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At Madison High School, we encourage the collaboration of projects across disciplines – and one of our most successful cross-discipline collaborations has been between our Spanish and Ecology classes. This spring, these classes teamed up again with funding and partnership from the US. Forest Service, and they constructed a Motus tower on the western side of the school’s roof; this tower system is a program of Birds Canada, which claims it enables a community of researchers, educators, organizations, and citizens to undertake impactful research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. 

Motus is used internationally as a collaborative network of researchers that use automated radio telemetry to simultaneously track hundreds of individuals of numerous species of birds, bats, and insects. This data is used globally by scientists and researchers alike. 

On August 25, Madison students from the Honors Ecology class and World Language Club had the opportunity to attend a field trip to meet visitors from the US Forest Service, as well as a representative from Congressman Joyce’s office and expert dragonfly scientists to learn about Motus tagging and dragonflies. The visiting scientists came from all across the world, from as near as Chicago, DC, and Alabama, and all the way to Colombia. Students watched a bilingual presentation (English and Spanish) slideshow on dragonflies, migration, tagging, and new field research technology before heading out into local parks to capture and tag Green Darner dragonflies. Despite having a team of scientific experts in the field with students, MHS students were the ones to do 100% of the capturing – even with less than ideal dragonfly weather, they were still able to capture and tag a Green Darner dragonfly, the exact species they were learning about. 

Many hands went into the creation and implementation of this project: 

• Auburn & MHS senior Carson Woody, under the guidance of Pat Smith, welded and repurposed a salvaged tower provided by Gabor Enterprises

• Maintenance staff Pat Smith and Greg Haycox

• Staff, students, community members, and local businesses 

“I was just so excited when I was presented with the opportunity to help bring this project to life!” Carson says. “I am incredibly grateful that I was able to work with such helpful staff and collaborate with other students. I had an amazing time working on the tower and was always super happy to come in every day and learn about the process of Motus, the importance of tagging and tracking migratory species, and fabricating a tower that will be long appreciated by researchers and scientists alike!” 

Having projects like these available for our students encourages them to push the boundaries of their everyday learning, allowing them to not only put their daily lessons to work in a real-life situation, but continue to improve our own Madison ecosystem. In addition, the data collected from Madison’s new Motus tower will benefit researchers and scientists around the country! 

Superintendent Angela Smith feels these collaborative projects are one of the best ways to enhance learning and prepare students for college and careers: “When students can see that knowledge does not exist in a vacuum, that it has applications in so many different ways, they can get excited about what they’re learning. This also helps them see different opportunities for careers they can pursue.”

Madison Local Schools was pleased to welcome back guest speaker Reggie Dabbs, as he shared his uplifting message of “Never Give Up!” to each of our school buildings. Mr. Dabbs is an in-demand speaker specializing in school assemblies who helps teenagers meet their problems head-on and overcome them. 

“Today’s generation is facing unparalleled hurts, pressures, and choices,” Mr. Dabbs writes on his website. “If we can heal those hurts, help in times of pressure, and equip students in their choices, we will have better students and a positive school atmosphere… I share with students often, ‘You can’t change your past, but you can change your future.’ With all that students are facing, we must give them hope.” 

During his time at Madison on September 11 and 12, Mr. Dabbs visited all buildings and hosted a community presentation at Madison Middle School, complete with pizza and water that was provided on a first-come-first-serve basis.

This was Mr. Dabbs’ third visit to MLS, with the last being in 2016. He presents his message of hope and overcoming challenges through musical humor and personal life experiences that connect with people of all ages.

Superintendent Angela Smith says, “I am thrilled we were able to bring Reggie Dabbs back to Madison. A lot has happened in the seven years since he was last here – our students have been through so much, and Reggie brings a story of hope to them.” 

Mr. Dabbs’ visit and presentation was generously sponsored by Classic Madison Buick GMC, Northern Ohio Buick GMC Dealers, Madison Bingo Boosters, and the Kiwanis Club of Madison. MLS is thankful for their donations to bring Mr. Dabbs and his message back to our local community.