Guest Speakers Highlight New Leesburg School Dedication
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Having taught for 45 years, the new Leesburg is also Cook's third Leesburg School building she's worked at over the course of her career.
Cook was recognized several times during the dedication ceremony by the speakers, and received a round of applause when fifth-grade teacher and speaker Rod Teeple first commented on her long time at Leesburg.
The new school is the seventh building in which Leesburg School has been held. The first schoolhouse was built in 1835.
During the ceremony Sunday, Principal Randy Dahms gave the welcoming remarks. He said talking to his wife the other day, he was thinking about "how lucky we are." Dahms cited there's a new school, teacher Stacy Huffer is in the top 10 teachers in the state, and student academics are growing.
After the pledge of allegiance, fourth-grade teacher Lee Snider compared the school he attended growing up to Leesburg Elementary's situation.
Snider grew up in a small town, like Leesburg. At one point in his hometown, the school building could not meet the students' needs, like the former Leesburg School. His hometown built a new school in a corn field, like the new Leesburg.
However, in Snider's hometown, he said, the school was built for what was needed then. The new Leesburg was built for decades to come.
Teeple said his father previously worked at Leesburg, and he attended Leesburg himself, eventually coming back to teach. While the old building holds many memories, it lacked classroom space, bathroom facilities and had sewage and water problems. The new building will be a place of new memories.
Music teacher Rebecca Crim led a student performance before Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz took the stage.
Hintz said it was a pleasure to be there on such a special occasion - the dedication of a new school.
"It's just something that doesn't happen every day," Hintz said.
WCS has been fortunate, he said, because Leesburg's dedication is the first of four new school dedications. With a total of eight elementary schools, half of WCS's elementaries are brand new.
As for the old Leesburg School, he said the Leesburg Lions Club has approached WCS about taking over the ball diamonds. A public school board meeting will be held Oct. 12 to discuss the old facilities.
Hintz recognized WCS Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott, whose expertise helped make the $60 million project possible, and for $3 million less than projected. All the furniture and equipment in the new schools also is brand-spanking new.
Recently, Hintz said, he asked Scott what the new schools projects would cost the average homeowner. Scott told Hintz that for a person who owned a $100,000 home, the annual cost would be $94.
School Board Secretary Delores Hearn, who represents the Leesburg area, then talked about 2010 being a new chapter in the history books of Leesburg School. She challenged each student to create new memories in their own memory book at the new school.
Dr. Stacey Hughes, assistant superintendent for the Indiana Department of Education, talked about how education can change people's lives and the community. She said she listened to the song the children sang, Hintz's talk about modernization, the teachers' perspective, Hearn's memories and was impressed with Cook's 45 amazing years.
"I have always known and will always know of this community and will always keep an eye on this community," Hughes said.
Hughes also shared the three IDOE initiatives that will make a difference to Indiana schools.
The Indiana Reading Plan and Framework will get students reading at grade level by third grade.
The Indiana Growth Model will change the way people think of student learning, she said. Instead of looking at student ISTEP scores to see how successful a school is, the state also will look at how much students are learning.
The third initiative is the Parent Pledge. The IDOE will provide parents with a pledge to be more involved with their students' education. The IDOE hopes to release that pledge this week, she said.
As part of the pledge, children will read once a day, will complete their homework assignments, will get enough sleep, be respectful in school and they will graduate, Hughes said.
Grace College President Dr. Ron Manahan then spoke. He talked about how all the partners of Leesburg Elementary have to play a part in making the school successful. He also went over some of the history of the school, and how even in 1835 the community knew that learning was important.[[In-content Ad]]"This new building pounds a stake in the ground to a commitment to learning," Manahan said. "That's a wonderful thing."
Dahms concluded the ceremony by recognizing parents, teachers, staff and custodians that help make the school a nice place. He thanked the PTO and local businesses for their efforts, and Hintz and the school board for their work.
"Our students will enjoy this school for years to come," Dahms said.
The other new schools' dedication ceremonies are tentatively scheduled for: Claypool, Oct. 10; Jefferson, Oct. 17; and Madison, to be determined.
