what are you going to miss about Frankfurt Middle School? Yeah. I'm looking forward to uh to the new start to the new chapter in my life. You know, always a big difference going into high school from middle school. And I'm going to miss for sure uh probably the teachers here at middle school. It's they're all nice and it's just a good good Yeah. Good place. these Maderas. It's a sharp family right here. All right. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Hey, Preston. What are you looking forward to about the high school next year as an eighth grader? And what are you going to miss about the middle school? One thing I'm looking forward
025to the high school is meeting new people and having fun. Okay. And what are you going to miss about Frankfurt Middle School? Um, probably the teachers as well. The teachers. Okay. Thank you, Preston. I'm looking forward to learning new instruments in the band class. Ah, with Mr. Hutton. That's right. My family's a big band family. Okay. Well, you're you're going to be impressed. And then what are you going to miss about the middle school? My teachers. Your teachers. All right. Thank you, Liam. What are you looking forward to about the high school? And what are you going to miss about the middle school? Probably sports. Sports at the high school. Okay. All right. What sports do you play? Uh, basketball and track. Basketball and track. And what are you going to miss about the middle
026school? Uh, probably my teachers and sports. Teachers and sports. Thank you very much, Liam. Jacob, what are you looking forward to about the high school? And what are you going to miss about the middle school? The different things at high school is like the new thing that I can learn. Okay. The things I'm going to miss here is like my teachers. Your teachers. All right. Thank you very much. I'm looking forward to the classes and I'm going to miss the teachers. Going to miss the teachers here. Okay. Thank you. Well, what I'm looking forward to in next year in the high school is all the classes and all the new teachers that I'm going to meet. All right. And you know, the layout of the whole school. Okay. All right. And what I'm going to
027miss here is just this whole building, the memories I made here and the teachers and my friends that I made along well the way as becoming a middle schooler. It's been a special place here, but it'll be a special place where you're going. So, all right. Thank you. So, I'm definitely looking forward to um new classes. Okay. And uh something I'm going to miss about the middle school is definitely the teachers. Definitely the teachers. Okay. Thank you. I think what I'm really looking forward to is like the new classes and the teachers. Okay. What are you going to miss about Frankfurt Middle School? Probably the teachers as well because they were like pretty good. They were pretty good here, huh? Pretty good or pretty awesome? Pretty awesome. Okay. All right. Thank you. Meeting the new
028teachers like brand new teachers at the high school and then here I'll miss like like the old teachers that were like really nice and stuff. Going to miss the really nice ones here. Do you have any in particular that you're thinking of here? Uh Miss Phelps. Miss Phelps. Okay. Thank you very much. Jacob, what are you looking forward to about Frankfurt High School? Uh, I get to see people that I know. Get to see people that you know. What are you going to miss about Frankfurt Middle School? Probably the teachers. The teachers here. Any teachers in particular? Like Mr. Hickey or Mr. Hindle? Mr. Hickey or Mr. Hindle. Okay. Thank you. Hadley. What are you looking forward to about Frankfurt High School next year? Definitely the learning opportunities and being able to branch out. Okay.
029Um, do you have a particular teacher there that you want to see every day? My mom. Okay, that's what I thought. And what are you going to miss about Frankfurt Middle School? Um, the teachers. The teachers. Do you have any in particular that come to mind? Miss Uitz, um, Miss Clemenso. Okay. There's classes for nursing and I want to be a nurse. Oh, I love it. The CNA classes. That's right. And what are you going to miss about the middle school? Uh, I have to leave some of my friends behind and I have some amazing teachers that I have to leave behind. And who are those teachers? I've got quite a few. Okay. Got a couple that you can name off. I like the nurse. She's really nice to me. Oh, yeah. Yep. She's a
030great lady. Uh, Miss Hamburg. She was nice to me in seventh grade. Okay. Mr. Hickey and Miss Uitz. Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. I'm looking forward the building and the new activities. There is new chances. Oh, new chances. Okay. What are you going to miss about Frankfurt Middle School? Probably the teachers. The teachers. Any teachers in particular? Mr. Hindel and Miss Commens. Okay. All right. What are you looking forward to about the high school next year? Uh, the different opportunities for electives. Okay. I love it. And what are you going to miss about the middle school? Um, it's really hard because there's a couple of things that would be missed. Okay. But more or less probably maybe the easel scheduling and maybe the way classes were put. Okay. So, here at the high
031school it's kind of different. Okay. All right. Well, enjoy your year next year. What are you looking forward to about Frankfurt High School next year? Sports and stuff cuz they sound really fun. Okay. What sports? Uh, color guard, like football and all that. I want to watch like the football games. All right. All right. Sounds good. And what are you uh going to miss about the middle school? The teachers. They're really nice. The teachers. Any teachers in particular? Uh Miss Uitz and Mr. Hayes. All the different opportunities and different courses that they offer at the high school. They offer 24 different pathways there you can choose from. That's right. What are you going to miss about the middle school? Uh probably the house system since we just got it as well as a few teachers.
