As the calendar flips over to July, we know many families begin to look ahead to August for important back-to-school information. From frequently asked questions such as ‘When are the Open House dates?’ and ‘When will I be informed of my bus route?’, to numerous annual reminders, we have you covered here in our 2024-2025 Back-to-School FAQ!

See the section headings below for all things South-Western City School District back-to-school.

When is the first day of school?

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 21, 2024 for grades 4-12. Students in grades K-3 follow a staggered start schedule:

Kindergarten through 3rd grade students with…

• Last names A-G will attend August 21 only
  • (will not attend August 22 & 23; will attend again August 26)
• Last names H-O will attend August 22 only
  • (will not attend August 21 & 23; will attend again August 26)
• Last names P-Z will attend August 23 only
  • (will not attend August 21 & 22; will attend again August 26)

Preschool first day: August 26, 2024

Combined, daily kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classroom schedules begin August 26.

Outside of the first day of school, check out our District Academic Calendar webpage by visiting: https://www.swcsd.us/Calendar.aspx

When will Open Houses and Schedule Pick-up Days be held?

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

Open House/Schedule Pick-Up Calendar

We highly encourage students and families to visit Open Houses for schedule pick-up and class assignments to put a name with a face and get to know their teachers personally for the upcoming school year!

While most intermediate, middle, and high school schedule pick-up days occur on August 13th, families unable to attend that day can log into their Infinite Campus Parent Portal account on August 14th (end of day) to find out their child’s teacher or their student’s class schedule for the 2024-2025 school year.

What are the school day start and end 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.

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

I have not enrolled my child for school just 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 and it is required that you update it to start the school year. Visit the following link to begin:

www.swcsd.us/ChangeofAddress.aspx

Enrollment Steps: www.swcsd.us/EnrollmentSteps.aspx  

Step 1: Verify your address at:

https://www.croppermap.com/swcsohiov2/  

Step 2: Complete 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. 

Have the following documents readily available and ready to upload: 

1. A state-issued parent/guardian ID
2. Original birth certificate OR original hospital certificate (with seal) OR original baptismal record (with seal)  OR passport (note, if a passport is used, proof of custody or guardianship is still required)
3. A lease (current and signed by landlord & tenant) OR a deed (signed and recorded) OR home purchase settlement statement (signed by seller and buyer) OR two different utility bills (gas, electric, water, internet, trash) in the parent/guardian’s name dated within the last 30 days
   If you are living with a friend/relative in the SWCSD, you must complete BOTH required forms below: Review the forms carefully.
   Oath of Residence Affidavit by Parent/Guardian Form (If Needed)
   • English
   • Spanish
   • Residency Affidavit by Renter/Owner Form (If Needed)
   • English
   • Spanish
4. Immunization records – Students who are newly enrolled and were born in, resided in, or recently visited a Tuberculosis (TB) endemic country for more than thirty (30) days are required to show proof of a negative TB skin test, prior to being enrolled in SWCSD. (Revised Policy 5312).

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

Where are the supply lists?

All necessary items, unless noted in a higher grade level course description, are supplied by the District. For the 2024-2025 school year, the SWCSD Board of Education has waived the $10 general instructional fee for families so materials will be provided free of charge. For more advanced high school and career-technical course fees, see below for the 2024-2025 fee schedule.

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.

In making those additional purchasing decisions, families are reminded that Ohio has a Sales Tax Holiday for school items coming up in early August!

2024-2025 Food Services meal prices are as follows for breakfasts and lunches.

Athletic and Band Fees:

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

Success Beyond the Classroom Scholarships 

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 2024-2025 Success Beyond the Classroom Scholarship Application. 

**Turn in to the school’s athletic director (high school) or assistant principal (middle school)**

SBC Application deadlines for the 2024-2025 school year:

• June 14, 2024 – Marching Band  SBC Applications Due
• July 26, 2024 – Fall Sports SBC Applications Due
• November 15, 2024 – Winter Sports SBC Applications Due
• February 28, 2025 – Spring Sports SBC Applications Due

What are the new Cell Phone changes in place for this year?

On May 15, 2024, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 250 into law, requiring every school district in Ohio to establish an official policy governing cell phone usage during school hours and aims to minimize student use of cell phones in K-12 schools. As a part of this new law, all public schools in Ohio (to include SWCSD) are expected to adopt revised policies that limit student use of cell phones or personal communication devices (PCD’s). This past June, SWCSD passed its revised policy to be compliant with this new state law.

The inherent goal with this revised electronic device policy is to increase student attentiveness and time on task in the classroom while also reducing the amount of distractions that inhibit learning. Heading into the 2024-2025 school year, students will be expected to have devices on silent mode and out of sight to keep their attentiveness on learning.

Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Supports for Families Resources (Link)

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 login 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 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.

Please do not call the Transportation Department for school bus numbers and/or route information. Contact your child’s school or view the information in Infinite Campus. Parents are reminded that during the first few weeks of school, stop times may vary substantially.

Important: Transportation Opt-in/Opt-out Form

PK-10th Grade Students

Annually, many of our families choose not to ride a school bus to and from school each day, resulting in the need to reserve a seat for each child “just in case” they should choose to ride the bus; therefore, the district is asking all families to complete our new PK-10th grade Transportation Opt-in/Opt-out Form. Please visit the link here to complete the form.

11th/12th Grade Students

In an effort to continue to fully utilize space and maximize efficiencies on 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 at the link here. Please fill out this form if you plan on your 11th/12th grade child using district transportation during the 2024-2025 school year.

StopFinder Mobile App

With the StopFinder Mobile app, families can receive real-time information on the location of their student’s bus by creating their own GeoAlert zones around their student’s bus route. Set up a zone for when the bus enters your neighborhood, the caregiver’s location, when the bus enters the school campus area, or is two stops away…families can set up the fields relevant to their schedule and can track their student’s bus through the secure StopFinder app in the Google Play and Apple App Store.

Prior to the start of school for families who do not have an account set up, you will receive a secure invitation code to your email address on file with your Infinite Campus Parent Portal information.

Read more: https://www.swcsd.us/StopFinder.aspx 

Reminder: Update Emergency Contact Information in Infinite Campus

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, review annual updates and forms, 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 email 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/ParentPortalMobileApp.aspx

If you already have an IC account, please update your emergency contact information at: www.swcsd.us/OnlineAnnualInformationUpdate.aspx Click here for directions to update your Parent Portal.

Back to School Immunization Requirements Grades 7 and 12

All students entering 7th grade are required 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.

I would like to work on the same schedule as my kids or grandchildren. Do you have any job openings or substitute openings?

There is no shortage of opportunity to find a career making an impact in the academic growth of a child right here in the South-Western City School District.

Whether it be as a Student Support Liaison, educational aide, bus driver, or rec center employee, we are hiring for not only these positions, but many more!

Visit our Careers Tab on our website at the link here to get started (click here).