Westfall District Superintendent Jeff Sheets is proud that the school district he has led for five years caters to its roots — a rural community — while meeting expectations of all of its stakeholders.
“This district does a very good job of meeting the expectations of the Ohio Department of Education, our community, and our students,” said Sheets. “We have worked really hard to follow those expectations while recognizing the specific needs of our students as they grow up in the Westfall community.”
Sheets has witnessed the progression of technology during his tenure and feels that the technology is working very well.
“All students have either a Chromebook or access to an iPad. In the lower grades students have access to an iPad if the teacher is utilizing technology for a specific lesson,” said Sheets. “I’ve witnessed students using technology for several years now and I feel it is a great tool to enhance the curriculum as presented by the teachers,” continued Sheets. “And our district is always looking for ways to improve but I don’t see any significant upcoming changes.”
Westfall has recently completed an addition to their physical layout with a building that connects the middle and high schools. “It is 62,000 square feet and serves both the middle and high schools with science classrooms, library, kitchen, cafeteria, locker rooms, and media center,” said Sheets. “It also serves the community, and it was important to the school board to have something that the whole community could benefit from.” To that end, the building is available for youth sports, volleyball games, aerobic classes, and will soon feature a weight room with new equipment. “We will explore ways that we can offer the weight room to the community too.”
“In addition, we renovated the existing middle and high schools with new windows, doors, lighting, and HVAC systems, so the middle and high schools have air conditioning for the first time,” Sheets said. “This was completed in the middle of this school year and became operational January 1st.”
The district student enrollment remains steady from year to year. “We haven’t shown any growth. Westfall is a district that has seen no new housing developments for several decades.”
Westfall does offer open enrollment. When asked about how funding works for open enrollment, Sheets explained that the district receives the State funding for each child enrolled but does not receive the property tax from families not in the school district. Open enrollment applications and guidelines are available at https://www.westfall.k12.oh.us/page/enrollment
Sheets is retiring from leading the Mustangs on July 31. “Jason Fife, the current high school principal, will begin taking the reins this summer and I will be there to help with the transition,” said Sheets.
Westfall students have received both academic and athletic awards during this school year. Emily Clark, Director of Communications, provided the following list of awards that showcase Mustang talent:
• Crystal Candlish placed first in the Rotary International Four-Way Test Speech Competition and will be advancing to the District Competition later this month.
• Lauren Barnes and Christina Gardner, two members of Business Professionals of America, placed first in the State for the Presentation Team and will advance to the National Competition in May.
• Several members in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program have excelled at agriculture competitions.
The music department performed Anastasia the Musical and showcased student artistic talents.
• Paige Weiss was named Girls Golfer of the Year.
• Bryce Wickline won the McGaffney Award for football.
• Brody Clark was named SVC Player of the Year for basketball.
• Gage Bolt was awarded the Pharr Award for wrestling.
“We have a large social media following on both Facebook and Twitter that highlights our student success and the innovative teaching methods our teachers use in the classroom to keep the students engaged in a fun learning environment,” said Clark.
By the Numbers
Student Enrollment: 1,345
Attendance Rate: 92.5%
4-year Graduation Rate: 93.2%
Number of schools: 3
Teacher average years of experience: 12
(Source: reportcard.education.ohio.gov and confirmed by Sheets)
Ohio School report card Overall rating: 3 stars
(Source: Ohio Department of Education)
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