School News

For as long as he can remember, Brandon Wright has been passionate about sports. 

It’s a passion plans to bring to Troy High School as the district’s new athletic director beginning with the 2025-26 school year. 

“I absolutely love sports. I live, breathe and die sports,” said Wright, who was officially approved by the Troy Board of Education at Monday's regular monthly meeting. “Being able to see it grow from behind the scenes that people don’t see, and then on Friday nights, or whenever the event is, just come to fruition is extremely cool to see.” 

Wright will replace Dave Palmer, who will retire at the end of this school year. Palmer has been Troy’s athletic director since 2013. It is a fitting transition, as Palmer’s previous position as the  athletic director at another Miami County School district approximately 8 miles north of Troy inspired Wright, who graduated from that same high school in 2012.

“When I decided to shift into the goal of becoming an athletic director in college, Mr. Palmer was actually one of the main reasons I made that decision," Wright said. "I got to see him work when I was in school, and it really drove me to want to do this job.”

Following high school, Wright earned his undergraduate degree in business and sports management from Ohio Christian University in 2014 and his masters of business administration from Ohio Christian in 2016. He’s been the Circleville High School and Circleville Middle School athletic director since 2021. Prior to that, he was the athletic director at Madison-Plains High School and middle school. 

He said he’s excited about the opportunity to work in Troy and hopes to carry on its rich athletic tradition, while also adding his own spin on things.

“I’m super excited,” Wright said. “The foundation that has been laid here at Troy can only grow. I think we’re in a good spot facility-wise, athlete-wise, coaching-wise. It seems like Troy is ready to take that next step. I am excited to work here and with the people here at Troy.”

Wright said two of his main goals will be improving upon the game-day experience at athletic events, and getting the community more involved in Trojan athletics.

“I would say I’m very technologically savvy,” Wright said. “I like to do some of those techie things. The social media stuff is big. With the game events, I don’t know how everything is run here at Troy, but when you come to a game at my current district, it’s a form of entertainment. We flash the lights, we’re playing music and letting kids dance during timeouts. Just the game environment becomes more of a family event, rather than just kids playing the sport and doing their best to win the game. It kind of creates a little bit of buzz for the crowd and makes people enjoy coming to the event.

“Community engagement is important to me. We love to get the community involved in anything we do. My student athletic leadership team just put on an Easter egg hunt on Sunday. We had about 600 kids come out. The community came out in droves and it was a fun event.”

Wright, his wife Courtney and their two children, Sadie (age 7) and Maggie (age 4), will reside in Troy, where their children will attend the Troy City Schools. 

Troy City Schools Open Enrollment Information for 2025-2026
 

The Troy City Schools Open Enrollment Portal for both interdistrict and intradistrict applications is now open.

Completed forms MUST be submitted with a proof of residency. 

Forms can be completed on line through the links below and will be accepted
until 4:30 p.m. on May 2

Here is the Troy City Schools Interdistrict (K-12 students living outside of Troy
City School District) Open Enrollment Information for 2025-20265:
Interdistrict open enrollment application: Click HERE
Interdistrict administrative guidelines: Click HERE

Here is the Troy City Schools Intradistrict (K-5 movement within the district) Open Enrollment Information for 2025-2026:
Enrollment form: Click HERE
Administrative Guidelines: Click HERE

 

The next two months are going to be big ones for members of the Troy High School Class of 2025. 

There are a number of activities planned between now and graduation day, as well as a number of tasks our seniors need to make sure they get taken care of before then. 

Here is your complete guide 2025 Graduation Guide. We encourage all of our seniors and their families to read this document carefully! 

Click HERE for the guide. 

In a photo-finish race that involved nearly a half-dozen students at the top of the Troy High School Class of 2025, THS senior Jeffrey Smith came from behind with a strong kick in the first semester of the school year to earn valedictorian honors. 

Smith, who was fourth in the class rankings to start the 2024-25 school year, had a fantastic first semester of his senior year to finish with a 4.723 grade point average. Deanna Rohlfs, who finished with a 4.717 grade point average to earn salutatorian honors. Smith earned valedictorian honors by six one-thousandths of a point, one of the narrowest margins in school history. 

“It’s kind of an interesting way that I found out,” Smith said. “I was fourth going into the year, and calculus and my English class were testing me this year, so I was fighting for those As. But I got a 5.0 this semester, so there was a thought in the back of my mind that maybe I could jump a spot, maybe I could jump two. So I emailed my counselor and I was like, ‘I’m going to be applying for scholarships, has my position in the class changed?’ He just typed five words, ‘You are now number one.’ It was crazy. It was just a wild ride this semester.”

The class rankings for seniors are determined by the entirety of their freshmen, sophomore and junior years, as well as the first semester of their senior year.

For Rohlfs, being named salutatorian is a tremendous honor, and she feels gratified knowing her hard work paid off. 

“It felt good, because this is something I worked hard for,” she said. “It’s nice, not even to be recognized, but just knowing within myself that I gave everything I had, and I tried my best. I’m very proud. I know it was bouncing around a little bit, but I knew nothing was set in stone. It’s nice now to have some certainty with where things are standing.”

Both Smith and Rohlfs were quick to credit Troy High School and its teachers for their academic success. 

“There’s no place better than Troy,” Smith said. “The teachers all bring something unique to the table, whether it’s what they are teaching or how they are teaching it. I feel like I am getting a very well-rounded education, and it’s just great to learn here at Troy.”

Rohlfs agreed.

“I’m really grateful that I’ve gone to high school at Troy,” she said. “I could have gone to high school at a bunch of different places, but I’m glad I stayed here, because the teachers are just different here. They really care about their students and they’re invested in their education and their development as people as well as students. I know that the teachers that I had helped me become the student that I am today.”

In addition to excelling in the classroom, both Smith and Rohlfs are heavily involved in a wide variety of activities outside of school, as well. 

Smith is a National Merit Commended Scholar and a three-year member of the National Honor Society. He won the Rensselaer Medal, given yearly to Troy High School’s top junior in math/science classes. He was on the Troy High School golf team for four years and the basketball team for one year. He’s a member of Key Club. He also helped at the Kids Summer Art Camp each summer at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center.

Rohlfs has been involved in student government all four years of high school. She also has been a member of the Troy High School track and field team for four years. She also is a member of the Troy Tones acapella singing group. She has taken dance classes since a very young age, and has continued to be heavily involved in dance through high school. Rohlfs has been a CCD religion teacher, a middle school youth minister, a summer camp missionary and has been a member of the Youth Leadership Institute, which is focused on youth ministry.

Both have bright futures ahead of them, and they plan on taking very different paths once they graduate Troy High School this spring.

“I am going to The Ohio State University,” said Smith, who plans on going to law school once he earns his undergraduate degree. “Obviously it’s in Ohio, and it’s a little bit cheaper to stay in-state. But also my aunt went there for medical school and she loved it; everything I’ve heard about it has been positive. It was the first choice, and I’m glad to be going there, too.”

Rohlfs knows exactly what she wants to do when she graduates, even if she isn’t certain how she’s going to go about doing that just yet.

“I know I want to be a missionary for the rest of my life,” she said. “I’m still trying to figure out what that will look like in this next phase, but I want to let the world know how good Jesus is and how much love He has for them. I want my life to be a living witness of His love.”

The Troy City Schools music department has announced its band concert schedule for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year. 

We hope you can join us at some of these events!