Thursday, December 11, 2014

VIT Scholastic Bowl Match

I am sitting in the first home Scholastic Bowl Match hosted by the newly started VIT HS Scholastic Bowl Team. As of now, VIT has won the first game and is winning the second game. The team is doing well and having fun playing the match. Oh, I might add that the questions are far from easy. Good luck to the VIT squad in their first home match.

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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Technology Conference

In a very interesting session at IETC conference on technology in education. Very student driven and centered - the way education can be. I am looking forward to sharing this info with our staff so they can continue to expand their technology usage.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Parent/Teacher Conferences This Week

This Wednesday and Thursday are early dismissal days (2:00 and 2:10 in the different buildings) due to Parent/Teacher Conferences. Conferences are an important part in the educational process and the overall academic and social success of your student(s) at school. I hope to see you on this Wednesday or Thursday. Times are 4:00pm to 7:00pm on Wednesday and Thursday. The teachers are flexible and can meet before 4:00 or on another date, if necessary. If you haven't scheduled your Pre-K through 6th conference yet, call 309-758-5138. Remember, there is no school on Friday.

As always - Have a great day!



Sunday, October 26, 2014

Great End of The Regular Season

Play-off Bound! The Rebels won their sixth and final football game of the regular season. The 6th win propelled them into the play-offs for the first time in several seasons. Congratulations to our coaching staff and players. The Rebels will travel to Arcola on Saturday for a 1:30 kick-off. Hope to see you there.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Red Ribbon Skit for Elementary Students

Right now the VIT HS SWAT Club is giving a great anti-bullying and anti-drug skit to open Red Ribbon Week. We will have a great prevention-themed week next week as well.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Principal Appreciation Week 2014

October 19th-25th is Principal Appreciation Month in Illinois.  Principal Appreciation Day is Friday, October 24th. According to Illinois Principal Association Executive Director, Mr. Jason Leahy, "Principals and educational leaders impact student lives in a significant way…..courageous leadership is essential to effectively educate students and work to provide the resources and support they need to be successful in the 21st century."  At V.I.T. , Ms. Tracey Korsmeyer is in her first year as principal of the junior-senior high school. Ms. Korsmeyer has made an immediate positive impact on her staff, the school climate, and educational setting.  Her history as a highly effective math teacher in the district has transferred to her leadership of the junior-senior high school.  At the elementary school, Mr. Matt Klaska is serving has the Pre-K through sixth grade Dean of Students.  Technically, I also serve as elementary principal. Serving in both roles is possible; serving them both equally is difficult. Without the day-to-day leadership that Mr. Klaska is providing in the elementary building, the teachers would be without immediate access for educational and behavior assistance.  Mr. Klaska is doing work that could easily be classified as principal duties and he still teaches an hour of health and provides math interventions on top off his leadership role.  Overall, I am very proud of the work that these new educational leaders are undertaking each day. I believe that their presence will continue to positively impact our students, staff, and schools in the long term.  I hope that if you see either Ms. Korsmeyer or Mr. Klaska this week (or anytime) you will let them know that their efforts are appreciated. 


A great time to show our principals your appreciation would be at Senior Night on Friday the 24th.  We have a very important game with play-off implications on the line. A great crowd would be a huge benefit to the home team.  It would also show our seniors the appreciation they deserve for four years of dedicated play on the field.

As always, have a great day

Mike Curry

Superintendent of Schools

VIT CUSD#2 – Where Education is a BIG Deal

Monday, September 8, 2014

Back To School Webinar for Parents from the Illinois State Board of Education


FYI - This may be of value for parents regarding New Illinois Learning Standards and  PARCC testing.

Link is  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/185876249

Back-to-School Webinar for Parents with Illinois State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch and the Illinois PTA


Tuesday, September 9, 2014 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM CDT

Webinar Registration

State Superintendent Koch invites parents to join him for a one-hour Back to School program at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 9.
  
The session Back to School program for parents will cover:

    •  Putting in place the new Illinois Learning Standards – A  discussion of how and why the standards drive new instructional approaches and lesson plans.

    • PARCC 2015 – Third-through-eighth-graders, as well as high school students, will take online state assessments for the first time this school year. Dr. Koch will tell you more about these new tests and the information they will generate about your child’s progress toward college and career readiness.

    • Parental Engagement – If you’re registering for this webinar, you’re probably already an engaged and involved parent.  We will discuss some state initiatives to promote the vital partnership between parents and the school community to achieve student success.

    • Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.

We suggest listeners log in a few minutes early to establish connections, especially if this is your first time attending a live “Go to Webinar” from your computer or mobile device. We will begin transmitting a title screen at least 15-20 minutes prior to the scheduled 7 p.m. start so that participants can determine that they are properly connected.
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Webinar organizers are prohibited from soliciting confidential personal information (credit card information, social security numbers, etc.) in the registration form. This questionnaire is not intended to handle sensitive data.
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* Indicates a required field
By clicking the "Register Now" button you submit your information to the Webinar organizer, who will use it to communicate with you regarding this event and their other services.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Early Dismissal Thursday and Friday

Due to the forecast and lack of climate controlled classrooms, we will dismiss at 2:00 and 2:10 this Thursday and Friday. Additionally, Friday is forecast to have a Heat Index of over 102 degrees. Friday's dismissal time could change by mid-morning.

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Tentative Budget for 2014-2015 School year

This year's budget will be on public display at the District Office for the next 30 days. Community members interested in studying the budget are welcome to visit between 7AM and 4PM Monday - Friday.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Great First Day

Monday went great at V.I.T. The students and staff were engaged in back to school activities. The weather was tolerable, unlike the forecast for the end of this week. I am glad that staff and students are back. Summer is a quiet time to work on many tasks, but the building is so much more alive when we have students and staff. I am looking forward to a great year.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Almost Time for School to Start

  Another school year is almost here. We are looking forward to the return of our students on August 18th. We will have a full day of school with 2:00 and 2:10 dismissals in the JSHS and Elementary School.  I am looking forward to a second year and continued change.  Our district may be small is size but in 2014-2015, I am making decisions based on the idea that V.I.T. is a place where Education is a BIG Deal. We have continued to add to the quality of the educational environment. With new key staff members, increased technology opportunities, and the implementation of Study Island for 2014-2015, this year will build on the idea that every student’s education is a BIG deal.  
    We have several new staff members for the 2014-2015 school year.  Our new Junior High-High School Principal, Ms. Tracey Korsmeyer, has been an outstanding educator in this district for many years.  Her classroom leadership will carry-over to how she leads her staff and students through the coming year. We are excited to have a veteran member of our staff takeover the leadership role after the retirement of longtime principal, Mr. Phil Snowden. We also have a new dean of students at the Elementary School. Mr. Matt Klaska earned his Masters' in Educational Administration and has been given an opportunity to gain experience working with the administrative team for this school year. Mrs. Melinda Treadway is our new math teacher for the HS. Ms. Kylee Palmer is our new HS English teacher. Mr. Joel Wade is our new HS science teacher. Mr. David Mueller is our new part-time JH/HS math teacher. Mrs. Kristy Boggs is teaching one hour of HS horticulture. Mr. Dave Wilson is teaching JH/HS P.E. Ms. Courtney Richardson is our new Pre-K through 6th grade Speech teacher. Mr. Aaron Bucher is our new Technology Director and is teaching one computer class at the HS.  Ms. Gina Tilton is our new assistant cook at the Elementary School. Mrs. Kris Lascelles is our newest bus driver.
   In addition to staff additions, we have added more laptops for students, we have increased our WIFI areas for staff, students, and community members, Study Island has been implemented for the next three years, Fiber-optic internet has been installed by Mid-Century for the upcoming school year, and we have a new webpage for the district. Our new webpage is www.vit2.org
   Our custodial staff has both buildings ready for our students to return.  The first day of school is always my favorite day of the year. As always, we are open to visits from students, parents, and community members regarding our schools. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to call or stop-in to discuss them.  
Have a Great Day,
Mr. Mike Curry



Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Fiber Install

Outside my window this morning! Usually a piece of equipment like this backhoe is not what one likes to see out of the office window. Today, it is a welcomed sight. Mid-Century is installing Fiber to the district. This install will greatly increase our internet capabilities. Mid-Century has been an outstanding partner in this project. The crew here today has worked fast this morning to trench and bore before the rain hits. As we get closer to turning on our Fiber access, I will share more information.
Have a Great Day!

