Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw Community Schools will join other school districts in the state to try to reinstate random testing of students for drug and alcohol use.
The school board Monday approved joining the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents in a "friend of the court" brief to the Indiana Supreme Court to support the appeal by the Northwestern School Corp.
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in August that random drug testing by Northwestern Schools violated students' privacy. IAPSS plans to support the appeal, and WCS plans to join that support.
Warsaw Community High School has conducted random testing since the 1995-96 school year, testing only student athletes, student drivers and students involved in vocational education. The program was halted immediately after the Appeals Court ruling was announced.
The testing, said superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, was "included only in instances where we could see a clear link to safety."
He also said many students tested positive, which "enabled their families to undertake intervention to help students with substance abuse problems."
The school board vote to join the appeal was six to one, with Dan Robinson voting against the appeal.
WCS' cost to join the IAPSS brief will not exceed $750, Harman said.
The board also heard a report from Dave Simpson, Career Connextions coordinator for Kosciusko County, on a computerized program, PathFinder, that helps provide students and schools with information and resources on careers and "work-based learning experiences."
PathFinder is not a job search program, Simpson said. "The focus is on career education - how can we provide learning opportunities for students in the world of work."
Job shadowing opportunities, career speakers, job fairs and other work-related experiences are included in PathFinder. The program can be used by students and teachers looking for specific information or by members of the community.
In other business:
• The board heard a report from Washington Elementary Principal Tom Ray on the 2000 summer school program, which was attended by 532 students. Ray said teachers were encouraged to use nontraditional methods of teaching, and "it was 13 days of some of the best teaching I've ever seen."
• Harman reported that WCS is involved in a grant with the Indiana Professional Standards Board, Grace College and Kosciusko County Foundation to improve how teachers are prepared and supported in their first years in the classroom.
"Indiana is drastically changing the way teachers are licensed in the coming years," Harman said, noting that teachers in the future will be required to demonstrate proficiency.
• The term of the board's appointee to the Warsaw Community Public Library board, John Yingling, has expired. Any members of the public who would like to apply for Yingling's position should apply to Harman's office by Oct. 1. The board said it will appoint the library board member at the next meeting, Oct. 9.
• The preliminary enrollment report for the 2000-01 school year is 6,389 students in all schools, compared to 6,321 last year. The breakdown by school: WCHS, 1,841; Edgewood, 457; Lakeview, 529; Atwood, 120; Claypool, 156; Eisenhower, 517; Harrison, 575; Jefferson, 296; Leesburg, 491; Lincoln, 414; Madison, 391; Silver Lake, 162; Washington, 401; and AIM School, 39. Final enrollment figures will be taken Friday.
School board members are: Craig Allebach, Brad Brail, Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, Dan Robinson, Charles Sauders and Roy Szymanski. The board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the administration building.
