Recent and upcoming changes Talawanda students can expect this year

As new and returning students walk the halls of Talawanda Schools again this year, there are some recent and upcoming changes they can anticipate.

Kindergarten enrollment

Although overall kindergarten enrollment is down compared to last year, it has increased at Bogan Elementary this year, according to data provided by Talawanda Director of Communications and Public Engagement Holli Hansel.

Last year, combined kindergarten enrollment at Bogan, Kramer and Marshall elementary schools was 185 students. As of Aug. 17, kindergarten enrollment at the three schools was 176. 

According to Hansel’s data as of Aug. 17, kindergarten enrollment at Bogan Elementary was 56 students last year and 71 this year. 

Talawanda Board of Education members voted to reassign a teacher from Marshall Elementary to Bogan Elementary during a meeting on Aug. 13 to accommodate the additional students. Board members also voted to hire an additional kindergarten teacher at Kramer Elementary due to last-minute enrollments, Hansel said in an email to the Oxford Free Press.

Still, Superintendent Edward Theroux told the Oxford Free Press in an email on Aug. 18 the district was still accepting enrollment and had not yet received any withdrawals, so an overall headcount for the district will be unavailable until mid-September. The final district headcount for the 2025-26 academic year was 2,878 students, according to Hansel.

Nursing programs

For Talawanda High School students, a new certified nursing aide program in partnership with Butler Tech is available.

The program started this year during the spring 2026 semester and has since expanded to offering two sections in both the fall and spring, according to Hansel.

Juniors and seniors who participate in the program can attend courses on the Talawanda High campus during the spring or fall semester, receive a certificate and be eligible to enter a new licensed practical nurse (LPN) program that opened this fall.

The LPN program is open to seniors and takes a year to complete for students to earn their LPN license.

Originally, the program was advertised as requiring one semester at Talawanda High and one at Butler Tech to complete, but now all requirements can be completed in-house, Hansel said.

“What we know is that there is a huge need out there in hospitals for both of these roles,” Hansel said. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer a program in-house (in partnership) with Butler Tech, and then (students) can graduate and can go right out into the workforce, and it’s a pretty good-paying job.”

New staff

Hansel said the school district has been “hiring like crazy” compared to the past decade and needed to fill at least nine to 11 positions left open by retiring staff from the end of the 2025-26 academic year. 

Altogether, Talawanda is welcoming 39 new staff members this year, according to Hansel.

Hansel said the new hires have roles such as educational assistants, monitors and teachers.

“We do have a lot of new people that we’re welcoming into the district,” Hansel said. “I was pleased to see that we have some folks who are actually Talawanda grads who are staying around the community and now have entered into the teaching profession.”

Hansel said it was “lovely” to think people who received their K-12 education at Talawanda Schools “think highly of the community” enough to make it their home and teach in the district.

Both Talawanda Middle School and Kramer Elementary School will also have new principals this year, although the administrators are not new to the district.

Cell phone policy

This academic year is only the second to follow the launch of the statewide-mandated cell phone policy for public schools.

The budget bill signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, making appropriations for Fiscal Year 2026-27, House Bill 96, prohibits the use of cell phones in schools other than for instruction and requires school districts to adopt a policy by Jan. 1.

The Talawanda School District encourages students to leave cell phones, smartwatches and other communications devices at home or in lockers, cubby holes or backpacks and turn them off. 

There are some exceptions for students with medical needs and safety issues. Parents and guardians are also encouraged to communicate with their children by calling the main office.

The first time a student is caught with a device, they’re given a warning and asked to put it away. The second time, the device is confiscated and parents must pick it up, according to Hansel.

According to Talawanda High Principal Scott Davie, implementation of the policy went “well” among students during the 2025-26 academic year, with just 28 students receiving consequences for violations.

Hansel said of the policy being implemented, “We were surprised at how well students complied.”

“The first couple weeks, certainly there were some hiccups here and there – kids forgot – but for the most part, we really felt like that was implemented very successfully,” Hansel said. “I had several kids tell me that it’s a great break for them, that without the phone there as a distraction … they are more engaged, and with it not being there in their pocket or out on their desk or whatever, they’re not feeling compelled to pick it up and scroll.”

Hansel said the school district was hoping face-to-face engagement between students would also increase, which she saw happening at Talawanda High as more students talked to each other while walking the halls.

She said Davie also started allowing students to submit songs they’d like to hear played over the loudspeaker between classes when students were typically checking their phones.

“It’s a fun thing, I think, that the administration at the high school has done for the kids,” Hansel said. “(The students) just seem to be talking and smiling and engaging more, and I think the fact that they are not feeling compelled to check their phones is an added benefit.”

Talawanda Middle construction

Construction should begin on a new entrance for Talawanda Middle School around Thanksgiving break and be completed around Christmas break, Theroux said during the Aug. 13 board meeting.

The board approved awarding a contract to Alpha Construction Indiana, Inc. for the project for  $348,000 in July. Theroux said during the Aug. 13 meeting, while the district originally hoped to have construction completed over the summer, Alpha Construction Indiana is still waiting on materials.

Theroux told the Oxford Free Press following a meeting in April that the district has always had concerns about the school’s entrance, which is original to the school building completed in 1989. The updates will include a new vestibule and doors.