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

IASA Presentation

Good day, today I am out of the district making a presentation at the IASA New Superintendents Conference. Our presentation focuses on what we have learned after year one.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

School Improvement Planning

On Tuesday July 29, our elementary school improvement team met to discuss our improvement plan for 2014-15 and 2015-16. We started working through a series of prompts designed to find positive areas and areas in need of improvement. We will be meeting several times during the first semester to determine how to continue to offer a great education to our students. Looking for ways to improve as a team will assist us in implementing school-wide strategies for Common Core, preparing our students for HS, and providing citizenship skills for their future success. The team included Mr. Curry, Ms. Becker, Mrs. VanTine, Ms. Wenndt, Mr. Klaska, Ms. Korsmeyer, Mrs. Jansen, Mrs. Hampton, and Mr. Schmersahl.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

VIT and MDH

What a long week. We finally moved into a home in Ipava. Lots of moving and cleaning from our rental. Tiring is the best way to describe moving. After getting into our new place, my sister and mother came to visit on Saturday. My mother was looking around on her own and fell and broke her hip. Scary and stressful times. I have to admit, we had great rescue service from Ipava. Then after her surgery, we have had great nursing and caregiver experiences at MDH in Macomb. There are several VIT grads and community members who work at MDH. We have had two nurses and two other employees who work there with VIT ties. Everyone has been great. She will be going home on Wednesday, but she has had a very good experience at MDH and with Ipava Rescue. Thank you to everyone who has made this stressful event a little more tolerable for her.

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Monday, July 7, 2014

Registration for 2014-2015

REMINDER - VIT Registration will be held on July 16th at both buildings from 7:00-11:30 and 12:30-6:30PM.

2014-2015



As I have started my second year at VIT, I thought it was a good time to share a few changes for this coming school year.  1. We have a new principal in place at the Junior-Senior High School. Mr. Snowden has retired after many years at VIT. His efforts have been greatly appreciated. After several applicants were screened by a committee of staff members. Four candidates were presented to the Board for an interview. After four interviews with four outstanding applicants, Tracey Korsmeyer was selected to be the next principal. Ms. Korsmeyer has taught at VIT for several years and has the support of the staff to lead the school in its efforts to continually provide quality educational opportunities to the students. She has been at work this summer making plans for the start of the year. She will be on hand all day at registration. 2. The district has employed two new teachers for 2014-2015. Mrs. Melinda Treadway and Ms. Kylee Palmer have been selected by Ms. Korsmeyer and her interview team to take over HS math and HS English respectively. I will have a special introductory blog for each later this summer. 3. The district, with a great deal of assistance from P.T.O., has purchased a software package from Study Island. Study Island is an online educational tool that we are looking to use a great deal in 2014-2015. For more information, you can check-out www.studyisland.com . 4. Both buildings are now total wireless environments. The number of laptops and tablets will continue to increase. Students can bring their own devices to school for use in academic settings. Parents can access our network while they are here for ball games or other school sponsored events. In order to make this system run as smooth as possible, we have employed Mr. Aaron Bucher as a full-time district technology leader.  Mr. Bucher will also teach one hour of a technology/computer course to our students in HS. 5. We are very close to starting a horticulture class for 2014-2015. upon approval, we will have the class 1st hour everyday. The class will be taught by a professor from Spoon River College. We will have a new greenhouse and garden on site. 6. Mr. Wilson has moved to the JSHS to serve as the P.E. teacher and Mr. Matt Klaska will now serve as the Dean of Students at the elementary school.  7. REMINDER that registration will take place all day on July 16th. I am looking forward to seeing as many parents and students as possible on July 16th. Stay tuned - there will be more blogs coming as we approach a new school year.

Monday, June 2, 2014

SES provider fair tonight

Don't forget the S he S provider fair tonight for V I T elementary students. The fair is from 7 PM to 8 PM in the elementary gymnasium. Parents will have an opportunity to select a free tutor for the summer for their student. The number of students eligible is limited so make sure you show up to the fair to select a provider. Those students that show continuous academic need and economic need will be given first priority for services.

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Friday, May 30, 2014

8th Grade Promotion

Tonight is VIT's 8th Grade Promotion. Although these kids will only be moving to another part of the hallway next year, the move is a significant one. Going into high school is a big deal for kids. It is the beginning of four years of change for all of them. They will experience more educational opportunities, experience high school athletics, receive awards and recognitions, join clubs, make new friends, feel real disappointment, face academic and athletic adversity, and hopefully learn the most important skill in life: perseverance. They will in essence, begin to "grow up" right in front of us. As a HS principal I remember seeing more personal growth in my students from 9th to 10th grade. So to some, 8th grade promotion might be a bit old fashioned, but I say "enjoy it" because high school will be a new experience all to itself, for students and parents alike. Congrats to the VIT 2014 8th grade class.

