Greene County goes back to school
Part two of two
From new building construction and free lunches, to updated curriculum and technology, students in Greene County have many changes in store for the 2015-16 school year.
The following is a glimpse of what students should expect in their respective school districts.
Carmichaels Area
Students will be welcomed back to the Carmichaels Area School District on Aug. 31. The start of school was delayed from Aug. 25 in order to allow more time for teachers and staff to prepare the buildings for students. The pushed back date was also needed to wait for the arrival of some equipment, such as lockers, that were delayed for shipping by one week. The graduation date will be moved to June 3, with no school on Memorial Day. All other holiday and in-service days remain the same.
As students return to the school after a summer of renovation, they will not only be greeted by physical changes but also a realignment in the educational programs. Two pre-K classrooms have been incorporated at the elementary school. In order to make room for the new pre-K program, the sixth grade was moved to the junior/senior high building, which created a middle school consisting of grades 6-8. The high school will consist of grades 9-12. The middle and senior high students will continue to attend classes in the same building, but will be mostly separated except for the common areas.
The entire district will also soon be on wireless internet services this upcoming school year. The staff is currently in the process of updating the smart boards in each classroom and planning the rotation of the wireless carts.
Lunch prices will be $1.85 at the elementary and $2.05 at the middle/senior high school. The cost for breakfast is $1 for all students.
Central Greene
A new face will be visible in the halls of Central Greene School District’s elementary, middle and senior high schools as the 2015-16 school year progresses.
The district has entered into an agreement with Waynesburg Borough to have a borough police officer rotate among the schools to help ensure a safe environment for students of all ages.
It is the first time a “school resource officer” has been employed by the district.
No new technology equipment has been added for this school year, but the district is going forward with updating the phone system district wide. The $159,405 upgrade will allow the elementary school, Margaret Bell Miller Middle School and the high school to be connected on the same system, enabling each building to have direct contact with one another.
This year will be the last French is offered as part of the academic curriculum. French II classes will be offered this year, but because few students are taking French, the administration decided to look into adding a different foreign language next year.
The band program was slightly restructured to incorporate the sixth-grade with seventh through 12-grade marching band members.
Five new professional employees were added to the teaching faculty, primarily in math and special education.
Jefferson-Morgan
A freshly renovated middle/high school is awaiting students when they resume classes on Aug. 27.
Ready to greet students as they return to school is Superintendent Donna Furnier, who had taken leave when diagnosed with cancer in March. Furnier said the support she received from students, staff, faculty and the community as whole during her personal battle with illness was overwhelming and much appreciated.
Acting Superintendent Craig Baily will continue to assist as needed as she transitions back into her fulltime role, Furnier said.
All classrooms for students at every level have now been outfitted with Smartboards, made possible through grant funding, Furnier said.
Also new this year is a new math series from McGraw-Hill Education for students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. Also in the works for this year is a more user-friendly district website with a mobile app.
Breakfast will continue to cost $1.15 at both the elementary and secondary schools. The cost of lunches, however, has increased to $2 at the elementary school and $2.10 at the middle/senior high school.
Southeastern Greene
Students in the Southeastern Greene School District will be provided with more educational opportunities and a competitive edge than ever before, thanks to the work of district officials.
Students at Mapletown High School will have access to the district’s first-ever array of advanced placement courses: literature, calculus and U.S. history. The district also created a new English position at the high school, which has opened the door for the school to offer more specialized electives including video production, journalism, young adult literature and cultural cuisine.
Students at the middle school will have the chance to choose from biology and physical science lab electives, which officials hope will get students excited about science.
Bobtown Elementary has also seen its fair share of changes. The Situated Multimedia Art Learning Lab, also known as SMALLab, was officially up and running in May. Students will have a full-year of access to the lab, where motion-capture technology tracks students’ 3D movements as they learn in immersive, interactive space.
Also at the elementary school, the district has worked to improve its writing program. A full-time writing teacher will work with all students once a week, as well as teachers on professional development.
Lunch prices increased to $1.80 for elementary students, and $1.95 for secondary students. School begins Aug. 27.
West Greene
The administration, teachers and support staff are “enthusiastic and excited” to begin the 2015-16 school year Aug. 31 on one campus.
A $12.5 million new elementary center was added to the existing West Greene Middle-Senior High School building in Rogersville, bringing in students from the former Graysville and Springhill-New Freeport elementary schools that have been closed.
Meanwhile, West Greene will be starting school using textbooks in reading and mathematics that are fully aligned to the curriculum at all grade levels from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Melissa Berry, the district-wide guidance counselor, will be concentrating her efforts on kindergarten through sixth grade. This allows the second counselor, Kimberly Cowden, to focus on grades 7-12.
Michael Bruno will be the choral music instructor for grades kindergarten through 12th grade. Scott McCullough will give intense attention to instrumental music in kindergarten through 12th grade, and both music teachers will be working in concert with one another.
Jed Hamberger’s title and position has been changed from middle-senior high school assistant principal to assistant principal for kindergarten through 12th grade. Scott Sakai will remain the secondary school principal.
Katherine Richwine, an intern from West Virginia University, will be working with the school nurse, Lisa Vitolo.
Greene County Messenger reporter Jon Stevens and Herald-Standard reporters Natalie Bruzda, Erin Hayes and Toni Cekada contributed to this report.