Warsaw School Board Hears Construction Update
March 14, 2023 at 11:38 p.m.
Warsaw School Board Hears Construction Update
By Jackie [email protected]
The project renovations include a new front entrance, improved circulation, updated classrooms and the addition of more collaborative spaces for students. This multi-phase construction project began in fall 2022, with the final phase scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, according to a news release from Warsaw Community Schools.
Tuesday, Jerry Rolfson, with PSI, said some of the elements for the overall plan for the first floor is adding Project Lead The Way rooms.
He also said the flow in the hallways is being addressed as the hallways at WCHS are kind of narrow when compared to other schools its size.
The construction is also putting an area specific to the guidance counselors near what is being made into the main entrance, he said. Another component being addressed is the northwest wing is being redeveloped for art and special education classes. Science labs are also “stretching” out a bit to become a little bigger.
Rolfson also showed the school board photos of where construction is at this point.
Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said the process has been six or seven years since planning began. One of the big concerns when doing the planning was student safety.
Doug Griggs, with PSI, said construction is ahead of schedule with parts of construction. A big part of the construction will be finished in August, Hoffert said.
Earlier in the meeting, the school board was updated about the school corporation’s usage of the RoxieReading curriculum.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Dani Barkey said WCS received early literary grant money. They used that to have teachers get a certificate as a specialist trained in dyslexia. The program the school corporation is using is called RoxieReading, which uses brain-based reading to help students with literacy.
Barkey said WCS has 57 teachers enrolled in the program with 39 having completed it and certified. Ninety-four percent of the teachers that participated in the program said they grew in their understanding in their understanding of brain-based literacy.
One of the key takeaways teachers had from the program was they needed to do a better job of coaching students instead of correcting them, as correcting the student didn’t seem to help them learn.
The next steps the school corporation is going to do includes reevaluating their sight word list and forming small grounds around specific skills, she said.
The school corporation will do a pilot program for second-graders using the program, she said.
Board President Heather Reichenbach asked what type of impact reading ability has. Barkey said it has a lot of impact, including impacting a student’s ability to graduate high school, staying out of jail and being gainfully employed.
In other business, Human Resources Director Sheila Howe said WCS still needs school bus drivers. Hoffert said the WCS is putting together an incentive program where new bus drivers gets bonuses and Howe said there is a stipend for referrals.
The project renovations include a new front entrance, improved circulation, updated classrooms and the addition of more collaborative spaces for students. This multi-phase construction project began in fall 2022, with the final phase scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, according to a news release from Warsaw Community Schools.
Tuesday, Jerry Rolfson, with PSI, said some of the elements for the overall plan for the first floor is adding Project Lead The Way rooms.
He also said the flow in the hallways is being addressed as the hallways at WCHS are kind of narrow when compared to other schools its size.
The construction is also putting an area specific to the guidance counselors near what is being made into the main entrance, he said. Another component being addressed is the northwest wing is being redeveloped for art and special education classes. Science labs are also “stretching” out a bit to become a little bigger.
Rolfson also showed the school board photos of where construction is at this point.
Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said the process has been six or seven years since planning began. One of the big concerns when doing the planning was student safety.
Doug Griggs, with PSI, said construction is ahead of schedule with parts of construction. A big part of the construction will be finished in August, Hoffert said.
Earlier in the meeting, the school board was updated about the school corporation’s usage of the RoxieReading curriculum.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Dani Barkey said WCS received early literary grant money. They used that to have teachers get a certificate as a specialist trained in dyslexia. The program the school corporation is using is called RoxieReading, which uses brain-based reading to help students with literacy.
Barkey said WCS has 57 teachers enrolled in the program with 39 having completed it and certified. Ninety-four percent of the teachers that participated in the program said they grew in their understanding in their understanding of brain-based literacy.
One of the key takeaways teachers had from the program was they needed to do a better job of coaching students instead of correcting them, as correcting the student didn’t seem to help them learn.
The next steps the school corporation is going to do includes reevaluating their sight word list and forming small grounds around specific skills, she said.
The school corporation will do a pilot program for second-graders using the program, she said.
Board President Heather Reichenbach asked what type of impact reading ability has. Barkey said it has a lot of impact, including impacting a student’s ability to graduate high school, staying out of jail and being gainfully employed.
In other business, Human Resources Director Sheila Howe said WCS still needs school bus drivers. Hoffert said the WCS is putting together an incentive program where new bus drivers gets bonuses and Howe said there is a stipend for referrals.
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