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Today's Legislative Meetings

This morning I am at the State Capitol with numerous area school administrators. We are meeting with various legislators to discuss funding and other educational issues. We hope to see as many legislators as possible today.

Monday, April 28, 2014

7th grade and Freshmen Orientatation

On Tuesday, April 29, the incoming 7th and 9th graders are invited to an orientation for Junior High and High School. Counselors, teachers, and the new JSHS Principal will be on hand to discuss the differences between elementary and JH and JH and HS expectations, courses, etc. We encourage all students and parents entering 7th and 9th grades to attend. 6pm for 7th and 7pm for 9th.

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Monday, March 31, 2014

We will have school on Tuesday for all grades

The building was pumped dry this evening and power and water service has been restored. All grades will be in session on Tuesday.

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So, Why Did We Have Elementary School Today?

What a way to start a new week! Luckily, this morning our head cook notified our Maintenance Director that there was no water in the building. Unluckily, he found the boiler room nearly waist deep in water. The boiler room is also home to major electrical cabinets for the building. With no water or power, school isn't happening.
We are having elementary school because:
We determined that the water break does not affect the elementary school's water situation. In addition, we have missed so much school and so many learning opportunities for our younger students. And lastly, with such a late decision to close, it may have been difficult for parents to find daycare options for their young ones. High school and junior high age students are easier to make arrangements for or allow to stay at home alone.
If you have any questions, please call the elementary school. We will keep the V.I.T. Community informed as the day continues.

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Family Night at VIT Elementary School

Last week, VIT hosted an early grades Family Night. The event was put together by the teachers. They brought in a magician who promoted the importance or reading throughout his performance. The event had over 100 guests. The parents sat in the bleachers while many kids sat on the floor to be close to the magic action. The kids loved the magic show, especially the bunny! After the show, all kids in attendance received a new book. The event was huge success!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Parent Information Regarding MRSA


We received notification that a student (who is on an SFR coop team that practices at VIT) has tested positive for MRSA. In order to keep all parents informed, We are sending home an informational letter for the parents of students in our district. As far as VIT is concerned, the athlete was not in any classrooms. Additionally, areas that the athlete may have spent time in have been sanitized including:
Locker rooms and restrooms - 
Door handles that may or may not have been in the student's path - 
Athletic equipment used by the student -
Practice buses that the student may have been transported on.

We are confident that we have and are taking the necessary steps to best protect students and staff.
If you have any questions - please call the district office at 309-758-5138
Mr. Mike Curry

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Thank You 6th Graders

Last night we recognized our 6th Grade volleyball girls. They played their last home game as Lady Hornets. They will be moving to JH and the SFR Lady Rebel Coop next year. Thank you for your hard work in the "green and white" while at VIT Elementary.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

6th Grade Basketball Final Home Game

Congratulations and Thank You to the 6th grade boys BB team for a great win last night and great effort over their time playing Hornet BB at VIT Elementary!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Sectional Champions

Lady Rebel Basketball defeats Brimfield for Sectional Championship. Super-Sectional on Monday!!! Great job players and coaches. Also, the crowd tonight was AWESOME!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Another Bitter Day

Well, here we go again. Another day out of school.  This weather is crazy. We have neighboring districts with air and windchill temperature changes of more than 15 degrees, Bushnell was -12/-33 while Astoria was a warmer -8/-14.   As far as our cold districts (-12/-33WC) are concerned,  I am glad that I have people around me that understand that just "because we are tired of missing school it doesn't make it right," to have school for the sake of having school. Another area superintendent said that this morning as we talked about being the first 2 or 3 to cancel. I could not have said it better myself. I have always tried to balance safety and potential for unnecessary trouble with the importance of education and going to school. Decisions like this will always have detractors, no matter which way one decides - but in the end, I don't want my kids or your kids stuck on a broken down bus or waiting outside for a bus in -30 degree weather. Apparently, I am also losing my mind through all of this as I said the wrong date on the phone call this morning and had to call everyone again......like you haven't heard my voice enough in the past 40 days :) Stay warm and we will try again tomorrow.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Central IL Weather - wait 3 minutes and it will change...REALLY

