Eastern Pulaski School Corporation Plans Summer Maintenance Projects

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Corporation’s maintenance staff is working hard on quite a few projects this summer, and Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that the majority of these changes include digital upgrades.

“We’re continuing our project at the middle school and high school of changing the HVAC controls from pneumatic to digital,” explained Klitzman. “We are in the process of hanging all of the projectors in every classroom at the elementary level. They will be able to hook them up to their computers and basically bring the world into their classroom via the internet and help with student learning in that case.”

The regular deep-cleaning is also underway to get the classrooms and all of the school facilities ready for the start of another school year in August.

Eastern Pulaski School’s Scoreboard To Go Wireless

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board has approved a partnership with the Winamac Athletic Booster Club in order to upgrade the sports scoreboard to a wireless model.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that the pair will split the cost.

“The school corporation will use Capital Projects funds and the Booster Club will come up with the rest of the money,” stated Klitzman. “They’re looking at making the soccer field, the baseball field, the football field, the indoor basketball court, and volleyball scoreboards all wireless. The total cost of the project is $8,600. The board has committed $4,300 if the Booster Club can come up with the rest of the money.”

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Eastern Pulaski Schools Take A Different Approach To Technology

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

While schools throughout the state swiftly move forward with providing students with more and more technology, Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the school board has decided to take technology there at a more manageable pace.

“There’s been many schools that have decided they’re going to give every student a computer, a hand-held device – it’s called the one-on-one approach, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We found at Eastern Pulaski, our approach would be moving forward a little bit slower. We’re going to put hand-held devices, iPads, in the hands of students in certain subjects and then keep expanding and growing from that,” stated Klitzman.

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Eastern Pulaski School Board Approves New Middle School Principal

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Kltizman announced that the school board members have approved the employment of a new middle school principal.

“We hired Mr. Ryan Dickenson as the middle school principal,” announced Klitzman. “Mr. Dickenson has 13 years of teaching experience, all at the middle school level, at a couple of school corporations. For the past four years, he has been the assistant principal/athletic director at Bremen schools. He is credited by administrators at Bremen of being key in the turnaround Bremen has experienced academically. He’s got a great faculty to work with and a great staff. We look forward to Mr. Dickenson’s start in the fall.”

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Graduation Services To Take Place Tomorrow Afternoon For Local Schools

Graduation services were held last night for Eastern Pulaski Seniors and another graduation service is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon reports the details of graduation services for seniors.

“That’ll be on Sunday, May 27,” said Mellon. “Baccalaureate is at 2 p.m. ET with Commencement to follow.”

Knox Community High School Commencement is Friday, June 1 at 7 p.m. in the Weinberg Gymnasium, and graduation at North Judson-San Pierre High School is slated for Sunday, June 3 at 7 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.

Eastern Pulaski Schools To Dismiss Early For The Summer

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Students in the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation will be wrapping up classes this week. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said that the students were able to get out early this week due to the lack of school closures in the winter.

“One of the most unusual winters we’ve had,” said Dr. Klitzman. “I think most would agree with me that in terms of snow it’s been a great winter. Kenny Becker [Highway Superintendent] is excited about it. He probably has a lot of salt left. Nonetheless, we have no make-up days so our last day for students is Wednesday, May 23. It’ll be a full day of school; seniors are in school, everybody’s in school for a full day on the 23rd. Graduation for the Class of 2012 will be Friday, as that’s our tradition, at 7 p.m. ET in the high school gym. Because we’re getting out early, our summer school schedule will start the end of May.”

Eastern Pulaski Schools Approve Several Retirements

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board members approved several retirements during their meeting this week. Elementary teacher, Brenda Roberts, will be retiring at the end of the school year after 37 years in the education field and Middle School Secretary, Dorothy Malchow, is retiring after 27 years at the corporation. Superintendent Dr. Klitzman also announced the retirement of the Middle School Principal.

“Mr. Stan Good, after 25 years in education – all at Eastern Pulaski Schools – and as our Middle School Principal for 18 years, is retiring,” said Klitzman. “He is going to stay in the education arena, but in a private sector helping different areas through a corporation that seems to find its niche on those students that are not functioning as well as they should in the traditional setting of a school. It’s more of an alternative selection.”

