With the return of every autumn comes the return of the school year. As certain as that fact is to parents and students, so too is the certainty that there will be more changes in the local school districts. Each year, schools are adapting and changing to meet new guidelines, to offer new programs, to update and to improve existing efforts.
This year is no different than the rest in that respect. State and federal regulations are making themselves felt and the schools are responding.
“The state common core standards have changed,” explained Seneca School District Administrator Dave Boland. “The teachers have been busy training, attending workshops.”
Wisconsin has adopted Common Core State Standards for Literacy for 21 separate content areas.
“It’s going to be a lot more rigorous,” Boland continued. “Things will be started sooner, using a spiral form of teaching which begins in kindergarten and builds each year upon the subjects. It’s not something we don’t do already, but rather a change in sequence and how early you begin teaching a subject. It will affect how classes are taught, how staff evaluations are done, how much work the kids will have to do.”
According to Boland, the students will have some adjusting to do and will have to work harder than they have in the past.
At North Crawford, the standards change will be clearest in the structured study halls.
“Mrs. Day has been working on scheduling,” said Dr. Dan Davies, Superintendent of North Crawford Schools. “Study halls have response to intervention (RTI) built-in.”
RTI seeks to prevent academic failure through early intervention, frequent progress measurement, and increasingly intensive research-based instructional interventions for children who continue to have difficulty. It is believed that students who do not show a response to the interventions are likely (or at least more likely than students who respond) to have biologically based learning disabilities and to be in need of special education.
Changes are taking place in the school lunch program as well. The federal government has mandated changes in the nutrition guidelines as part of an effort to fight childhood obesity.
“We are looking to secure a chef to work with the staff to create new menu options,” Davies said. “Kay Teague (North Crawford’s food service director) has attended several workshops on the new guidelines.”
The new USDA school lunch rules limit the calories and portion sizes, cut fat content, increase fruit and vegetable content, and increase whole-grain options to processed starches. The USDA built the new rules around recommendations from a panel of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine.
Other changes include a 10¢ increase in school lunches for elementary and high school students at Seneca. Seneca also has three new teachers: Diane Malcolm, elementary music; Barb Fisher, middle school science; and Sara Ross, middle school special education.
North Crawford has upgraded their fiber optic backbone, switches and wireless routers for Internet and WiFi services. Improvements are being finished on the school’s track with work on the playground also being wrapped up.
With the federal PEP grant North Crawford was recently awarded, the school needs to find additional storage space for new equipment they will be purchasing. North Crawford’s Tarasa Lown recently attended a workshop on how to administer the PEP Grant program.
The Seneca School District will hold their elementary Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 30. The sixth grade orientation is held the same day from 3 to 4 p.m. The Seneca School Community Picnic will be held in the school cafeteria from 3 to 5 p.m.
Seneca’s first day of school will be Tuesday, Sept. 4.
North Crawford held their Open House and Registration on Wednesday, August 22. Their first day is also on Tuesday, Sept. 4 with an early release at 1 p.m.