This morning was so frustrating!!! Weather services are amazingly helpful and like most services, prone to some inconsistencies. But this AM was very confusing. Temps in Table Grove varied from -15 to -5 on 3 different sources at several different points in time. Ipava and Vermont varied from
-3 to -10 while Astoria was -3 and Bushnell was -10. This weather is so unpredictable. It is the unpredictability that makes the decision to cancel on days like this - so frustrating and down-right tiring. Today the temps were right on the fence in some parts of the district and in a perfectly safe range in others. So, we fired up the buses, opened the school house doors, and reminded parents of cold weather precautions. We do what we can do. In any event, school is in session. Have a great day and stay warm. I heard 40'a in less than 14 days :)

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Seriously?????

So this is how myself and at least 6 other area superintendents felt AGAIN this morning. This weather is insane. Each school has its own reasons for canceling. This AM's air temp was -12. Buses don't like -12 because they take soooooo long to heat up. We began an early start schedule this winter where the buses are started almost 60 minutes before they pick up their first kid. Also, kids at bus stops in -12 air temps isn't good. If we lived in a climate where this was normal we would all be acclimated and we would all dress appropriately. But we don't, kids aren't, and kids definitely do not! Mornings like this make me want to pull out what little hair I have left. I am sure you and most of our kids really do want school to be open.
Tomorrow's forecast looks to be a similar day with slightly warmer temperatures. Please dress the kids for the cold. We will try again tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Another Day Out

This is a picture from my windshield from just one of the many VIT CUSD#2 country roads I drove last night around 830pm. The drifting was significant enough that 4 wheel drive was required. Combine this fact with the forecast, and canceling school was the inevitable choice. This has been a long winter already. We have missed 9.5 days of school since January 2nd. I hope we can get into a more consistent pattern soon. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Have a great day.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Weather Concerns

Well, it is cold again today. Just how cold is open to debate. Regardless of wind speed,-4 air temp is cold. I have attached the 7am weather readings from 3 different weather forecasting and reading services. This is the kind of info that makes days like today a difficult decision. Which one is accurate? After being outside this morning, I think it is a combination of all three. As most of the county closed around us last night, a few of us waited. We were looking at one weather model and those closing were looking at another. Once it became clear that only a couple of us were going to be open, it was determined to error on the side of caution. Closing school is an inexact science. And as we all know, with central Illinois weather - wait 5 minutes and it will change. The problem is that parents and staff and bus drivers all need more than 5 minutes notice before canceling school. I hope you all have a great day and maybe - just maybe this will be the last windchill cancellation of the year.......BUT we do live Illinois.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Outstanding Lunch Meeting

Today, at our quarterly IASA Western Region meeting, we were enlightened on educational policy and legislation by Jim Broadway. Jim has been reporting on and writing about education policy for the past 20 years. His news was not great. Funding will fall for all schools. The state will start the year with a 2.2 billion dollar shortfall. This shortfall will make it nearly impossible for the legislature to fully fund education. Other topics included: curriculum, pensions, retired teachers, and political give-and-takes. 15 current superintendents and administrators were on hand for Jim's conversation.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Cold Weather

Wow.... This is getting old - fast. We have now missed 6 days due to extreme cold weather. As I continue to mention, we close school for the safety of our students and staff during transport to and from school. Bus time wind chill temps of -20 or lower are dangerously low for kids at bus stops. -15 is where we start looking at the possibility of closing. The difficult part is that often, within a few hours, the temps rise to a tolerable level. As we look forward at weather models, these will probably not be the last days this winter we miss.
Thank you for your support - stay warm

Saturday, January 18, 2014

3rd Place Lady Hornets VB

3rd place at St. Paul's 6th Grade VB Tournament. Good Work Ladies!

Fantastic Win for SFR Boys BB

I drove up to Farmington last night to watch our SFR Rebels take on the Farmers. What a great game. Our team came out fast and ready to play D. If the game plan was: Get in their shorts on defense, drive the rack, and bury a few 3's for good measure - the Rebels executed it perfectly. Alex Briney had a great game. The team in general got great play from everyone. The coaches used our deep bench to run run run. We had a great crowd for a cold night and a long drive. Lets keep the winning weekend going with a victory tonight for our Lady Rebels at Camp Point against Illini West.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Your Input Wanted

Today, I will open up an email address just for you - the community - to send in your thoughts on what you are looking for in a new High School/Junior High Principal. As we have started this process, we have set some in-house goals for our ideal candidates. Now it is time to here from more of you. I have received calls and spoken to numerous stakeholders about this process over the past few months. I explored many ways to involve a larger slice of our people. In the end, a parent committee for 8-10 evening interviews was not going to work for most. A community forum would be next to impossible with all of our school events and student participation. So, I think that this course of action allows for the smoothest, least time consuming, and hopefully the most thought-provoking option for community input.

