July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Assistant hired for East Jay (06/19/07)
Jay School Board
By By JENNIFER TARTER-
East Jay Middle School has a new assistant principal.
Robert Phelps, who recently ended the 2006-07 school year at Barker Middle School in Michigan City, was selected from 28 applicants, EJMS principal Lee Newman reported during Monday's Jay School Board meeting.
Phelps, originally from the Selma area, taught creative writing, reading and extended learning at the middle school.
He was not present at Monday's meeting.
His salary was set at $58,000.
He started his teaching career at Selma Middle School and is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and has been a company commander.
Phelps will begin his new position on Aug. 3 and will be present at school registration to meet with students and parents, Newman said this morning.
Also Monday, board members approved the corporation's application for Title I grant funds.
Pennville Elementary principal and Title I coordinator Larry Wilson told the board that the corporation has a chance to receive an additional $200,000 to the $646,000 received for use during the 2006-07 school year.
He added that these state funds are to help the corporation fund full-day kindergarten.
The grant application is due to the state on July 1, Wilson reported.
The corporation's application must be approved before the hire of additional teachers for full-day kindergarten.
In other business, the board voted to transfer $408,543.92 to the rainy day fund.
Of these funds, $273,700 came from the debt service fund, $60,000 from the transportation fund, $20 from the Patriot Powerhouse funds fund, $79.65 from the Coke fund and $74,744 from money for forward funding retirements.
This fund was established three years ago for unused and unencumbered funds raised by general and special tax levy.
These funds can be used for transportation operating expenses, advance funding of retirement obligations, emergency equipment purchases or emergency capital repairs.
After this transfer there is a total of $520,000 in this fund, DeRome said this morning.
Also Monday, board members:
•Heard a presentation by Jay County High School principal Jeremy Gulley on the planned student data management software.
This software will allow parents to access the child's school schedule, attendance and discipline records and grades online.
Gulley said the program is set to launch for the 2008-09 school year. The next year will be spent training teachers how to input the information and installing the new system, which is estimated to cost approximately $60,000.
It will be launched at the high school, but will eventually at both middle schools and all elementary schools, Gulley said.
In addition to this plan, the corporation is starting an initiative to get a computer on the desk of every teacher in the school corporation to help them keep the information on this system current.
This includes the purchase of 315 computers from DCS Computers and Sales of Dunkirk and $2,800 for wireless equipment for East Elementary School for a total of $330,550. This will be funded by a five-year technology loan from the state department of education.
•Heard East Elementary principal Andy Schemenaur report on preliminary plans presented to the board to convert the school from an open concept space to conventional classrooms.
K.R. Montgomery & Associated of Anderson submitted several drawings. The plans also include renovations of the media center and gym.
•Heard Jay Schools coordinator of facilities Ron Krieg report that the new gym floor at West Jay Middle School is done. Work is also being completed this summer to refinish the gym floors at EJMS and JCHS.
•Heard a presentation by members of the JCHS band and band director Kelly Smeltzer. Band members and Smeltzer showed board members a variety of instruments the band purchased with a $25,000 donation approved by the board in April.
•Approved payment of $5,670 to 21 mentor teachers to provide guidance to new teachers hired in the school corporation.
The other half of the funds needed to pay these teachers was funded by the state. The state initially promised the full amount but later informed the corporation that it could not fund the entire program.
•Approved paying 25 percent of the salary of the John Jay Center for Learning executive director and a portion of the center's administrator assistant's salary. The board voted to pay a total of $20,860, which includes $16,742 of JJCL executive director Rob Weaver's $66,969 salary and $4,118 of administrative assistant Betty Toshlog's $33,214 salary.
•Received a report from Long on the average daily enrollment for the school corporation which was recorded on May 1.
According to the report completed by the Indiana Department of Education, there were 3,648.5 students in the school corporation.
•Voted to establish and permit a voluntary payroll deduction from school corporation employees to the Jay County Hospital Foundation.
•Approved the calendar for the 2008 budget. The preliminary 2008 budget will be presented to the board on August 6. The budget will be published on Aug. 8 and 15. A public hearing will be held on Aug. 27 and the board will vote on the budget at a Sept. 17 meeting.
•Approved summer school contracts including Jenny DeHoff, Bonita Frazee, Janice Miller, Ruth Zicht, Karen Mettler, Ingrid Saxman, Dora Houck, Jodi McKee, Sharon Bubp, Amy Klopfenstein, Sherry Roberts, JoAnn Paden, Kerri Andreshak, Jill Ford, Bill Saxman, Virginia Fennig, Caryn Braden, Jenny Cornett, Kelly Brandenburg, Sara Wolf, Linda Burkhardt, Bethany Johnson.
