Warsaw School Names STEM Coach
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The school board Monday night approved Ben Barkey to transfer from science teacher at Edgewood Middle School to science, technology, engineering and math coach at the Washington Elementary STEM academy.
The school corporation is creating the academy with a grant from the Indiana Department of Education providing funding for the first year.
In a press release released in February, the IDOE announced Warsaw Community Schools was awarded $439,534 to help create a STEM academy at Washington Elementary School and was one of 10 educational entities in Indiana to receive an Innovation Fund Grant.
The grant was open to schools across the state to bring fresh ideas and approaches to improving student performance through educator effectiveness, college and career readiness, and school improvement.
The Warsaw Schools academy will be built around a project-based learning model to inspire and equip students to deepen their knowledge in STEM in order to be successfully prepared with 21st century college and career readiness skills, according to the release.
The grant allows WCS to hire a STEM advisor to be housed at the academy, to prepare teachers through ongoing staff development, and to purchase state-of-the-art equipment which will be used in the STEM programming.
Washington Principal Tom Ray said the job posting included two pages of description. The last sentence of it said the coach needed to be a “risk taker.”
“Mr. Barkey is that risk taker,” Ray said.
For the 2012-13 school year, elementary lunches will increase 15 cents per meal to $2.25; secondary lunches, level one to $2.50; and secondary lunches, level two to $2.75. Adult lunches level one will increase 15 cents to $3 each, and level two to $3.25 each.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott told the board the lunch prices were being driven at the federal level. Each school district in the country is being asked to increase its lunch prices.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz reported the monthly enrollment report reflects a school corporation enrollment of 6,986 students. That is a decrease of 17 students from last month, but the corporation’s total enrollment is up 190 students from the same time last year, he said.
The corporation’s staffing estimate for the 2012-13 school year will be similar to this year, he said. It may only increase three or four staff members, depending on enrollment, to about 440 certified staffing.
“We’re looking at around 7,200 (students) on official count day,” Hintz said. “It’s a plus for the school corporation.”
He said more official information will be provided to the board at a later date.
Due to Memorial Day being on Monday, May 28, next month’s board meeting will be May 21.
Hintz requested, and the board approved, to visit Hong Kong International School from May 2 to May 7. All expenses incurred on the trip will be paid by Hintz.
Six STEM academy teachers, including Barkey, will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to visit two STEM academies there. Cost of the trip is about $4,800, paid for by the grant.[[In-content Ad]]
The school board Monday night approved Ben Barkey to transfer from science teacher at Edgewood Middle School to science, technology, engineering and math coach at the Washington Elementary STEM academy.
The school corporation is creating the academy with a grant from the Indiana Department of Education providing funding for the first year.
In a press release released in February, the IDOE announced Warsaw Community Schools was awarded $439,534 to help create a STEM academy at Washington Elementary School and was one of 10 educational entities in Indiana to receive an Innovation Fund Grant.
The grant was open to schools across the state to bring fresh ideas and approaches to improving student performance through educator effectiveness, college and career readiness, and school improvement.
The Warsaw Schools academy will be built around a project-based learning model to inspire and equip students to deepen their knowledge in STEM in order to be successfully prepared with 21st century college and career readiness skills, according to the release.
The grant allows WCS to hire a STEM advisor to be housed at the academy, to prepare teachers through ongoing staff development, and to purchase state-of-the-art equipment which will be used in the STEM programming.
Washington Principal Tom Ray said the job posting included two pages of description. The last sentence of it said the coach needed to be a “risk taker.”
“Mr. Barkey is that risk taker,” Ray said.
For the 2012-13 school year, elementary lunches will increase 15 cents per meal to $2.25; secondary lunches, level one to $2.50; and secondary lunches, level two to $2.75. Adult lunches level one will increase 15 cents to $3 each, and level two to $3.25 each.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott told the board the lunch prices were being driven at the federal level. Each school district in the country is being asked to increase its lunch prices.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz reported the monthly enrollment report reflects a school corporation enrollment of 6,986 students. That is a decrease of 17 students from last month, but the corporation’s total enrollment is up 190 students from the same time last year, he said.
The corporation’s staffing estimate for the 2012-13 school year will be similar to this year, he said. It may only increase three or four staff members, depending on enrollment, to about 440 certified staffing.
“We’re looking at around 7,200 (students) on official count day,” Hintz said. “It’s a plus for the school corporation.”
He said more official information will be provided to the board at a later date.
Due to Memorial Day being on Monday, May 28, next month’s board meeting will be May 21.
Hintz requested, and the board approved, to visit Hong Kong International School from May 2 to May 7. All expenses incurred on the trip will be paid by Hintz.
Six STEM academy teachers, including Barkey, will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to visit two STEM academies there. Cost of the trip is about $4,800, paid for by the grant.[[In-content Ad]]
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