SW Insider

When does school start? When are open houses?

Each July as summer begins to fade and families encounter a number of back-to-school reminders in the news, the press is on for information regarding the upcoming school year.

To help answer some of these pertinent questions, the South-Western City School District (SWCSD) has assembled a rolling 2022-2023 Back-to-School FAQ for families!

Start dates and times

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 24, 2022, for grades 4-12. 

Students in grades K-3 follow a staggered start schedule: 

• Kindergarten-3^rd grade students 
  • (Last names A-G) attend August 24 only 
  • (Last names H-O) attend August 25 only 
  • (Last names P-Z) attend August 26 only 

Combined, daily kindergarten, first, second, and third-grade classroom schedules begin on August 29. 

Start Times:

• Elementary Schools: 
  • School Day: 8:20 a.m. – 2:40 p.m.
• Intermediate Schools:
  • School Day: 9:10 a.m. – 3:55 p.m.
• Middle Schools: 
  • School Day: 9:10 a.m. – 3:55 p.m.
• High Schools: 
  • School Day: 8:00 a.m. – 3:20 p.m.
• South-Western Career Academy: 
  • School Day: 7:55 a.m. – 3:02 p.m.

First Day for the South-Western Special Needs and Peer Model Preschool Program

All Students in our Preschool program (at all of our locations) will follow the following staggered start schedule: 

• (Last names A-M) attend August 29 only 
• (Last names N-Z) attend August 30 only

All Preschool students are to resume their regular schedule on Sept 1.

Schedule for Preschool:

Monday – Thursday:  AM session 8:30am – 11:15am, PM session 12:15pm – 3:00pm

Preschool Locations:  Preschool Center (Haughn Road), Alton Hall, Bolton Crossing, Bostic Center, East Franklin, Harmon, Prairie Norton, Stiles, and Stiles Family Resource Center.

For more information about the South-Western Preschool, please visit: https://swpc.swcsd.us/  

I have tried contacting my child’s building and cannot get ahold of anyone. When will staff return?

All building administrators return August 1st and most building secretaries return by August 9th.

Have questions in between? Be sure to see the enrollment information below or contact the district service center at 614-801-3000 and we will be happy to assist you.

I have not enrolled my child for school yet. How do I enroll my child?

New and re-enrolling student enrollments are processed digitally. Once the Student Enrollment Center (SEC) receives a completed online application, an enrollment specialist will contact you. 

All students must be enrolled in the district prior to attending classes at any SWCSD location. 

If you have moved since last school year, the change of address process is available on our website at: www.swcsd.us/ChangeofAddress.aspx

Enrollment Steps

Click here

Step 1: Verify your address at https://www.croppermap.com/swcsohiov2/  

Step 2: Complete the online registration form for your child at www.swcsd.us/StartEnrollment.aspx

To enter kindergarten, a child must be five-years-old by September 30. 

Step 3: Once the SEC receives a completed online application, an enrollment specialist will contact you to finalize the enrollment process. 

My child’s Chromebook was collected at the end of last school year. Will they get one this year?

After several years of heavy use due to expanded learning models, the district collected Chromebooks in May to repair, push updates, and replace different grade-level bands of Chromebooks at the end of their product lifecycle.

In the first week of school, the building technology teams will redistribute Chromebooks to students in late August.

Meal costs for 2022-2023

Students planning to purchase breakfast and lunch through the school cafeteria can plan ahead by seeing what is available on the 2022-2023 Breakfast and Lunch menus on our website: www.swcsd.us/BreakfastLunchMenus.aspx.

This past March, the federal school meal waiver that previously made it possible to offer free meals for school districts nationwide were not extended as a part of the recently passed, federal Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

What does this mean for school meals next year?

The federal waiver that made school breakfast and lunch at no cost to families expired June 30, 2022. Due to this Federal change, all meals will return to full pay for the 2022-2023 school year. To place money in student(s) accounts to purchase breakfast and lunch, please visit the following link:www.swcsd.us/StudentLunchAccounts.aspx

Households may qualify for free or reduced-price meals by completing a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application. Parents/guardians must only complete one application per household. Completing the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application has many benefits for households along with many benefits that extend for our students while in school. Parents/guardians who may qualify for free and reduced-priced meals are strongly encouraged to complete a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application.

Parents/guardians who may qualify for Free and Reduced Meal prices are required to complete a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application in order to be eligible. Free and Reduced Meal prices afford several district and external benefits for students.

Parents can complete the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application online through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal under the ‘More’ tab at http://portal.swcsd.us. Paper applications are also available in all school buildings, the Student Enrollment Center, and at the Food Services Department. Your child’s application is only good for one school year and the first few days of the start of the next school year.

Thus, applications must be completed every year.  More information is available here.

Building Open House and Schedule Pick-up Dates (Click here)

When can my student get their schedule? Will there be an open house at my child(ren)’s school and when will that be? Head to the link above for dates, times, and more information.

Reminder: Update Emergency Contact Information in Infinite Campus

Keep your family and emergency contact information up-to-date using the Infinite Campus Parent Portal to be sure you receive text, phone, and email updates!