Also for Crystal Laux, Bev Arnold, Melanie Stockton, Ted Habegger, Gary Tarr, Pam Tarr, Carla Johnson, Joe Imel, Tammy Boltz, Kim Bye, Sherri McIntire, Fred Medler, Tess Thobe, Amy Dillon, Linda Burkhardt, Andrea Hodson, Erica Pluimer, Diana Kellermeyer, Julie Szymczak, Terry Cheek, Sharon Newman, Dennis Dwiggins and Dana McClung.
•Approved extra curricular assignments including Jo Mahnensmith, Susan Lechlitner, Shane Mann, Jacob Workman, Ed Geesaman, Greg Garringer, Jack Wood, Les Bantz, Ryan VanSkyock, Joni Penrod, Ryan Younts, Chuck Denny, Jason Phillips, Gregory Hummel, Jeff Hatch, Alan Bailey, Sarah Ullom, Tessa Thobe, Andrew Schmit, Gwen Bergman, Cheree McCallister and Linda Brackman.
•Approved the hiring of new teachers including Christine Krieg, Jan Rittenhouse, Kristin Westgerdes, Erin Arnold, Christine Whitenack, Tisha Walker, Angela Flowers, Holly Long and Katelin Harvey.
•Accepted the retirement of Judge Haynes Elementary School teacher fifth grade teacher Patricia Bailey.
•Accepted a resignation from West Jay Middle School health clerk Tammy Ford.
•Approved the appointment of Karen Barry and Duane Sautbine to the Jay County Library board.
They will replace Dr. Charles Miller and Jane Prescott who have served multiple terms on the board.
•Authorized medical leave for Kendra Stouder and Cindy Fullenkamp.
•Approved field trips by FFA members to the FFA State Convention at Purdue University, JCHS boys basketball team to Spiece Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne and JCHS football team to Miami University in Ohio and King's Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.
•Approved extracurricular activities resignations for Jenny Stout, Kristy Blalock, Nora Stephens, Melanie Stockton and Nikki Liter.[[In-content Ad]]Jay County is setting out to tackle the high school drop-out rate.
School officials and community members are taking part in the Check & Connect initiative, created by the Institute on Community Integration from the University in Minnesota and tailored to fit the needs of the Jay School Corporation.
"It's a national issue ... and has been for awhile," Jay County High School principal Jeremy Gulley said this morning. "It's about regaining commitment and getting people involved."
Gulley said he is looking for 30 community volunteers to serve as mentors for at-risk students.
"We can't wait until they are juniors or seniors. We need to start in the middle school and continue with them as freshman," Gulley added. "We need more voices than just me or the guidance counselor."
Gulley, JCHS director of guidance Vickie Reitz and Portland Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Vicki Tague spoke to the Jay School Board at Monday's meeting.
Graduation support teams, which include parents, the student, guidance counselors and community mentors, are being created.
Each student will sign a graduation contract along with their parents and Gulley.
Gulley said that the group working on this initiative has set a goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by 2011.
Jay County currently has a 75 percent graduation rate.
He told the board that this rate is figured by taking the number of freshmen that come to JCHS and dividing by the number of those students that graduate.
Students that move or transfer are removed from the number of freshman and don't count against the corporation's total.
See Plan page 5
Continued from page 1
But special education students, even if they receive a certificate from JCHS but not a diploma, count towards the corporation's average.
To figure the graduation rate, the school is identifying incoming freshmen that meet several characteristics of students that don't graduate.
"If we can get through to these kids, then we have broken the cycle," Gulley said, adding that some of these characteristics include a feeling by students that they don't belong or students that feel no attachment to the school. "I want to get them involved."
Of the approximately 1,200 students expected to attend JCHS for the 2007-08 school year 203 (or 17 percent) of students have been identified as being at risk of not graduating.
He added that middle school summer school will help in this initiative.
The school has also been enforcing the attendance policy by filing charges against parents of students who fail to attend school.
The difference from this program to what JCHS was doing before is getting more parent and community involvement, Gulley said.
"We are doing it earlier. We can't wait until a student walks into the office (at JCHS) and says that they are dropping out of school," he added.
Robert Phelps, who recently ended the 2006-07 school year at Barker Middle School in Michigan City, was selected from 28 applicants, EJMS principal Lee Newman reported during Monday's Jay School Board meeting.
Phelps, originally from the Selma area, taught creative writing, reading and extended learning at the middle school.
He was not present at Monday's meeting.
His salary was set at $58,000.
He started his teaching career at Selma Middle School and is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and has been a company commander.
