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.
Oregon-Davis Schools Conduct Security Drill
The Oregon-Davis School Corporation has considerable room for improvement when it comes to following school safety protocol. School and law enforcement officials put their response to the test yesterday with an unannounced exercise involving an off-duty state trooper dressed in street clothes attempting to get into the high school. He walked in through a door in the shop area that was propped open and strolled around the school for a few minutes before a teacher notified the office and a lockdown notice was issued.
NJ-SP Prepares to Purchase Two New Buses
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board will have prices for two new, 72-passenger school buses when they meet next month. Corporation business manager Guy Richie is using the state’s new online purchasing system to obtain that information.
“The bids have already been done and submitted to the state,” Richie told the board. “You simply put in the type of bus you want, your specs, your additional equipment and such.” The website then calculates the price of the bus, subtracts the school corporation’s trade-in value and returns a price within 30 minutes or so.
The school board will still need to approve the purchases. This is the first year N.J.-S.P. is using this system to purchase buses. In the past the corporation had to publish legal notices with detailed information about the kind of buses they wanted to buy and make a purchasing decision after bids were received.
Knox and Oregon-Davis School Boards to Meet This Evening
The Knox Community School Board will meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the administrative office in the Knox Elementary School. The board will receive an update on the Standard for Success and approve the NEOLA Policies and Guidelines that were provided for the board member’s review at the Oct. 7 meeting.
The Oregon-Davis School Board will also meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School Room 202. The board members will consider a change in the Facility Rental Agreement, approve a resolution regarding frequency of bank deposits and approve a recommendation to switch insurance companies. A discussion is planned for the 100+ Club and for the school discipline policies.
Both meetings are open to the public.
ISTEP+ Scores Released, O-D Students Perform Well
“I’m very pleased that through all of the adversity the students in our elementary performed exceptionally well and our junior high students performed average,” said Briles. “As the same with the elementary school, there’s always room for improvement.”
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.
Knox Elementary Students Visit WKVI
State Education Officials Urges Schools To Try Referendums Again
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz says school districts will have to continue to conduct referendums to seek tax increases until the Indiana Legislature changes the school funding formula. She made the comments during several stops in Lake and Porter Counties. Ritz told educators at the Hammond Area Career Center that “you have to spend money to get money.” She thinks that many voters in areas where school district referendums failed may not have been aware of the issue. The state school superintendent says she encourages the school districts whose referendums did not pass, to try again during the next election. Knox was one such school. Local voters rejected a property tax increase to pay for construction of a new $16 million elementary school wing. The Knox Community School Board has not indicated whether they plan to pursue the issue again during next year’s regular election cycle. In the meantime, Ritz says she will help the schools in any way she can. Ritz addressed members of the Professional Educators Partnership at Valparaiso University.
ISTEP+ Testing Returns to Normal Levels
Schools can resume ISTEP+ testing at normal levels today. Officials with the Indiana Department of Education say software vendor CTB McGraw-Hill is confident fixes made to their servers last week will allow for full testing. Problems administering the online test last week prompted state officials to ask schools to administer the test to half of their students at a time. They also extended the testing window for schools until May 17. So far, about 48 percent of total ISTEP+ sessions have been completed. State officials say minimal interruptions were reported Friday.
State Reports Trouble-Free ISTEP Testing
ISTEP+ testing resumes today in classrooms across the state. No major problems were reported during the administration of ISTEP tests yesterday, according to officials with the Indiana Department of Education. Computer crashes earlier in the week halted the administration of the test. As a workaround, state officials asked schools to cut the number of students testing at a time by half. That reduction continues today, and the department of education has extended the testing window by two additional days. Schools now have until May 17 to finish giving the test. Minimal interruptions were reported yesterday, according to state officials, who say 41 percent of the total expected ISTEP+ sessions have been completed this week. Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz remains committed to working with schools, students and parents to ensure that they have the time they need to guarantee all Hoosier students have the opportunity to take a fair test.
NJ-SP Superintendent Responds to Bomb Threat
Police and school officials are following up leads as to who left a written bomb threat at North Judson-San Pierre High School last night. Superintendent Lynn Johnson says the perpetrator will be dealt with swiftly and severely both by the school and the authorities. The school handbook outlines punishment up to expulsion. If the person who left the note is over 18, he or she could be prosecuted as an adult. Continue reading
NJ-SP Steps Up Security Following Bomb Threat
Expect a police presence this morning at North Judson-San Pierre schools. Corporation officials confirm a bomb threat was written at the high school. Police, fire and school officials and a K9 unit thoroughly searched the building and found no evidence of a bomb. This morning’s two-hour delay will allow administrators and law enforcement to meet with staff and review security procedures. School officials stress that the safety of students is their number one priority.