Infinite Campus (IC) is the District’s Internet-based student information system. Important features of IC are the Parent Portal and Mobile App:  Campus Parent and Campus Student. In the parent portal, parents are able to access their child’s information, such as class schedules, attendance, academic reports, transportation information and coursework as well as pay fees and put funds in their child’s food service account.

Parents can also designate how and where they wish to receive emergency communications, attendance calls, general announcement messages, and e-mail messages from teachers, the school, and the school district. New accounts need an activation key.  Parents and students each have a unique activation key that will be included in the back-to-school letter being sent to homes the 2^nd week of August.  Be sure to save the letter if you have not yet set up your portal account.  If you have a portal account, your username will be included in that letter.

To create an IC account, please go to: www.swcsd.us/OnlineAnnualInformationUpdate.aspx

If you already have an IC account, please update your emergency contact information at: www.swcsd.us/OnlineAnnualInformationUpdate.aspx

Click here for directions on setting up your Parent Portal.

Back to School Immunization Requirements

All students entering 7th grade are required as prescribed by Ohio Revised Code ORC 3313.671 to be vaccinated with one (1) dose of meningococcal vaccine prior to the start of the school year. All students entering the 12th grade are required to be vaccinated with two (2) doses of meningococcal vaccine prior to the start of the school year. Parents must provide proof of the meningococcal immunization to their child’s middle or high school on or before the first day of school in August.

School Fees and Athletics Fees

School Fees:

Student Instructional Fees have been reduced to $10 per student for the 2022-2023 school year and are payable online!

• High school students may have additional course fees. These are noted on student schedules.
• Upon acceptance into South-Western Career Academy programs, letters will be sent home listing lab fees and uniform costs.

*To pay school fees online, visit www.swcsd.us/SchoolFees.aspx

Athletic, Band and Club Fees:

Earlier this year, the Board of Education approved the following fees for participation in athletic programs, marching band, and clubs as noted below:

Click here for the 2022-2023 Pay-to-Participate Guidelines and deadlines.

Board of Education Approved Pay-to-Participate Fees per individual for the 2022-2023 school year ONLY are:

• Middle School Athletics and Cheerleading – $37.50 per sport
• High School Marching Band – $50
• High School Athletics and Cheerleading – $75 per sport
• In the Know, Student Council, Key Club, Mock Trial and Dance Team – $5 per club

NOTE: There is a Family Cap of $500  ($250 per school year)

The Success Beyond the Classroom (SBC) Foundation was created to raise and award scholarship monies to South-Western City School District (SWCSD) students to help offset the cost of participation fees (P2P) for athletics and marching band. Participation fees for middle school and high school athletics and marching band were instituted during the 2009-2010 school year. The fees are applied to each student, per activity, with a cap per family.

SBC scholarships are awarded in varying amounts, covering up to 75% (maximum) of the corresponding participation fee. Students can apply for a SBC scholarship by completing an application and returning it to their school’s athletic director or mailing it directly to SBC before the established due dates indicated on the application.

Click HERE for the 2022-2023 Success Beyond the Classroom Scholarship Application.

SBC Application deadlines for the 2022 – 2023 school year:

• June 30, 2022 – Marching Band  SBC Applications Due
• July 28, 2022 – Fall Sports SBC Applications Due
• November 3, 2023 – Winter Sports SBC Applications Due
• March 2, 2023 – Spring Sports SBC Applications Due

Transportation Information

Students eligible for transportation services from the South-Western City School District will receive student-specific school bus route and bus stop information in the mail approximately 7-10 days before school starts. Please keep this letter in a safe place as it also contains your Infinite Campus Parent and Student Portal log-in information.

Please notify your child’s school of any change of address or childcare changes before school starts and file a change of address form with the Student Enrollment Center. Due to late enrollments and bus route changes, please allow flexibility during the first week of school. Pick-up and drop-off times may fluctuate by 10-15 minutes as students, families, and drivers get acclimated to new routes.

Parents are reminded that during the first few weeks of school, stop times may vary substantially.

High School (Grades 11 & 12) Opt-In Information

In an effort to continue to fully utilize all of our school buses, we ask the parents of 11th and 12th-grade students to reserve their child’s seat on the bus by filling out the Opt-In form found in the Transportation Services area of the District website or by Downloading the Form Here. 

Title 1 Resources

Title I is the federal government’s largest investment in elementary and secondary education and has been continually funded since the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 currently authorizes Title I. The expressed purpose is “to ensure all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach proficiency on challenging academic achievement standards.”

The South-Western City School District Title I program accomplishes this purpose through funding comprehensive and supplemental school-based services and district-level components that complement the District’s improvement plan and initiatives. In addition to fiscal planning and accountability, the State and Federal Programs Office is charged with providing technical assistance for program compliance for schools and the District. For more information on our State and Federal programs, please visit: www.swcsd.us/StateandFederalPrograms.aspx

School Supply Lists

A common question we get from families during July and August is “Where can I find a school supply list?”

As noted above in the fees section, school fees cover any and all school supplies needed for the school year so there are no school supply lists beyond these items. Beyond what the school provides in terms of supplies, we recognize that families often want to purchase other items for their students such as backpacks, additional binders, etc.

Resources: