2008-2009 Already?
by Tim Marshall
We’ve already begun work on planning for the 2008-2009 school year and I expect you’ll be seeing some exciting changes! Joy Ballard joined our staff in January and she will be continuing her employment next year. Ms. Ballard came to us from Hutchinson, Kansas with several years of upper elementary classroom experience. She has been working with students who have had difficulty mastering skills. She’ll continue in that role next year and her role will likely expand.
Mrs. Hartwick will be returning to the EMS next year, but only half-time. We have a former teacher returning next year to fill in the other half of middle school mathematics as well as other courses. Janine Slava will be returning to JCN this fall and we’re pleased to have her back. The remainder of Mrs. Slava’s schedule will be teaching middle school social studies. Mr. Moore will be spending part of his day at the high school teaching American History. This will allow Ms. Halling to teach two new courses; economics and world geography.
Last but not least at the EMS is the possible expansion of preschool. If we have enough numbers, we’d like to move to two sessions of preschool from one next year. We will be applying for a new grant to help offset costs and will likely have to raise parent fees as well, but the additional revenue should pay for the expansion.
The high school, as you’ve already read, is working to improve course offerings next year too. In addition to new social science courses, we plan to offer an advanced science course and a reading course for students who are having difficulty meeting the required skills. The most exciting news comes in the way of a grant we are waiting word on to pay for a video conferencing system that will allow us to send and receive classes over the internet.
Interactive distance learning, used for years by smaller schools to improve their course offerings, could come to JCN high school next year if our grant is approved. We’d like to start small in sharing classes with neighboring schools, but hope to see this project grow to really open up student's selection of advanced courses. These classes may be additional foreign language classes, dual credit college classes, or any type of college prep course. The difference between IDL and “on-line” courses is that these would be taught by a real instructor across the network and students would have two way visual and audio communication.
Planning even bigger for next year, we have submitted a second IDL equipment grant that would let our students learn workplace skills, giving them an edge when interviewing for manufacturing and other jobs. The fun part about these distance learning projects is that they open the door to all kinds of opportunities, such as “virtual” field trips for elementary students. Schools often “visit” the San Diego Zoo, or take a tour of NASA’s space center without ever leaving their classroom. Some communities make use of the equipment in the evenings for special classes such as gardening or vocational training. The possibilities grow as the use grows. Watch carefully next school year for exciting changes!
