Professional Development
We often get asked what “summer” is like within the school district. Many of our staff members participate in numerous professional development opportunities and workshops. A key component to education is being a “lifelong learner” and we’re proud of our staff for using June and July to work on student engagement strategies, technology integration, school improvement initiatives, effective instruction techniques, and much more. Last month, we sent over 30 teachers to Lincoln to listen to Dr. Robert Marzano and his associates as they discussed “meaningful instruction and student engagement techniques.” YPS will also be participating in a consortium with other ESU #6 schools to further study effective instructional practices throughout this upcoming school year.
Facility Enhancements
The tennis courts at York High School have been re-surfaced and re-painted and are again ready for use within the next few days. York Elementary’s gym floor sustained some water damage in June 2010 and a significant portion of it has been replaced, re-painted, and re-sealed this summer. That project should be wrapped up by the end of July. During the hail storm on May 21st, our school district endured over $2 million in damage. We continue to work with adjusters to put our “game plan” together as to what will be replaced, when, etc.
The board of education will be deciding shortly on what kind of facility repairs and enhancements they would like to pursue at York High School. Currently, the building is 36 years old and has never undergone any major renovations. As you may recall from several articles in the York News-Times from this past winter and spring, we’ve been studying possibilities for quite a while now. Over 25 patrons attended informational and input meetings to help the board get an idea on what to pursue. Once a formal decision is made by our board of education, we will begin to work hard to provide numerous opportunities for our patrons to tour the facility, to learn about its needs, etc.
The Budget
Our board of education and staff continue to work hard to maximize the dollars we have to operate our school system. After several years where YPS spent more money than it brought in, we are now on target to reverse that trend for the second year in a row. Due to hard work by our staff and board of education, we will spend somewhere around $1.15 million LESS this fiscal year (which ends on August 31st) than the district spent two years ago in 2008-09. We’re spending less while increasing our technology capabilities and academic offerings for students.
This past winter, the board of education refinanced the new middle school bonds and saved $1,197,000 in real dollars that won’t need to be levied in taxes to pay off our construction bond for YMS.
As we prepare for the 2011-12 fiscal year, the board of education is working towards increasing our spending by only 1.2% ($150,000). With a conservative approach over the next several years, we will be able to overcome the massive cuts to public school funding coming out of Lincoln.
Childrens’ Lunch Program
We will be offering another round of “free lunches” for any and all 1-18 year olds from 11:30-12:30 the weeks of July 11-15 and July 18-22 at York High School. Please use the east entrance. We served 643 lunches during our two-week program in June that is provided by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.
Just a Few Things to Look Forward to in 2011-12
All winning teams must continue to strive to get better. With that in mind, we have several exciting new ventures for the upcoming school year, which begins on Tuesday, August 16th with a noon dismissal.
We received a 21st Century Learning Center grant this past spring to begin after-school programs at York Elementary and York Middle. These programs will run daily until 5:45 or 6:00 PM within both facilities. We will be providing healthy snacks, homework assistance, academic enhancement, physical activity, and more. Additional info will be sent to K-8th families before school begins.
While YHS will not be offering the Building and Trades course (where our class builds a house to sell), we will be able to place those 5-6 students interested in that coursework into a “job shadow” program where they can learn from experienced electricians, plumbers, contractors, etc.
We’re adding to our college/dual credit offerings at York High School. We’ll be offering a Business Career Academy through our very own business department. This academy will offer entrepreneurship and business management topics, along with other basic business principles. We’re also looking at the distinct possibility of adding an animal science college credit course. A contemporary law course is being added to the Social Studies department.
York Middle School will be adding “digital media” and “current events” as elective courses. York Elementary continues to work on creative ways to maximize differentiated reading instruction and technology integration.
Closing Thoughts
Don’t forget to download your copy of the 2011-12 school calendar from our website at www.yorkpublic.org.
We’ll be working to increase and improve our presence on Facebook in August. Become a “fan” of ours as we’ll be trying to add survey questions, student achievement highlights, and more to our page.
We will be having a “substitute teacher orientation” on August 8th at 5:30 PM at York Middle School. Anyone interested in subbing for us should plan to attend.
This is a great time to be a York Duke. We’re so proud of our rich tradition and excited about what we can achieve in the future with hard work and dedication.
Thank you for your support of our school system. We are honored to have the opportunity to educate the wonderful young people that attend our schools.
Mike Lucas
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