By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools’ Board of Trustees approved an emergency resolution to repair Warsaw Community High School’s Tiger Den roof during a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 12.

“We just redid the floor (in the Tiger Den) and there are now leaks (in the roof) that are happening in random and new places,” said Chief Financial Officer April Fitterling. “We feel that we need to take this to the emergency level and get the roof replaced. This would expedite the process so we can get the ball rolling and move forward as swiftly as we can so we don’t have any more damage to our floor.”

Fitterling said the resolution would allow WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert, Director of Facilities Jim LeMasters, and herself to promptly and timely take all steps to get the roof fixed.

She said the school district is seeking more than one quote for the project and will keep the board informed as the process moves forward.

The board approved the resolution.

During the board’s meeting, Dan Graney, a Harrison Elementary School sixth-grade teacher; and Edgewood Middle School Principal JoElla Hauselman provided a 2021 summer school report to the board.

This year’s elementary school program was hosted at Lincoln Elementary School. The move was due to Lakeview Middle School, the usual host building, undergoing construction. Graney said the program grew from seven programs being offered last year to 10 this year. Classes offered included Dual Language Immersion (DLI), STEM and reading readiness.

In total, 532 students registered for the elementary summer school program, with 50 certified staff members and 50 classified staff members.

“We filled up Lincoln quick,” said Graney. “It was an absolute delight to see that because we were concerned about having enough students. But if you offer it, they will come.”

Hauselman and Graney both noted they dealt with bigger learning gaps in students this year compared to previous summer school sessions. In the summer school third grade program for the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD), 13 out of 40 critical students were able to pass the IREAD test. However, 33 out of the 40 students improved their scores.

“The numbers that came into us were a lot lower than we’re used to seeing,” said Hauselman. “There were some big margins. And you just know those kids during COVID probably lost a lot of time of learning. Those kids were significantly impacted. We’re used to closing gaps of 10, 15 points. This time we were looking at 100, 200 (points).”

This year’s high school program was held at Edgewood Middle School. Hauselman said 464 students participated in June’s credit/credit recovery program, while 286 students participated in July’s. In total, WCS served 1,443 students through the 2021 summer school program.

Hauselman told the board that summer school organizers are looking into a new approach for the high school’s program to become more efficient and provide resolutions for current challenges.

The board’s next regular meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, at the school district’s central office.