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Valedictorian and Salutatorian Named For Eastern Pulaski Schools

Tyler Abbott
Jordan Morning

The Eastern Pulaski School Board members recognized this year’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the graduating class of 2012 at their meeting this week. The Board recognized Valedictorian Jordan Morning and Salutatorian Tyler Abbott. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said the board and their families celebrated their accomplishments throughout their entire high school career.

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Memorandum Of Understanding Approved By Eastern Pulaski School Board

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board members approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Eastern Pulaski Teacher’s Association during their meeting Monday night. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the agreement would affect new employees coming to the corporation.

“We would not pay more than five years at the Master’s level,” explained Klitzman. “As I told the Board, this would have an impact and give people a choice. I think it would greatly expand our pool of candidates because teachers know full well that once they reach a certain portion on a salary schedule, it’s going to be harder for them to change jobs just because of that price tag. If the teacher has a job someplace else, and this would be my assumption, and they say, ‘You know what? I’d rather be at Eastern Pulaski Schools because it’s closer or because I want a change in assignment and I’m willing to take less money to do that.’ Then, it’s a win-win situation. If they’re not, then they stay in the job they have.”

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Winamac Safe Routes to School Applies for Phase 2 Grant

The Winamac Safe Routes to School Task Force recently announced that they have applied for a $250,000 Infrastructure Grant to fund the completion of the Panhandle Pathway through Winamac, as well as improvements along Riverside Drive and Superior Street. These improvements were deemed necessary by planning work that was done as a part of the Safe Routes to School Non-Infrastructure Grant that was awarded in 2010. This project will enable safer walking and cycling environments, including roads and sidewalk improvements, and the grants will cover planning, design, and engineering expenses, including consultant services.

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Eastern Pulaski School Board Discusses Summer School

Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman talked about summer school with the School Board this week.

“As it is true the last few years, it will be very limited because the funding for summer school is very limited,” explained Dr. Klitzman. “We’re going to offer one of our most popular ones, Summer P.E. Summer P.E. is open to any high school student and any student entering high school, which means our 8th graders. We typically get 50 to 60 kids into that program and it’s a wonderful situation in that it’s a block of time so students will have three-and-a-half hours in the morning to go somewhere and do something that is going to take more than a typical 50 minute class period.”

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Eastern Pulaski School Board Discusses Student Conduct

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman gave a special report to the School Board Monday night concerning student conduct and student discipline.

“I spent some time going over what we’re doing K-12 in relation to having proper student behavior, discipline, character and those types of things,” stated Dr. Klitzman. “We talked about what teachers are doing in the classroom and some of our formal instructional packages that we have to offer our students that we can show that are being done. We talked about supervision and some of the next steps that we’re going to be taking in terms of education and in terms of a community-wide effort to help get a handle on some of the more blatant types of misbehavior that are happening.”

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Walk to School Day this Thursday in Winamac

Winamac students, Safe Routes to School Task Force leaders, Kiwanis Club members and local law enforcement will be participating in “Walk to School Day” in Winamac this Thursday, April 12th.

The walk will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET at the corner of Main and Logan Streets in Winamac and all participants will walk down Main Street to the north side of the County Courthouse, to Monticello Street to Riverside Drive and it will end at the Elementary and Middle Schools. You are also invited to join in the walk.

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Winamac High School Alumni Offers Scholarship

Applications are currently being accepted for the first annual Winamac High School/Winamac Community High School Alumni Association scholarship worth $250.

The scholarship will be awarded to a Winamac High School senior who is planning to attend a post-secondary school or college. One scholarship will be awarded during the alumni banquet on June 16th at the Church of the Heartland in Winamac.

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Eastern Pulaski Schools under Fire for Bullying

More than 20 students, parents, and other members of the Eastern Pulaski Schools community spoke out at the recent school board meeting against bullying in school, which has gotten out of hand.

Parents expressed their anger at the corporation for doing what they feel is a minimum to prevent or discipline bullying in the school system.  Several parents said that their children are afraid to use bathrooms or even attend extracurricular activities for fear of bullies.

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Eastern Pulaski Schools to Work on Safe Routes to School

Thanks to the Safe Routes to School Committee at the Eastern Pulaski Schools Corporation, children walking or riding bicycles to school may not be so uncommon in the future. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that the committee is currently working on a planning grant designed to show different routes to the school that can be enhanced and improved on in terms of accessibility and safety. Klitzman says that these improvements could encourage more parents to allow children to walk or ride their bikes to school.

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