Warsaw Schools Eye Policy Changes In Student Handbook
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It was only a first reading of student handbook changes, but the disagreements among Warsaw school board members were enough to send some of the proposed revisions back to committee.
Issues the board was concerned with in the Warsaw Community High School manual included student identification badges, the athletic code of conduct, penalties for plagiarism and additional dress code restrictions.
Dr. Jennifer Brumfield, assistant principal at WCHS, proposed changing the student ID policy to require students to wear their IDs on lanyards at all times, and students who violated the policy would face a detention.
Brumfield and Paul Crousore, WCHS principal, said the ID policy is a safety measure.
Brad Brail, school board member, objected to the detention, saying it is unenforceable and would create a hostile environment between students and administrators.
Some board members also said they thought the requirement forbidding "body piercing other than pierced ears, such as the tongue, lip, nose or eyebrow" is unenforceable as well.
Brail also objected to an addition to the co- and extracurricular code of conduct that deals with violations of the code, and adds that additional penalties may be imposed "upon students belonging to organizations with additional restrictions present in the bylaws of that organization."
"If we approve the addendum, we are saying students can be punished by another organization without (Warsaw schools) having control over it," he said. "It's one, I suspect, we'll regret."
Brumfield defended the stiffer penalties: "This is my 10th year as an administrator. None of you know what we experience. ... We don't make these proposals lightly - we do have needs for them."
School Superintendent Dr. Lee Harman suggested the revisions be sent back to the policy committee for review before being brought back to the board for approval.
The board also heard a proposal from WCHS teachers to establish a freshman academy at the school. Freshmen historically have the highest truancy, dropout and failure rates, they said, and a freshman academy would help them make the transition from middle school to high school.
The academy, which would be similar to the former freshman high school, would use a team concept of teaching; would include freshmen only in a core class of English, science and math; and would expand student orientation and communication with parents.
The high school has scheduled a parent meeting at 7 p.m. May 16 in the cafeteria to discuss the program, with the final proposal to be announced May 22.
Lakeview Middle School Principal Dave McGuire told the board the school is considering switching to a trimester plan because of scheduling conflicts.
He said the trimester plan will not affect core courses, and no additional staff will be needed.
"Is it a bigger benefit for teachers to go to this or for students? Or both?" asked board member Roy Szymanski.
McGuire said it would make classes easier to organize and schedule, and students would have an opportunity to take an additional elective.
In other business:
• The board unanimously approved the summer school schedule and curriculum. So far summer school registration is 511 students, up 40 percent over last year, Harman said.
Summer school classes for grades one through eight will be July 26 through Aug. 11. The first session for high school students will be June 9 through June 30, and session two will be July 6 through July 28.
• The board unanimously approved the textbook recommendations for art, music, industrial technology and vocational education.
• The board approved JoElla Smyth as the new principal of Edgewood Middle School. Smyth was formerly assistant principal at Edgewood and is currently principal of Whitko Middle School.
She will replace Lynn Simmers, who has been acting principal at Edgewood since Gerald Chabot resigned. Simmers, in turn, will become principal of Leesburg Elementary, whose principal, Brent Widman, is retiring at the end of this school year.
• Harman reported that school enrollment as of May 8 is at 6,260 students, approximately 20 students more than at this time last year.
School board members are: Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, Roy Szymanski, Craig Allebach, Charles Sauders, Dan Robinson and Brad Brail. The board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the WCS administration building. [[In-content Ad]]
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It was only a first reading of student handbook changes, but the disagreements among Warsaw school board members were enough to send some of the proposed revisions back to committee.
Issues the board was concerned with in the Warsaw Community High School manual included student identification badges, the athletic code of conduct, penalties for plagiarism and additional dress code restrictions.
Dr. Jennifer Brumfield, assistant principal at WCHS, proposed changing the student ID policy to require students to wear their IDs on lanyards at all times, and students who violated the policy would face a detention.
Brumfield and Paul Crousore, WCHS principal, said the ID policy is a safety measure.
Brad Brail, school board member, objected to the detention, saying it is unenforceable and would create a hostile environment between students and administrators.
Some board members also said they thought the requirement forbidding "body piercing other than pierced ears, such as the tongue, lip, nose or eyebrow" is unenforceable as well.
Brail also objected to an addition to the co- and extracurricular code of conduct that deals with violations of the code, and adds that additional penalties may be imposed "upon students belonging to organizations with additional restrictions present in the bylaws of that organization."
"If we approve the addendum, we are saying students can be punished by another organization without (Warsaw schools) having control over it," he said. "It's one, I suspect, we'll regret."
Brumfield defended the stiffer penalties: "This is my 10th year as an administrator. None of you know what we experience. ... We don't make these proposals lightly - we do have needs for them."
School Superintendent Dr. Lee Harman suggested the revisions be sent back to the policy committee for review before being brought back to the board for approval.
The board also heard a proposal from WCHS teachers to establish a freshman academy at the school. Freshmen historically have the highest truancy, dropout and failure rates, they said, and a freshman academy would help them make the transition from middle school to high school.
The academy, which would be similar to the former freshman high school, would use a team concept of teaching; would include freshmen only in a core class of English, science and math; and would expand student orientation and communication with parents.
The high school has scheduled a parent meeting at 7 p.m. May 16 in the cafeteria to discuss the program, with the final proposal to be announced May 22.
Lakeview Middle School Principal Dave McGuire told the board the school is considering switching to a trimester plan because of scheduling conflicts.
He said the trimester plan will not affect core courses, and no additional staff will be needed.
"Is it a bigger benefit for teachers to go to this or for students? Or both?" asked board member Roy Szymanski.
McGuire said it would make classes easier to organize and schedule, and students would have an opportunity to take an additional elective.
In other business:
• The board unanimously approved the summer school schedule and curriculum. So far summer school registration is 511 students, up 40 percent over last year, Harman said.
Summer school classes for grades one through eight will be July 26 through Aug. 11. The first session for high school students will be June 9 through June 30, and session two will be July 6 through July 28.
• The board unanimously approved the textbook recommendations for art, music, industrial technology and vocational education.
• The board approved JoElla Smyth as the new principal of Edgewood Middle School. Smyth was formerly assistant principal at Edgewood and is currently principal of Whitko Middle School.
She will replace Lynn Simmers, who has been acting principal at Edgewood since Gerald Chabot resigned. Simmers, in turn, will become principal of Leesburg Elementary, whose principal, Brent Widman, is retiring at the end of this school year.
• Harman reported that school enrollment as of May 8 is at 6,260 students, approximately 20 students more than at this time last year.
School board members are: Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, Roy Szymanski, Craig Allebach, Charles Sauders, Dan Robinson and Brad Brail. The board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the WCS administration building. [[In-content Ad]]