By Brenda Sexton, The Courier-Herald
The White River School District board of directors has extended the current semester for White River High School teachers and students due to the early-January snow storm that canceled school.
The end of the semester was originally planned for Jan. 23, but students and teachers said that wasn't enough time to complete course assignments, said Superintendent Jay Hambly. At its regular meeting last week, the board extended the semester to Jan. 30. That will now be a no-school day for the high school, and will remain an early dismissal day for elementary and middle school students.
In other business, the board:
€ announced it will host the dedication ceremony for White River High School at 7 p.m. Thursday. The board was also updated on construction issues at the high school and approved a change order for $101,565 at the high school to cover negotiated items.
District Executive Director of Business Services Susan Smith Leland said the district is still waiting for the traffic light at 120th Street East and Mundy Loss to be installed. She said the recent delay was due to weather. The county and contractors are working to reschedule.
She also said contractors are about 80 percent complete with the list of items that need to be completed or corrected. A Feb. 24 meeting has been set for resolving the balance of the issues.
€ planned its next regular meeting for 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at the district board/conference room.
€ set 6 p.m. Jan. 28 for a study session to discuss No Child Left Behind legislation.
€ heard from Principal Keith Banks on WRHS's Learning Improvement Plan. Banks pointed out the high school has set reading as a high priority and is evaluating all freshman three timesl. One-third of ninth graders read below level, he said, and the school is working to change those numbers.
He said the high school is also trying to expand parent involvement. Administrators are seeing success with individual student plans, which are reviewed with parents in a student's freshman and junior year. Banks said the program has about 83 percent parent participation.
He said the high school is also seeing success with its extended learning programs and its credit retrieval program, which allows students to make up lost credits after school or on weekends.
The board approved all the learning improvement plans in the district.
€ recognized past board president Susan McGuire with an award for outstanding leadership during her 2001-03 term. The entire board was also recognized for its dedication, since January is National School Board Appreciation month.
€ was updated on December enrollment numbers, which have dropped by about 20 students, but are still up across the district. Classrooms from kindergarten through fourth grade are averaging 22 students; for intermediate grades, the classroom average is 24 students.
Brenda Sexton can be reached at bsexton@courierherald.com
