The Kankakee Valley boasts some of the best high schools in the state, according to recent rankings by a national publication. John Glenn High School in Walkerton ranks 17th on the 2014 U.S. News and World Report list. The magazine awarded the school silver medal. Students there have an opportunity to take advanced placement tests, and 36 percent do. Of the school’s 611 students, 85 percent are proficient in English and 84 percent are proficient in math. Knox Community High School earned a bronze medal from U.S. News and World Report. The publication notes 25 percent of the 606 students enrolled take AP courses and tests, 77 percent are proficient in English and 69 percent are proficient in Algebra. Continue reading
Eastern Pulaski School Board Holds Discussion on Calendar Year Budget
The Eastern Pulaski School Board held discussion on the calendar year budget during their meeting last week.
Superintendent Dan Foster explained that only two school corporations in the state operate on a fiscal year budget and Eastern Pulaski is one of those two schools. The board recently approved a measure to move the school from a fiscal year budget to calendar year budget to come in line with state software and other advantages. He said the switch may get a little tricky.
Eastern Pulaski School Board Approves Contract for Dietician
Eastern Pulaski School Board Approves Summer School Courses
The Eastern Pulaski School Board approved summer school classes during their meeting this week.
Superintendent Dan Foster said a few courses will be offered this summer.
Lunch Prices to Increase at Eastern Pulaski Schools
The price for lunch at the cafeteria at the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation will be going up slightly.
Superintendent Dan Foster said the increase was in line with federal guidelines.
“We did increase our cafeteria lunch prices again. We have to get up to that two-dollar-and-fifty-three cent limit or something like that so we begrudgingly increased our cafeteria lunches ten cents.”
Eastern Pulaski School Board to Consider Contract with The Crossing
The Eastern Pulaski School Board has started a discussion about The Crossing which is a school that helps educate students who have dropped out of school, transitioned to home school or who were expelled at one time during their educational career.
Superintendent Dan Foster stressed that the board is only in the discussion phase at this point.
Winamac Physics Teacher to Take Part in Prestigous Opportunity
Winamac High School physics teacher Jeremy Wegner has been accepted into the CERN High School Teacher Program.
Wegner will be going to Geneva, Switzerland for three weeks of training and education about high energy particle physics and other topics. He will be learning how to incorporate all of the information into the classroom.
Eric Newman Named Pulaski County Community 2014 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar
A Winamac Community High School Senior has been named the recipient of the 2014 Pulaski County Community Foundation 2014 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Eric Newman will receive a four year full-tuition scholarship to an Indiana college of his choice. He will also receive a $900 yearly stipend for required books and equipment.
Newman has been involved in Student Council, Shakespeare Club, Key Club, FFA, National Honor Society, and the Robotics Team. He was also involved in sports and volunteered in the community. He has also received the DAR Good Citizen Award, Presidential award for service, Hoosier Boys State delegate, Distinguished Honor Roll, and the Hugh O’Brien award.
Winamac Community High School Drama Announces Spring Musical
The Winamac Community High School Drama Department will present Happy Days – The Musical on stage on Saturday, April 12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET.
This musical composed by Garry Marshall in 2008 will feature all of the same characters as in the popular TV show 40 years ago: Howard Cunningham, Marion Cunningham, Joanie Cunningham, Arnold Devecchio, Ralph Malph, Chachi Arcola, Potsie Weber, Lori Beth, and Arthur Fonzarelli.
Eastern Pulaski School Corporation to Operate on Calendar Year Budget in 2015
The Eastern Pulaski School Board members approved a resolution to move from a recognized fiscal year budget to a calendar year budget.
Superintendent Dan Foster explained the school corporation is one of two school corporations in the state that operate on a fiscal year budget which is from July 1 to June 30. All other school corporations in the state follow a calendar year budget which is from January to December.
Schools May Be Able to Waive Snow Makeup Day
Schools that canceled classes due to the extreme winter conditions may not have to make up the day of missed instruction. “The Elkhart Truth” reports that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz has authorized schools to apply for a one-day waiver from the required 180 days of instruction. The waiver was initially offered after school districts across the state canceled classes on Monday. However, the director of the office of accreditation for the education department told the paper that the waiver will be offered to schools on Tuesday as well. He says the waiver means that schools can escape the “very severe financial penalty” they would otherwise incur by canceling one day of instruction. The waiver has only been used a few times in the past several years to offset instructional days lost due to severe weather. School districts typically build in makeup days in the event of snow, but if they miss more days than they have built into the calendar they’re forced to extend the school year into summer vacation in order to meet the state’s requirements.
