On Friday, Nov. 4, Mayfield City Schools hosted superintendents from across the country to explore new learning initiatives which emphasize time management and flexibility.

Superintendents were divided into two groups, both of which were greeted by principal Jeff Legan. He began by offering a short presentation explaining the district’s initiatives and then invited the superintendents to talk to students and teachers in both Option spaces.

Legan thought the event left a good impression on the superintendents and chief academic officers. “[They] were thoroughly impressed with the various learning modalities that we offer our students, and more importantly the quality of instruction that takes place within each of these modalities,” Legan said.

According to Legan, the purpose of the event was to demonstrate Mayfield’s learning initiatives that have been put into practice over the past five school years. He said, “Overall, I was excited to share all of our learning pathways that our teachers and students helped create. This work began back in 2016 and to reflect on the impact that this has had on our students is rewarding.”

Mayfield Director of Curriculum Dr. Patrick Ward thought the event was a great way to showcase what is happening in the district. He said, “It’s great to network with colleagues across the state, to be able to brag a little about what our teachers and students are doing – it’s been exceptional.”

West Clermont Schools District superintendent Dr. Natasha Adams said that everyone appears aligned in their thinking regarding The Option. She said, “I’m very impressed with the leadership and the vision of the school. It all syncs up — it’s authentic, it’s engaging, it’s real.”

In fact, Dr. Adams plans to bring some teammates to revisit Mayfield. “These are the kinds of ideas we have been percolating on, and it helps to see it. It helps to see the possibilities,” she said.

Granville Exempted Village Schools superintendent Jeff Brown said that he loves the concept of giving students control over their learning. He said, “Seeing it in action has really been enlightening and powerful. We’re excited to implement similar options in Granville.”

Brown believes it is important to give students more agency over their learning. “There’s nothing more important than walking out feeling empowered and having the skill set to manage their own learning,” he said.

Brown is evaluating the implementation spaces similar to The Option spaces in his district. “One of the things I’m wrestling with is that we don’t have these spaces available, so I’m trying to re-envision some of our current spaces and what we could do. The other thing is that we might grow in the future, integrating some of these things into that,” he said.

Hilliard City Schools superintendent Dr. David Stewart said that he is impressed by Mayfield’s willingness to jump in on both feet and do something unique. “What I do know is it is good for kids,” said Dr. Stewart.

According to Dr. Stewart, Hilliard City Schools has yet to implement anything as comprehensive as The Option. He said, “We have things like this in pockets, but nothing where students can really control their entire day.”

The event not only took place at Mayfield High School, but superintendents also visited Mayfield Middle School. They also used the meeting room at the Holiday Inn on Alpha Drive.