New Related-Arts Schedule Await Students at ACPC.

   “We will be adding attendance to our current goals of making sure students are reading and doing math at grade level,” Wilson said. “In order to read and do math at grade level, the students have to be in school. We would like to reach a 95% attendance level goal for our school. It is important that students come to school every day. It is so important for them to be here and actively engaged in the classroom and overall school life.”

   The school will begin “Every Day Counts,” a program to stress the importance of being in school daily. 

   “We will launch this two days before school starts,” Wilson added. “We will send our teachers into the community to deliver some packets with some goodies, snacks, and a wrist band that says Every Day Counts. We will have more details coming about this.”

   Wilson expects approximately 1,000 students to be in the building this year. The principal does remind new comers to the community to register their child---by visiting the school weekdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.---as soon as possible. 

   “The sooner the better,” Wilson said. “The sooner they register; the sooner we can get them into a classroom. They can attend Open House, meet the teacher, and get a school supply list.”

   A new schedule for Related Arts classes will have a daily impact on the students. Earlier this year, the school’s Site Based Decision Making Council approved a color schedule for the Related Arts classes---art, music, library, physical education (PE), and science. 

   “This color schedule will start the first day of school and continue the rest of the year,” Wilson explained. “This evens up the time students spend in each Related Arts class over the course of the year.”

   Under the previous schedule, classrooms visited a Related Arts class based on the day of the week. For example, Classroom “A” had music each Monday, library on Tuesday, art on Wednesday, science of Thursday, and PE on Friday. The schedule was consistent all year which meant that if school was out on a Monday (for holidays, professional development days, or weather) that classroom would miss music for that week. 

   Under the new color schedule this year, Classroom “A” would be assigned a color for each day. The color would correspond with the Related Arts class for that day. For example, Classroom “A” might have library on their red day, PE on their orange day, art on their yellow day, music on their green day, and science on their blue day. The order remains the same throughout the year. After days missed, the next day back will be the next color in the schedule. 

   “Parents and students will have to get used to this,” Wilson noted. “This will help students get a consistent number of Related Arts classes throughout the year. The color schedule will be in the student handbook on-line or they can request a hard copy as well. Teachers will also be constantly reminding students the day before about what the next day will be. It will take some getting used to.”

   Returning students will see several “cosmetic’ changes to the 18-year old school. 

   “We are painting some of the pods and adding lettering,” Wilson said. “We also adding signs for each classroom similar to what the middle school has. We just want to liven up the school and give it some color. This will be going on for several years. I’m encouraging our PTO to get behind this and help with the costs. Down the road, we would like to add some more murals.”   

   Academically, the students at the school may see some changes in the state accountability system, a result of ongoing changes at the state level.  

   “We are not 100 percent sure because the state is revamping the accountability system and everything is on a trial basics.” Wilson pointed out. “Yet, we feel good about the direction we are going. We will still have our emphasis on having every student reading and performing math on grade level.”

   Wilson adds that the Primary Center will also be looking at social issues to help give the young students a solid foundation to build upon for the rest of their lives.  

   “We are looking at how we can reach all our students academically and teach them the skills that will prepare them when they leave this building and also help prepare them with skills for down the road after they graduate,” Wilson explained. “We start laying the foundation for those skills here, things like critical thinking and teamwork. We continue to look at ways we can develop our programs that will teach those skills. It’s not an easy thing to do because we have a wide variety of students that come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Culture expectations differ. We know that every student will not learn how to read the same way and we know that every student will not learn life-ready skills the same way. But we will look at how we can help them do that.”

  Wilson encourages parents of Primary Center kids to engage themselves in the educational process---in more ways than just doing homework with their child.

  “The big thing is communication with the school,” Wilson noted. “Be involved in their child’s education beyond just doing homework. Ask about their day. Don’t just say ‘how was your day’ and leave it at that. Say ‘what did you learn today’ or ‘what do you wish you had learned.’ Also, come in to the school. We continue to ask parents to come in once a year and be readers in their classrooms. We want parents and guardians to be active participants in what’s going on in our school.”

   Wilson stresses that parents are encouraged to keep the lines of communication open. 

   “If a parent has a concern with a student’s academics or behavior, talk to the teacher,” Wilson said. “If it’s a school concern, we are here. Don’t hesitate to give us a call.”

   Students at Allen County Primary Center will again see a fulltime School Resource Officer (SRO) dedicated to the school. Last spring, through joint efforts between the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, 

   Scottsville City Police, and the School District, each school was assigned a SRO---a move that reinforced the District’s commitment to make each school as safe as possible.  

   “It was a very positive reception,” Wilson said. “The reality is that we are a safer school because we have a School Resource Officer in the building. We are also looking at ways to incorporate our SRO into the school day. We are pleased to have someone that provides a sense of security to both the students and adults in the building.”

  Wilson reminds parents that students at the Primary Center will still receive breakfast and lunch at no charge—a result of the school being designated by the United States Department of Agriculture as a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) qualifying school.

  “First through third grades will again pick up breakfast when they leave morning meeting,” Wilson said. “Our kindergarten students eat breakfast in the cafeteria and preschool has breakfast delivered. Lunch is in the cafeteria and all that is free. We do ask parents to make sure their students have money in their lunch account in case their child wants extras of the normal lunch or the snack type foods some of kids like.”

  Student drop-off and pick-up procedures will remain the same as was the case at the close of last school year. In the mornings, parents are reminded that drop-offs must enter the campus from Oliver Street and proceed to the front of the Primary Center. The entrance to the school from New Gallatin Road will be closed from 6:30 a.m. until approximately 8 a.m. each weekday. In the afternoons, pick-up traffic must also enter from Oliver Street. Traffic will exit onto the New Gallatin Road. More information about drop-offs, pick-ups, and transportation will be available at the Open House.    

  In personnel changes and additions, Missy Coffee has moved from preschool to first grade with Courtney Bernando hired to replace Coffey in the classroom. Cassidy McCord will be a MSD Teacher. Tanya Butrey will also come aboard as the school’s Speech Language Pathologist. Kari Harp will be an ECE instructional assistant. Sterling Perdue and Miranda Riddle have been employed as custodians. 

  The Allen County Primary Center will have Open House for kindergarten students on Monday, July 30. The classrooms of Cindy King, Heather Mitchell, Karen Stinson, Rachel Gammons, and Daphne Mitchell will have Open House from 3 until 5 p.m. followed by Open House for the classrooms of Sarah Reynolds, Freda Rigsby, Lisa Kirby, and Jean Anne Williams from 5:30 until 7:30. Open House for preschool, first, second, and third grade students will be from 4 until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31. Parents are encouraged to attend and meet the teachers.