032Okay. What house system were you in? Uh I'm in Protos. Oh, okay. And which teachers in particular? Uh Miss Uitz. Okay. I'm going to miss her. Abby, what are you looking forward to about the high school next year? The opportunities that we don't get at like the middle school. Like the chances that we don't have here. Okay. And uh what are you going to miss about the middle school? Um the memories along the way. The memories along the way. And I can't believe you're already in high school next year. All right. Congratulations. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the new meeting new people like some of the upper classmen. Okay. And what are you going to miss about the middle school? Um, some of my friends that are in like the younger grades and
033the teachers. Okay. Any teachers in particular? Um, probably like Mr. Henderson and Miss Uitz. Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Emma, what are you looking forward to about the high school next year? Probably student council. Student council. Your second person that said that, so that must have a reputation. And what are you going to miss about the middle school? Um, probably my orchestra teacher, Miss Whitner. Miss Whitner. I'm looking forward to doing more color guard next year. More color guard. What are you going to miss about the middle school? Probably Miss Clementoto. Okay, Miss Clement. Thank you very much. Hey, this is a special session of Roaming with Road. I'm here with Josh Marshall, Frankfurt Middle School assistant principal. He's going to give us a little tour of the new secured entry and new
034office area here at Frankfurt Middle School. So, Mr. Marshall, if you could kind of walk us through. Sure. All right. So, this is the student entrance that you're just coming through now uh into the main office. We've got our secretaries that'll be set up here. Uh off to the right, you'll see a parent waiting area. So, when parents come through a double set of secured entries, uh they'll come through and be buzzed into the first set of four doors into the vestibule. They'll be buzzed in to this single door as well, which brings them into the office. They'll check in with the secretaries, do what they need to. If a student checks in or a parent needs to go into the building, they have to be buzzed into that door that you walked through originally
035as well. So, we've got, like I said, secretaries here, parent waiting, and then student waiting over here. So, that actually takes us into our counselor wing as well. So, our counselors have access to the students there. uh nice big window for our secretaries to keep an eye on our kiddos while they're waiting for counselors or administration. All right. So, we're really excited about all the changes that are happening. When will you be moving into this area? This summer officially moving in. We've already started putting some furniture in some of the classrooms or in some of the offices, but yeah, this summer officially we'll be in here. Okay. All right. Thank you, Mr. Marshall. We are entering the new auditorium area here at Frankfurt Middle School and uh I have with me uh Paul Crick from
036Tecton. Paul is our construction manager and Paul has been doing amazing job in this project and uh so great to have him. So we're going to take a little tour and Paul is going to kind of go over and talk a little bit about uh each area that we go through from the auditorium to uh the classrooms. Paul, what space are we in here right now in this this kind of hallway? So, this is the new entry corridor u from the athletic hallway into the new addition. So, this will be a collection space um concession areas behind us and this will be the gathering point waiting on the auditorium activities. Uh what room are we entering into here? So, this will be the new band room. Um, this room has one large space with offices
037and ensemble practice rooms as well as three shared single practice rooms with the orchestra room. Okay. So, from the main uh entry hallway, this is just the student access area to the classrooms um with openings into the auditorium. Okay. All right. Thank you. Hi, how are you? All right, we are entering into what what room are we entering into here? This is the new orchestra room. Okay. All right. Where are they going to store all their instruments? So, the the storage are um cabinet units along the walls and then rolling storage for the large bass and cello instruments. And do they have practice rooms in here too? They do. They also have a single fivep person ensemble room and then they share a path corridor with the band room and there's single spaces there. Okay.
038All right. We still have some equipment in this room, but this will soon be which room will this one be? This will be the choir room. And again, it has it's its own or office for the teacher and then practice rooms for the students as well. It looks amazing in here. Can you just kind of share with the the viewers what uh what kind of setup we have here and what this space will be used for and uh up front here? Yeah. So, this space here with the two-tone gray floor, um this is a telescoping seating area, uh roughly um 500 seats that's a collapsible bleacher system to allow uh the bleachers to collapse. So, have a large functional space for other activities uh the school needs. Up in the front we have fixed seating
039um 100 fixed seats ADA accessible uh locations uh for wheelchair um necessities and then behind that is the stage area. Okay. All right. Thank you. Well, viewers, I hope you enjoyed today's uh roaming with Roa with the kids and what they're going to do next year, looking forward to next year at Frankfurt High School, what they're going to miss about the middle school. Interesting, is it that it's it's always about people and they're going to miss the teachers here more than anything else. It's about our connections that we have uh with each other. So, it was great to hear from the kids. And I thank you Paul Crick from Tecton for giving us a tour of the new auditorium and Mr. Marshall for giving us a quick tour of the front office here at Frankfurt
040Middle School. Signing out. Roaming with Roa. Thank you.