Eastern Pulaski Superintendent Search Winds Down
The Eastern Pulaski School Corporation will soon have a new superintendent in place. Dr. Robert Klitzman retired June 30th but stayed on in an interim capacity until his replacement is hired. Klitzman tells WKVI news that August 23rd will be his last day. The board will conduct a public hearing on the new superintendent’s contract during their Monday, Aug. 12th board meeting. State law requires a hearing be held, but Klitzman says the candidate will not be identified by name. The board will then meet in executive session, with a formal hiring decision scheduled during a special-called meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Eastern Pulaski School Board to Hold Work Session
The board had met April 23 to put some initial thoughts on paper and Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman will present those ideas again tonight to refresh discussion and initialize more input from the board on what they expect of his successor.
Bomb Threats Made at Eastern Pulaski Schools Last Week Were Hoaxes
The Eastern Pulaski School Corporation is currently investigating a fraudulent bomb threat made at the school on Wednesday, Oct. 10. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that they had been alerted by a student that a threat had been written in one of the stalls in the high school girls’ restroom indicating that a bomb was in the school and would go off at a specific time.
Eastern Pulaski Community Helps Helping Hands With $500 Donation
The Eastern Pulaski School Board accepted four donations to the corporation that were made by the community. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the program that received monetary donations was that of Helping Hands.
“It’s designed to help students who have a need in the area of textbook rental and also for their lunch program and breakfast program,” explained Dr. Klitzman. “Our community donates money anonymously and as students have this need, we go ahead and provide the funding for that and let the parents know that this was provided by our Helping Hands Program.”
More than $500 was donated toward that fund to help students with their needs at school.
No School For Eastern Pulaski Students on Sept. 24
There will be no school for students at the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation on Monday, Sept. 24. That day has been set aside for parent/teacher conferences and professional development opportunities.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that it will be a full day of conferences at the elementary school, but only a half day of conferences at the middle school and high school.
Eastern Pulaski School Board Discusses Harmony Program
Winamac High School Principal Rick DeFries discussed the Harmony program with the Eastern Pulaski School Board. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman commented that it’s a great way for parents to keep track of how their child is doing in school.
“Harmony has a lot of information for parents,” said Klitzman. “If they can get on the internet, they can actually get into a teacher’s grade book and see their child’s scores, grades, absences and discipline. Harmony is a great feature. Parents can get in there and keep track, on a daily basis, of what their children may be doing.”
West Central, Eastern Pulaski Schools Discuss Enrollment
Although the Average Daily Membership, or ADM count, isn’t officially taken until Friday, West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon discussed the preliminary enrollment for this year with the board last week.
“We like to keep track of that because the number of students equals the amount of money we receive from the state,” said Mellon. “As far as the number of students we have currently, it’s identical to last year. Some of these people are migrant students that will not be with us all year and they may not be with us on Sept. 14, but they are in the count at the current time.”
Eastern Pulaski School Purchases RISE Software
The Eastern Pulaski School Board approved the purchase of software for the RISE evaluation model for teachers and administrators. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the company Own It! designed the software that parallels the evaluation requirements.
“The forms, the checklists, the graphs, the details – all of that is right in that software,” said Klitzman. “They can use their iPad, do the evaluation and then as soon as they’re ready with it, they can push the magic button and send that right to the teacher’s computer as well.”
Evaluation models and procedures for teachers and administrators need to be in place in the fall per state mandate. The RISE model uses multiple sources of information to paint a fair, accurate, and comprehensive picture of a teacher’s performance. It also provides information on the most important aspects of teaching: planning, instruction, leadership, and student learning.
Eastern Pulaski Schools Elated Over ISTEP Scores
The ISTEP scores were released yesterday by Indiana State Schools Superintendent Dr. Tony Bennett and Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the students did very well on the state standardized test.
“They did absolutely outstanding,” said Klitzman. “In terms of English and Language Arts, these are the percentages of students that passed the state test, third grade 95.4, fourth grade 92.2 and fifth grade 97.8. In Math, third grade 93.8, fourth grade 96.7 and fifth grade 97.8. In our middle school, they did well and they showed good growth.”
And that’s not even the best part!