Library Work Crew Hits Gas Main, Knox Elementary School Evacuated
Knox Elementary School has been evacuated after a construction crew at the Henry F. Schricker Public Library struck a gas main. Knox Superintendent A.J. Gappa says students at the elementary school have been moved to other facilities. Students in grades kindergarten, 1 and 2 are at the high school, while students in grades 3, 4 and 5 are at the middle school. Gappa stresses the school was evacuated as a precautionary measure and says he will advise parents as to student pickup arrangements by the end of the day. The Starke County Public Library Henry F. Schricker branch is also closed as a result of the gas main break.
WKVI Intern Wins Prestigious Indiana Broadcasters Association Scholarship
Knox Community High School senior and WKVI programming intern Makayla Dillard is one of six Indiana Broadcasters Association Scholarship winners chosen from around the state from a field of 140 applicants. She plans to major in telecommunications at Ball State University.
“I want to be an on-air personality. My ultimate goal would be to be like Ellen DeGeneres and have a talk show, or maybe like Howard Stern, but not as vulgar,” she says.
O-D’s Riley Ready to Revamp Plymouth Ag Offerings
Plymouth High School’s recently hired agriculture instructor is working to develop combined science and agriculture classes for the School of Inquiry.
Jacob Riley plans to keep the traditional agriculture course offerings as well and says he hopes to expand the school’s existing program. He starts his new job with the Plymouth school system in July. He will also serve as the faculty adviser for the school’s Future Farmers of America program at Plymouth High School.
Culver Schedules Kindergarten Roundup
Parents of prospective kindergarten students are invited to the Culver Community School Corporation kindergarten round-up event next week.
It’s scheduled Tuesday, April 25 at 6 p.m. ET in the Culver Elementary School cafeteria. Youngsters must turn 5 on or before Aug. 1, 2013 in order to be eligible to start school in the fall. Children do not need to attend this meeting with their parents, as this is merely an informational session. School officials do stress that the early registration is essential in the planning for next year’s kindergarten program.
Knox Band Boosters Host Harlem Wizards
Enjoy 50 years of trick hoops and alley oops when the legendary Harlem Wizards return to Harold Weinberg Gymnasium to take on The Tribe on Friday, April 26.
Knox Voters Encouraged to Tour Elementary School’s Palmer Wing
Voters in California, Center and Washington Townships can get a firsthand look at what advocates say are long overdue and necessary repairs to the Palmer wing at Knox Elementary School this evening. The Whatever it Takes Committee is hosting another open house at the school from 5 until 6 p.m. Problems with the 60-year-old original structure include an antiquated heating and cooling system, a cramped cafeteria that is insufficient to prepare food for the entire student population and a host of other problems. The work will only be done if voters agree to support a property tax during a May 7th special election, for which absentee voting is under way at the Starke County Courthouse. Click https://gateway.ifionline.org/CalculatorsDLGF/RefCalculator.aspx to determine how much your property taxes will go up should the referendum pass.
Additional Palmer Wing Tours Scheduled at Knox Elementary
Voters in the Knox Community School District will have several more chances to take a firsthand look at the repairs they are being asked to fund through a nominal property tax hike. The Whatever it Takes Committee has scheduled five more informational meetings at Knox Elementary School. Each will start with a brief PowerPoint presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session and tours of the building’s original Palmer wing. All meetings will start in the cafeteria/multipurpose room at the east end of the elementary school building. Continue reading
Open House Scheduled For Knox Elementary School Palmer Wing
An open house will be held Tuesday, April 2 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School so you can tour the portion of the building that is up for a proposed construction project.
The construction of the Palmer Wing is in the fate of the voters of the Knox Community School District on May 7 where a yes or no majority vote determines the future of that portion of the building.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the open house is sponsored by the “Whatever it Takes Committee” who supports the project. The event will be held in the all-purpose room in the elementary school.
“That’s kind of the heart of the old building,” explained Gappa. “It’s connected to the affected areas including the kitchen and the boiler rooms. Tours will be offered to anybody who hasn’t been through the building.”
The open house is intended to be an informational meeting to address current building concerns, overview of the project and the impact on community members.
