(by Don Meador, Public Relations Coordinator, Allen County Schools)
The 2016-17 school year will begin on Thursday, August 4 for approximate 3,000 students in Allen County. About one-third of those students will be enrolled at the Allen County Primary Center---engaged in the fundamental learning of the 13-year educational process.
Students at ACPC will be greeted by a new reading program, a new science classroom, several new faces, and a new motto.
“We will have a new reading program for kindergarten through second grade,” principal Tim Wilson explained. “It’s called Being A Reader. It’s with the same organization that did our writing program last year. That program, called Being a Writer, was a big success. The new program is a small group reading curriculum that will help us get our students reading on grade level by the time they leave third grade. We are excited about getting this implemented and moving forward during the year. We will also see more of Being a Writer. Our students have seen this and our teachers have gone through it so that will help them teach the program better.”
Wilson notes that having Primary Center students improve in reading continues to be a focus---an objective that has been helped in recent years by volunteers through the Points of Light Volunteer program. POL volunteers give about 30 minutes a week to help struggling students with sight words or, in other cases, simply serve as a mentor to students.
“We desperately need volunteers,” Wilson said. “Research shows that just being a mentor makes a big difference. Some of our students have nobody to talk to when they leave school. So having a person to just come in and talk and allow a student to communicate will also help that student build a vocabulary, which is one of the keys to being a successful reader. We also need volunteers to come in and work with students on sight words. This will get the students more opportunities to learn those words. Both coming in and having lunch with a child or helping a student with sight words are something that we need help with. The more people we can get the better off we are. I always say that the more adult hands we can get on these students in a positive way, the better these students are going to be when they leave us and the better prepared the students are for whatever happens later on.”
The students’ weekly schedule will include a curriculum change that is designed to help students engage more in the science field. Scientific topics covered by classroom teachers in the past will now be during a specific time slot.
“We have also added a science classroom as part of related arts,” Wilson explained. “We took computer lab out of related arts and have given computer lab a separate time during the week. Students will get computer lab once during the week but they will also get 40 minutes dedicated to science once-a-week. Tabitha Elmore will be teaching the science classroom.”
Wilson notes that a “busy summer of interviewing” has led to the hiring of several new faces for the school.
“We have added quite-a-few new teachers and moved a few around in the building.” Wilson said. “Amanda Rich will be new in preschool. In kindergarten, our changes are in-house. Heather Mitchell moved from a preschool teacher position to kindergarten. First grade is our biggest change. Out of our 10 first grade teachers, we have four new ones. Jenna Birge has moved from an ECE position to a first grade teacher, Shelby Tabor is a new hire, Angela Patrick is new in first grade. In second grade, Cheri Napier moved from first grade to second grade. In third grade, Lauren Masterson comes to us from North Carolina and Stefanie Tudor is new. Our new ECE teachers will be Cody Harper in kindergarten, Nancy Benton in first grade, Joni Gentry will be a second grade ECE teacher, and Cheryl Rough will move from first grade to second grade ECE.”
The new teachers bring to 73 the number of certified staff at the Primary Center to start the year. Wilson does not anticipate having to make any new hires due to increased enrollment as school begins. However, anyone who has moved into the district and has not enrolled their child in school should do so as soon as possible in order to help administrators have a firm number of students to expect on opening day.
The school will have the same general rules for students as in previous years. School-day start times and dismissal times will be the same as last year. Student drop-off and pick-up procedures have not changed from last year.
One change that students will see and hear about this year revolves around a word---a word that highlights what the students are expected to do each and every day.
“We have changed our school-wide PBIS motto from DREAM to LEARN,” Wilson noted. “This is just a new focus for us and a new opportunity to bring about a change in focus. We will be focusing on that a lot this year.”
LEARN is an acronym which stands for lead by example, encourage self and others, act responsibly, respect everyone, and never give up.
Other small changes will include a new “look” to the cafeteria. In recent weeks, the lunch area for the school’s 1,000 kids was repainted with a farm-related mural design by artist Lori James. Funding for the upgrade was through a Breakfast Challenge reward received in recent years by Allen County Food Services.
The Open House for all ACPC students will be from 4 until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26. Parents are encouraged to come by the school, meet their child’s teacher, tour the building, and interact with administration.