Celebrating 2024-2025 Highlights and Accomplishments
As Forest Hills School District prepares to welcome students back to school in just over a month, we also want to take a moment to celebrate the enriching, impactful and successful school year that recently came to a close.
During the 2024-2025 school year, students, staff, families and community members all played a major role in creating a supportive environment that helped empower students to find success in and out of the classroom. FHSD is proud to once again earn a Five-Star Rating on the Ohio School Report Card, in addition to top marks from the U.S. News and World Report, Niche.com and others. Those accomplishments are not possible without amazing students, dedicated staff members and a supportive community.
This article is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but simply a look at some of the highlights we were thrilled to celebrate over the course of the school year. When possible, we’ve also provided a link to a social media recognition or other related webpage with additional information.
Student and Group Achievements and Accolades
Students are, rightfully, at the center of everything we do in FHSD. The District’s purpose is to empower each student to achieve personal success every day, and this past year saw students excelling across all schools and grade levels.
National Merit Scholars: Seventeen students from Anderson and Turpin High Schools are recognized for achieving either commended or semifinalist status in the National Merit Scholarship Program in the fall. Four students were selected as finalists in the spring! Leighton Iredale from Anderson and Thanh-Tu Buchholz, Charlie Co and Russell Haussman from Turpin earned the prestigious honor.
Stellar Spellers: Three FHSD elementary students participated in the WCPO Scripps Regional Spelling Bee! Congratulations to Mercer 6th grader Jake S., Maddux 5th grader Zain V., and Sherwood 6th grader Aiden U. (who finished fourth overall in the competition!).
State Champions: Turpin High School saw two student-athletes take home first place in their respective State Championship meets! Swimmer Hayden Meyers placed first in both the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke. Claire Iaciofano earned her second straight track and field state championship in the pole vault.
State Runner-Ups: The Anderson Raptors football team appeared in the Division II State Championship. The team represented their school and community so well on this big stage, and we’re incredibly proud of the dedication the team showed.
Can’t Beat this Band: The Forest Hills Marching Band took their talents all the way to California to perform at a Disneyland parade, showcasing their musical ability and representing the district in a positive way on the other side of the country. Capping off their inaugural season, Forest Hills Bands’ Indoor Performance Ensemble earned 5th place overall at the 2025 WGI Winds and Percussion World Championships, a national competition!
Published Poet: Wilson Elementary 5th grader Brooke DeZarn had a poem published in The Well publication this fall.
Science Fair Excellence: Three projects from Anderson and Turpin High Schools qualified for participation in State Science Day (info under Superintendent Update). Nagel Middle School students Fritz Nixa and Jacob Puckett also qualified for State Science Day, becoming the first Nagel students to ever earn that distinction! A team from AHS went on to earn multiple first place awards!
Future (And Current) Film Stars: Anderson Film earned its most-ever Pig awards in the OINK Film Awards ceremony this spring. The program also received five Emmy nominations from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences this year!
Music to Our Ears: Turpin High School’s Chamber Orchestra earned the highest rating (Superior) for Class A at the OMEA SW Region State Orchestra Contest. At the same competition, Anderson High Schools’ Concert Orchestra received a Superior rating in Class B and the Chamber Orchestra earned a Superior rating in Class A.
High Quality Student Journalism: The Raptor Report, AHS’s student newspaper, was named the 4th/5th best student newspaper in Ohio and was one of only three schools that ranked in the top 10 for both print and website.
Aspiring Educators: Teaching Professions Academy students from Anderson and Turpin High Schools earned several awards at the Educators Rising National Conference, and both schools also performed well at the state level earlier in the year.
Staff, School and District Recognitions
FHSD is proud to be recognized at the local, state and national level across a variety of areas. Our teachers and staff members are also highly celebrated individually, and all staff members play a critical role in making it possible to earn school and district awards and recognitions.
Committed to Service: FHSD students, staff and family members donated more than 14,383 pounds of food and personal care items to IPM Food Pantry in addition to cash donations for the All in Food Drive.
Five-Star School District: FHSD received the highest possible rating of five stars on the Ohio School Report Card.
AP Honor Roll: Anderson and Turpin High Schools were both named Gold schools on the 2024 AP School Honor Roll.
Magnificent Mathematics Instruction: Anderson High School math teacher and department chair Kristen Fouss was named a finalist at the state level for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the highest honor in the nation for math and science teachers. Mrs. Fouss was also separately selected as the Local 12 Educator of the Week!
Top Schools in the State: All six FHSD elementary schools and Nagel Middle School were ranked among the top 9% of schools in Ohio by U.S. News and World Report. Specifically, all elementary schools placed in the top 9% of other elementary schools, and Nagel placed in the top 7% among other middle schools in the state.
Scientific Excellence: The Anderson High School science department earned the Governor’s Thomas Edison Awards for Excellence in STEM Education and Student Research from the Ohio Academy of Science.
Honored by the State: Mercer Elementary teacher, Erinn Cox, was recognized at the Ohio Statehouse as a finalist for the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) for grades K-6.
Best Assistant Principal in Ohio: Mercer Elementary Assistant Principal Kimberly Beard was selected as the 2025 OAESA Outstanding Second-in-Command Administrator!
Please Don’t Stop the Music: FHSD was once again awarded the Best Communities for Music Education recognition from the NAMM Foundation.
Gold Star Honor: Anderson High School English teacher Katie Colonel was named a top 10 finalist for the Gold Star Teacher of the Year out of more than 1,000 nominations.
State-Level Leadership: Maddux Elementary Principal Joy O’Brien was named President-Elect of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA) for the 2025-2026 school year. She will serve as OAESA’s President during the 2026-2027 school year.
Demonstrating Fiscal Responsibility: FHSD once again received the Auditor of State Award for having a “clean” audit report.
Outstanding Niche Ratings: The school district rating website Niche.com awarded FHSD with an overall grade of A this past fall. In areas of teachers and academics, the school district earned an A+ rating, with Clubs & Activities, College Prep, Sports and Administration each earning A grades.
If you made it this far, thank you! There was an awful lot to celebrate from the past school year (and this was just a taste)!