Kila wakati majira ya kupukutika kwa majira ya kupukutika kwa majani yanapokuja, mwaka wa shule huanza tena. Kama ilivyo hakika kwa wazazi na wanafunzi, ndivyo ilivyo na uhakika kwamba kutakuwa na mabadiliko zaidi katika wilaya za shule za mitaa. Kila mwaka, shule zinabadilika ili kukidhi miongozo mpya, kutoa programu mpya, kusasisha na kuboresha juhudi zilizopo. Mwaka huu hautofautiani na mwaka mwingine wowote katika jambo hilo. Sheria za serikali na serikali za shirikisho zinaonekana na shule zinaitikia. "Viwango vya msingi vya serikali vimebadilika", alielezea Msimamizi wa Wilaya ya Shule ya Seneca Dave Boland. "Wanafunzi wa shule ya msingi wa Wisconsin wamekuwa wakifanya kazi kwa bidii katika mafunzo na kuhudhuria warsha, na Wisconsin imepitisha viwango vya kawaida vya msingi vya serikali kwa ajili ya kusoma na kuandika kwa maeneo 21 tofauti ya maudhui. """ "Itatakuwa kali zaidi", Boland aliendelea. <unk>Vitu vitaanza mapema, kwa kutumia aina ya spiral ya kufundisha ambayo huanza katika chekechea na hujenga kila mwaka juu ya masomo. Si kitu ambacho hatufanyi tayari, bali ni mabadiliko katika mfululizo na jinsi unavyoanza kufundisha somo mapema. "Hiyo inahusu jinsi madarasa yanavyofundishwa, jinsi wafanyakazi wanavyotathminiwa, na kiasi cha kazi watoto watakachohitaji kufanya.""Kulingana na Boland, wanafunzi watakuwa na marekebisho ya kufanya na watalazimika kufanya kazi kwa bidii kuliko walivyofanya zamani." Katika North Crawford, mabadiliko ya viwango yatakuwa wazi zaidi katika vyumba vya masomo vilivyoundwa. <unk>Bi. Siku imekuwa ikifanya kazi kwenye ratiba, "alisema Daktari Dan Davies, Mkurugenzi wa Shule za North Crawford. "RTI inatafuta kuzuia kushindwa kwa kitaaluma kupitia uingiliaji wa mapema, kipimo cha maendeleo ya mara kwa mara, na uingiliaji wa mafunzo ya utafiti unaoongezeka kwa watoto ambao wanaendelea kuwa na ugumu. """ Wanafunzi ambao hawaonyeshi majibu kwa uingiliaji ni uwezekano (au angalau uwezekano zaidi kuliko wanafunzi ambao wanajibu) kuwa na ulemavu wa kujifunza wa kibiolojia na kuwa na haja ya elimu maalum. Mabadiliko yanafanyika katika programu ya chakula cha mchana cha shule pia. Serikali ya Marekani imependekeza mabadiliko katika miongozo ya lishe kama sehemu ya juhudi za kupambana na unene wa watoto. "Tunatafuta kupata mpishi kufanya kazi na wafanyakazi kuunda chaguzi mpya za orodha ya chakula", Davies alisema. "Kay Teague, mkurugenzi wa huduma ya chakula ya North Crawford, amehudhuria warsha kadhaa juu ya miongozo mpya, ""Sheria mpya za chakula cha mchana cha shule za USDA zinapunguza kalori na ukubwa wa sehemu, kupunguza maudhui ya mafuta, kuongeza maudhui ya matunda na mboga, na kuongeza chaguzi za nafaka nzima kwa wanga uliosindika." Wizara ya Kilimo ya Marekani (USDA) imeweka sheria hizo mpya kulingana na mapendekezo ya jopo la wataalamu waliowekwa na Taasisi ya Tiba. Mabadiliko mengine ni pamoja na ongezeko la senti 10 katika chakula cha mchana cha shule kwa wanafunzi wa shule ya msingi na ya sekondari huko Seneca. Seneca pia ina walimu watatu wapya: Diane Malcolm, muziki wa msingi; Barb Fisher, sayansi ya shule ya kati; na Sara Ross, elimu maalum ya shule ya kati. North Crawford imeboresha uti wao wa mgongo wa nyuzi za macho, swichi na njia za wireless kwa huduma za mtandao na WiFi. Maboresho yanakamilishwa kwenye reli ya shule na kazi kwenye uwanja wa michezo pia inakaribia kukamilika. Shule ya North Crawford imepokea ruzuku ya PEP kutoka kwa serikali ya Marekani, na sasa inahitaji nafasi ya ziada ya kuhifadhi vifaa vipya. Tarasa Lown wa Crawford Kaskazini hivi karibuni alihudhuria warsha juu ya jinsi ya kusimamia programu ya PEP Grant. Shule ya Seneca School District itashikilia siku yao ya msingi ya wazi kutoka saa 1 hadi saa 4 alasiri Alhamisi, Agosti 30. Mkutano wa darasa la sita unafanyika siku hiyo hiyo kutoka saa 3 hadi saa 4 alasiri. Shule ya Seneca ya Kikundi cha Picnic itafanyika katika cafeteria ya shule kutoka saa 3 hadi saa 5 jioni. North Crawford ilifanya Siku yao ya wazi na Usajili Jumatano, Agosti 22. Siku ya kwanza ya maonyesho hayo ni Jumanne, Septemba 4, na kutolewa mapema saa 1 jioni.