Greene County Goes Back to School
PART ONE OF TWO
With summer winding down as August comes to a close, students are gearing up to head back to school. Throughout the five school districts of Greene County, teachers and administrators are likewise preparing for the new school year and all the new faces and challenges it brings.
Next week marks the official opening day for county schools, and each year the Messenger puts together “Back to School” editions that give parents and students an idea of some of the changes that are taking place in the upcoming school year.
This week, we focus on the Carmichaels Area, Jefferson-Morgan and Southeastern Greene school districts. Next week, we will focus on the Central Greene and West Greene school districts.
CARMICHAELS AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
Recently hired superintendent John Menhart is one of many fresh faces at Carmichaels Area School District.
“There have been 17 new people hired for this year,” Menhart said. “There has been a big turnover for the district.”
Ronald Gallagher was hired as the assistant principal for the Junior/Senior High School, Amanda Anderson and Amy Sommer-Gaefke were hired to work in special education, Roberta Barr was hired as a new counselor, Teresa Brown was hired as a sixth grade teacher, Stacie Carolla and Ian McCombs were hired as English teachers, Daysha Donaldson was hired as a school nurse, Bethany Jurczak and Cortney Newland were hired as fourth grade teachers, Robert Miele was hired as a third grade teacher, Kenneth Perkins was hired as a science teacher, Michael Pohlot was hired as a fifth grade teacher, Miranda Policz was hired to teach health/PE/Driver Ed, Chelsee Ritz was hired as a first grade teacher, Erin Virgili was hired as a speech teacher and Shannon Morecraft was hired as a personal care aide.
New faculty and staff members are not the only changes that the Carmichaels Area School District will be facing this year. Menhart reports that there will be several changes to the curriculum.
For the elementary students, sixth graders will be departmentalized. The district will also differentiate the primary grades by level of achievement in order to help students who are struggling and recognize the children who are excelling.
Menhart also reported that multimedia classes are now being offered for the junior/senior high school students. Last year, to keep up with rapidly advancing technology, the district had adopted Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) capabilities by installing Cloud, a program that allows students to log on to all district specific apps from any device. Continuing to remain technologically up-to-date, the Carmichaels Area School District has been working to ensure that the “campus will be wireless,” as explained by Menhart.
Menhart said that the district is physically changing as well.
“The junior/senior high school is currently under construction,” Menhart said. “It is undergoing a $20 million renovation.”
Part of the renovation is a new cafeteria that will link the two buildings so students will no longer have to go outside to get to their classes.
“The new cafeteria will be a state-of-the-art facility,” Menhart said.
However, the construction will not be finished by the start of the school year, so students will continue to have lunch in the gymnasium, with the younger students segregated from the older students. Construction should be finished by Sept. 15.
Menhart understands that the construction is an obstacle, but hopes it will not distract from learning. “We are asking people to be patient and tolerant,” Menhart said.
Additionally, a new webpage is being developed for the district that will keep students and parents up to date about the district.
There are 502 students enrolled in elementary school and 570 enrolled in the junior/senior high school, with a total of 1072 students returning to school on Aug. 25.
Lunch this year is priced at $1.80 for elementary students and $2.00 for the high school students, which is a $0.05 increase from last year. Breakfast is priced at $1.00 for all students.
JEFFERSON-MORGAN SCHOOL DISTRICT
Students will be welcomed back to the Jefferson Morgan School District on Aug. 25 this year by new assistant principal Brandon Robinson.
Robinson’s new duties will allow him to serve grades pre-K through 12. He previously served the district as an elementary math teacher.
Students at the junior senior high school will also be greeted by a new guidance counselor, Katie Fischer.
Students of the junior senior high school will also be able to enjoy a new outside common area this year, during certain times of the day.
Additionally, a new AP psychology course will be added to the high school curriculum. The district currently offers calculus, literature and government as AP courses.
At the elementary school, iPads will be provided for grades K-3. Pre-K students are already using iPads for course work.
The prices remain the same this year for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast will cost $1.15 at both the elementary and secondary schools. Elementary lunches will cost $1.90, and secondary lunches will cost $2.
SOUTHEASTERN GREENE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Students of the Southeastern Greene School District will begin another school year on Aug. 25.
Mapletown High School students will see an outdoor classroom that includes seating, a butterfly garden and a small wetlands area. Acting Superintendent Rich Pekar said the classroom is intended to be used by grades 7-12, and will be part of the science curriculum to include the study of horticulture, plants and animals, planting of seeds, plant growth and biological/ecological systems.
Pekar said the classroom, which was paid for by a grant from the Community Foundation of Greene County, will also be specifically integrated into the curriculum of special education, which will include the teaching of life skills and recreational activities.
At Bobtown Elementary School, a SMALLlab – Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab – has been installed. The lab uses a ceiling-mounted projector, motion-sensor cameras, wands and a computer to develop scenarios to create embodied learning experiences to help advance student learning.
Pekar said the district received a $20,000 grant from Allegheny Intermediate Unit as part of a STEM Grant for the project entitled “Education Through Movement.”
Additionally, the district has been awarded a grant for $34,730.00 for the purchase of iPads for sixth grade students at Bobtown Elementary. This grant is part of the Digital Elementary Science Project through Community Foundation of Greene County.
All students at Bobtown in grades four through six will have access to a classroom set of iPads.
Lunch prices for elementary students will be $1.70, and $1.85 for high school students. Breakfast is $1 at both schools.