WARSAW — The Warsaw Community School Board met Monday evening, Aug. 15, for its first regular session of the 2016-2017 school year.

School Resource Officer Doug Light introduced the two newest DARE officers, Allen Danko and Rogelio “Roy” Navarro. Both are Warsaw Community High School graduates, Danko in 1994 and Navarro in 1997. Both are certified school resource officers and DARE officers.

After introductions, the board shook hands with Navarro and Danko and welcomed them to WCS.

Warsaw Area Career Center Director Ronna Kawsky gave a presentation on students who have been successful through the program. One, she said, is now a licensed, private pilot who completed the center’s new aviation program. Another student, from Whitko, also completed the aviation program and was accepted into the Air Force Academy.

This year’s class has 15 students working towards becoming licenses cosmetologists. Another 15 are enrolled in the precision machining II class. All are earning dual college credits while still in high school.

Kawsky added that a bus from Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation brings students to the career center and students from all area corporations are welcome to enroll at WACC.

Programs like the career center, Kawsky said, can save millions in college tuition costs. In all, 40 percent of WCHS students earned college credit last year, not including through advanced placement programs. WCS, she added, is among the top schools in Indiana to earn dual credit.

Chief Academic Officer David Robertson introduced several WCS educators who attended a Project Lead the Way conference this summer. Each told of something new they learned, confidence they gained and what they plan to implement into classroom learning.

Other News

• The board welcomed and approved new WCS Secretary April Fitterling.
• Mindi Reinholt corrected an earlier request for out-of-state travel to a conference, saying the event would last four nights, not three, for an additional $1,300. Her attendance at the conference is paid for through a grant, so there were no objections to the change.
• The Federal Department of Education has requested Robertson and WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert attend a conference in September.