Having taught for 45 years, the new Leesburg is also Cook's third Leesburg School building she's worked at over the course of her career.
Cook was recognized several times during the dedication ceremony by the speakers, and received a round of applause when fifth-grade teacher and speaker Rod Teeple first commented on her long time at Leesburg.
The new school is the seventh building in which Leesburg School has been held. The first schoolhouse was built in 1835.
During the ceremony Sunday, Principal Randy Dahms gave the welcoming remarks. He said talking to his wife the other day, he was thinking about "how lucky we are." Dahms cited there's a new school, teacher Stacy Huffer is in the top 10 teachers in the state, and student academics are growing.
After the pledge of allegiance, fourth-grade teacher Lee Snider compared the school he attended growing up to Leesburg Elementary's situation.
Snider grew up in a small town, like Leesburg. At one point in his hometown, the school building could not meet the students' needs, like the former Leesburg School. His hometown built a new school in a corn field, like the new Leesburg.
However, in Snider's hometown, he said, the school was built for what was needed then. The new Leesburg was built for decades to come.
Teeple said his father previously worked at Leesburg, and he attended Leesburg himself, eventually coming back to teach. While the old building holds many memories, it lacked classroom space, bathroom facilities and had sewage and water problems. The new building will be a place of new memories.
Music teacher Rebecca Crim led a student performance before Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz took the stage.
Hintz said it was a pleasure to be there on such a special occasion - the dedication of a new school.
"It's just something that doesn't happen every day," Hintz said.
WCS has been fortunate, he said, because Leesburg's dedication is the first of four new school dedications. With a total of eight elementary schools, half of WCS's elementaries are brand new.
As for the old Leesburg School, he said the Leesburg Lions Club has approached WCS about taking over the ball diamonds. A public school board meeting will be held Oct. 12 to discuss the old facilities.
Hintz recognized WCS Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott, whose expertise helped make the $60 million project possible, and for $3 million less than projected. All the furniture and equipment in the new schools also is brand-spanking new.
Recently, Hintz said, he asked Scott what the new schools projects would cost the average homeowner. Scott told Hintz that for a person who owned a $100,000 home, the annual cost would be $94.
School Board Secretary Delores Hearn, who represents the Leesburg area, then talked about 2010 being a new chapter in the history books of Leesburg School. She challenged each student to create new memories in their own memory book at the new school.
Dr. Stacey Hughes, assistant superintendent for the Indiana Department of Education, talked about how education can change people's lives and the community. She said she listened to the song the children sang, Hintz's talk about modernization, the teachers' perspective, Hearn's memories and was impressed with Cook's 45 amazing years.
"I have always known and will always know of this community and will always keep an eye on this community," Hughes said.
Hughes also shared the three IDOE initiatives that will make a difference to Indiana schools.
The Indiana Reading Plan and Framework will get students reading at grade level by third grade.
The Indiana Growth Model will change the way people think of student learning, she said. Instead of looking at student ISTEP scores to see how successful a school is, the state also will look at how much students are learning.
The third initiative is the Parent Pledge. The IDOE will provide parents with a pledge to be more involved with their students' education. The IDOE hopes to release that pledge this week, she said.
As part of the pledge, children will read once a day, will complete their homework assignments, will get enough sleep, be respectful in school and they will graduate, Hughes said.
Grace College President Dr. Ron Manahan then spoke. He talked about how all the partners of Leesburg Elementary have to play a part in making the school successful. He also went over some of the history of the school, and how even in 1835 the community knew that learning was important.[[In-content Ad]]"This new building pounds a stake in the ground to a commitment to learning," Manahan said. "That's a wonderful thing."
Dahms concluded the ceremony by recognizing parents, teachers, staff and custodians that help make the school a nice place. He thanked the PTO and local businesses for their efforts, and Hintz and the school board for their work.
"Our students will enjoy this school for years to come," Dahms said.
The other new schools' dedication ceremonies are tentatively scheduled for: Claypool, Oct. 10; Jefferson, Oct. 17; and Madison, to be determined.
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