Simply email your thoughts, concerns, areas you want addressed, and traits you want our new building principal to possess to: community@vit2.org . Please include your name so that if need be, I can follow-up with you during this process. This email address will be open through Sunday evening - but don't wait. Email your thoughts sooner, rather than later.

Mr. Curry

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Lady Hornet Volleyball

Last night I went to watch the 5th and 6th grade girls volleyball team play at St. Paul's. The girls played hard and pulled out match victories at both levels. The 5th grade won in two games. The 6th grade won in 3. There are several new 6th graders on the team. There are also a large group of 4th graders who have joined with our 5th graders to form a big group at that level. As a fan of volleyball, it is great to see our numbers grow.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Hands-only CPR and AED Training

Good day, I would like to encourage all of you to take a few minutes to watch a video produced by the IHSA and the Illinois State Board of Education regarding HANDS-ONLY CPR and AED use. The short video could assist you in saving someone's life in the future. So take a 5 minute break and click here: LIFE SAVING VIDEO Viewing this can only be a benefit for you when you are unexpectedly put in a position to save a life. Have a Great Day

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Good To Be Back

Having spent a few days working in the office over the extended break, two things became very clear. 1. A lot of paperwork can be tackled when the building is nearly empty. 2. It is not nearly as fun to be at work when the building is empty. While I was able to plow through some back paperwork and complete a few unfinished projects, the days just seemed to be missing something. Then on the first day back it was obvious; KIDS and STAFF. The excitement that happens here every day is what makes this job rewarding. It isn't getting reports completed in a timely fashion (although this is a necessity of the job), it isn't preparing for Board Meetings, and it isn't PAPERWORK. In the end, it is the daily interactions with our students and those adults charged with providing an engaging educational environment. Every day, I am able to work with great kids and visit with people who truly love their job. Snow days are great every once in a while – but having four in a row after a long holiday break - makes it very easy to remember why we are all here in the first place. Have a great day.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Winter Closings.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break. Eventually, we will get back to school. As the end of the year approached, I began to wear-out the Accuweather App on my phone. It became obvious to me that a return to school was probably not going to happen on the 2nd. Looking ahead from there, the 3rd was going to be colder. In addition to Thursday and Friday, the forecast for Monday and Tuesday looked bitter and bleak. In the end, school was cancelled for several days. Canceling school is seldom a simple decision. Sometimes, like Monday with its -40 wind chills, it is a no-brainer. Other times, like Friday, the decision is less obvious because the morning weather and the mid morning weather vary so much that by 10 AM school could have easily been in session. Additionally, we like to give parents plenty of time to make plans for days out of school. We can't always cancel the night before, but when we can we will. The biggest concerns regarding closing school are transportation related. We don't have any walkers, but we do have a lot of bus riders. Most of these riders (240+) wait at open bus stops in the mornings. Then there is the bus ride itself. If a bus breaks down in low temperatures, the wait on the bus could vary from uncomfortable to dangerously cold. We have a safetyvplan in place that would have a assistance bus on the road within 5-10 minutes of receiving notification of an issue. In addition to those we transport, there are those students and staff that drive to school each day. Stranded individuals, especially novice drivers, aren't always prepared for being exposed to the weather while they wait for assistance. This group is also an area of concern when ice, snow pack, or drifting snow are on the road or approaching. Our decision to dismiss early is entirely dependent on weather updates and forecast models throughout the day. We also talk with other schools in the path of the ice or snow. During a school day, We are forced to make a decision two-three hours before we believe the storm will hit us. This window allows parents of younger students to make after school plans. It gives student drivers a chance to get home. It allows buses time to drop off students and get back to base. Additionally, we need to make sure our staff and bus drivers have a window to get home before the storm hits. As you can see, there are numerous concerns that we take into consideration before we close school. Our philosophy is simple - error on the side of student and staff safety. Looking ahead, if this winter is anything like our extreme summer, this won't be the last round of school closings. Have a great day and STAY WARM. - Mr. Curry



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