Message From The Superintendent - June 2025

Greetings! 

We hope everyone is doing well.

We wanted to welcome two new people to the Portage DD team.

We wanted to announce our newest Tech Mentee.  Giselle Meriwether started on Thursday, May 15.  Giselle has a Web Design & Development Certificate from Cuyahoga Community College.  She has worked part-time at Amazon since 2017. Welcome and congratulations, Giselle!

We just hired Kent State intern Isa Eldridge.  Isa will be assisting with a video project and possibly some other things. She is a Media Production Major at Kent State.  She is the current director at Kentcore.  She is also a music coordinator and radio host on Black Squirrel Entertainment, where she interviews and promotes local musicians.  Congrats, Isa, and welcome! 

We also recognized Alex Lomicka for her new job at OACB as their Advocacy Coordinator at our May board meeting.  Alex was a Tech Mentee previously at Portage DD.  Congratulations Alex!

We had our First Family Fun Day for our Early Intervention Program.  Jessica Howiler, the Early Intervention Supervisor, said this about the event.  “We hosted our first Early Intervention Family Fun Day here at HDS on the playground last Friday.  We had 25 families and 40+ kids!  We partnered with Help Me Grow to offer developmental screeners and milestone information.  There were 10 community resources/partners to share how they can assist families in our county.  We had a balloon artist, face painter, coloring craft, pots for kids to plant flowers to take home, and kiddie pools with ball pit balls!  The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a wonderful time!  Special thanks to the EI group, Melissa Marzec, and her crew, Nick, Brian, Rick, Chrissy, and Tim!  It was a team effort, for sure! We are looking forward to our next Family Fun Day!”  Thank you, Early Intervention Team.

We are also excited that our Portage DD Trailblazer camp will be held at the Happy Day Services building.  The camp will run for seven weeks, from June 9 to August 1.  The kids will take a break for the week of the 4th of July.  We will have 48 campers a week, and we have partnered again with The Akron Rotary Camp to make this another memorable summer for the kids.  Thank you, Akron Rotary!

Believe in People!

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU.

Sincerely,

John Vennetti