Glenwood City School Board gives district-wide LED project the green light

By Laura Giammattei

GLENWOOD CITY — The Glenwood City School Board has approved the district-wide LED lighting project and accepted a bid from B&B Lighting.

The $128,537 project will replace all current light bulbs with LED tubes in all existing fixtures. The project is expected to see an energy saving of nearly $25,000 within two years of installation and save anywhere from $27,000 to $37,000 in lighting costs each school year.

The lights are scheduled for replacement in August and is expected to be a two to three week process. Both gymnasiums are exempt from this project, as motion sensor lights had been installed within the last five years.

In other news, Elementary School Principal Betsy Haltinner and Middle and High School Principal Patrick Gretzlock informed the school board of developments regarding efforts to improve instruction in the classroom.

This year, staff and administration have been in collaboration to focus on five key identifying areas that will assist in improving student performance. Those five key areas are: specific learning outcomes, instructional strategies, student engagement, embedded literacy and quality assessment in the classroom.

Selected teacher leaders will be meeting with administration over the summer in an effort to define these areas and develop tools that can be applied in each and every classroom. These tools will then be applied towards peer observation, be used as an instructional coaching model and will apply directly to goal development and professional practice goals.

In Haltinner’s technology update, seven new WiFi access points will be added to the school in middle to late August. June will mark the first of three phases for this project which includes installing new cables at each of the new access points. Phase two will involve installing cables for the new middle and high school office and the project will conclude with an engineer’s inspection check.

In Gretzlock’s administration report, the 2016-2017 school year schedule was reviewed. For the first time, elementary students will be taking keyboarding/typing class with Ms. Hentz. The 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes will each spend one trimester in a keyboarding class intended to build student keyboarding skills before reaching sixth grade.

Gretzlock said now that nearly all testing is done on a computer, it is vital for students to master keystrokes prior to reaching the middle school level.

In addition, Accounting will now be offered at the high school level, which had not been offered in recent years.

In Middle and High School Assistant Principal Nicole Brite’s report, a total of 160 students are currently enrolled for summer school. Of 160 students, 80 are signed up for sports skills(football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and swimming lessons).

In previous years, summer school was mandated to a maximum of 240 minutes per day that students could be at the school. This rule is no longer in place and activities will be available for the students throughout the entire day.

High School seniors were honored last week with a “Walk of Honor” event through the school. A video of the event was posted on Facebook where it currently has received over 7,000 views. Gretzlock said the event brought out many emotions for the students, staff and family members who attended.

The 2016 Senior Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, May 20th where a total of approximately $186,000 worth of scholarships were awarded. However, some scholarships had not yet been accounted for and approximately another $72,000 worth of scholarships were applied after the awards ceremony, bringing the total scholarship amount to roughly $258,000. Congratulations to the awardees!

For upcoming events, the Eighth Grade Banquet will be held on Thursday, June 2nd.

A groundbreaking construction ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 31 at 4:30 p.m. and root beer floats will be provided.

In Superintendent Tim Johnson’s construction update, work inside the building continues to run smoothly. Please be advised that over the summer, much of the school will not be accessible and guests will not be allowed into the school without a hardhat and guide. Access to bathrooms will be provided through the elementary gym and weight room.

The softball field is nearing completion and seeding is planned within the next couple of days, weather depending. The field is expected to be ready for practice and games this fall.

The board approved Steven Davis and Christy Lyons as substitute bus drivers.

The board approved the adjustment of William Wold’s retirement date from December 16, 2016 to August 16, 2016.

The school board approved the 2016 summer school contracts.

The school board approved a donation made by the Football Booster Club.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled on Monday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m. and, due to construction, will be held in the art room.