Superintendent

The New Albany-Plain Local Schools (NAPLS) are ever grateful for a community that believes, embraces, and supports the core purpose of our schools - “To create a culture of accountability that achieves the best academic and developmental outcomes for each student.”  This focused purpose enables everyone in our school district to put students first and implement measurable outcomes for continuous improvement that enhance student achievement, student growth, and student well-being as our community expects. 

Successful communities support student achievement in a number of ways and New Albany is no exception. Our school district’s 120 acre learning campus and 80 acre nature preserve is the center of our community and our success directly impacts our quality of life and the economic impact of attracting and retaining businesses as well as residents. More than 5,100 students in grades PK-12 in our care are championed by nearly 700 teachers, administrators and staff, in addition to their parents/guardians. Additionally, we value our partnerships with The City of New Albany, Plain Township, the New Albany Company, the New Albany Community Foundation, our civic leaders, the Chamber and its business partners, resident taxpayers, and many others for their support.

This support is evident in our collective achievements. New Albany - Plain Local Schools continued to experience a level of achievement unmatched in 2022-23. The New Albany-Plain Local School District is 1 of 8 school districts out of 607 public school districts in the entire State of Ohio to receive an overall rating of “5 stars” AND “5 star ratings” on ALL report card components measured by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. The report cards for 2023-24 will be issued this fall.

As we plan for our future, the New Albany - Plain Local Board of Education has been working with me and our Treasurer/CFO Rebecca Jenkins with Schorr Architects Inc., Community Design Alliance and Harrison Planning Group since their selection in March, 2024 to envision a campus that could be transformed. Much like the Campus Master Plan completed in 2010 that envisioned the campus as it is today, this updated plan gives us a vision/direction to take us well into the next 30 years.

While we currently serve 5,100 students, we anticipate and must prepare for added growth. The final Campus Master Plan will give the District an enrollment capacity of 7,500.  This plan not only addresses the projected enrollment growth in the next 5-10 years, but it also addresses our current capacity challenges at the elementary levels.

In addition to our work on the physical campus, we continue our efforts to build an inclusive campus culture to allow every student to feel safe, supported, and connected at school, at home, and in our community and where we treat one another with kindness, dignity and respect.  Our Culture of Accountability has been built on the foundation that we are each responsible for our behavior, that we “own” our responses to challenges and circumstances, that we are stronger when we work together, and that we will strive to be better every day. Go Eagles!

Sincerely,

Michael L. Sawyers
Superintendent
sawyers.1@napls.us