Phelps will begin his new position on Aug. 3 and will be present at school registration to meet with students and parents, Newman said this morning.
Also Monday, board members approved the corporation's application for Title I grant funds.
Pennville Elementary principal and Title I coordinator Larry Wilson told the board that the corporation has a chance to receive an additional $200,000 to the $646,000 received for use during the 2006-07 school year.
He added that these state funds are to help the corporation fund full-day kindergarten.
The grant application is due to the state on July 1, Wilson reported.
The corporation's application must be approved before the hire of additional teachers for full-day kindergarten.
In other business, the board voted to transfer $408,543.92 to the rainy day fund.
Of these funds, $273,700 came from the debt service fund, $60,000 from the transportation fund, $20 from the Patriot Powerhouse funds fund, $79.65 from the Coke fund and $74,744 from money for forward funding retirements.
This fund was established three years ago for unused and unencumbered funds raised by general and special tax levy.
These funds can be used for transportation operating expenses, advance funding of retirement obligations, emergency equipment purchases or emergency capital repairs.
After this transfer there is a total of $520,000 in this fund, DeRome said this morning.
Also Monday, board members:
•Heard a presentation by Jay County High School principal Jeremy Gulley on the planned student data management software.
This software will allow parents to access the child's school schedule, attendance and discipline records and grades online.
Gulley said the program is set to launch for the 2008-09 school year. The next year will be spent training teachers how to input the information and installing the new system, which is estimated to cost approximately $60,000.
It will be launched at the high school, but will eventually at both middle schools and all elementary schools, Gulley said.
In addition to this plan, the corporation is starting an initiative to get a computer on the desk of every teacher in the school corporation to help them keep the information on this system current.
This includes the purchase of 315 computers from DCS Computers and Sales of Dunkirk and $2,800 for wireless equipment for East Elementary School for a total of $330,550. This will be funded by a five-year technology loan from the state department of education.
•Heard East Elementary principal Andy Schemenaur report on preliminary plans presented to the board to convert the school from an open concept space to conventional classrooms.
K.R. Montgomery & Associated of Anderson submitted several drawings. The plans also include renovations of the media center and gym.
•Heard Jay Schools coordinator of facilities Ron Krieg report that the new gym floor at West Jay Middle School is done. Work is also being completed this summer to refinish the gym floors at EJMS and JCHS.
•Heard a presentation by members of the JCHS band and band director Kelly Smeltzer. Band members and Smeltzer showed board members a variety of instruments the band purchased with a $25,000 donation approved by the board in April.
•Approved payment of $5,670 to 21 mentor teachers to provide guidance to new teachers hired in the school corporation.
The other half of the funds needed to pay these teachers was funded by the state. The state initially promised the full amount but later informed the corporation that it could not fund the entire program.
•Approved paying 25 percent of the salary of the John Jay Center for Learning executive director and a portion of the center's administrator assistant's salary. The board voted to pay a total of $20,860, which includes $16,742 of JJCL executive director Rob Weaver's $66,969 salary and $4,118 of administrative assistant Betty Toshlog's $33,214 salary.
•Received a report from Long on the average daily enrollment for the school corporation which was recorded on May 1.
According to the report completed by the Indiana Department of Education, there were 3,648.5 students in the school corporation.
•Voted to establish and permit a voluntary payroll deduction from school corporation employees to the Jay County Hospital Foundation.
•Approved the calendar for the 2008 budget. The preliminary 2008 budget will be presented to the board on August 6. The budget will be published on Aug. 8 and 15. A public hearing will be held on Aug. 27 and the board will vote on the budget at a Sept. 17 meeting.
•Approved summer school contracts including Jenny DeHoff, Bonita Frazee, Janice Miller, Ruth Zicht, Karen Mettler, Ingrid Saxman, Dora Houck, Jodi McKee, Sharon Bubp, Amy Klopfenstein, Sherry Roberts, JoAnn Paden, Kerri Andreshak, Jill Ford, Bill Saxman, Virginia Fennig, Caryn Braden, Jenny Cornett, Kelly Brandenburg, Sara Wolf, Linda Burkhardt, Bethany Johnson.
Also for Crystal Laux, Bev Arnold, Melanie Stockton, Ted Habegger, Gary Tarr, Pam Tarr, Carla Johnson, Joe Imel, Tammy Boltz, Kim Bye, Sherri McIntire, Fred Medler, Tess Thobe, Amy Dillon, Linda Burkhardt, Andrea Hodson, Erica Pluimer, Diana Kellermeyer, Julie Szymczak, Terry Cheek, Sharon Newman, Dennis Dwiggins and Dana McClung.
•Approved extra curricular assignments including Jo Mahnensmith, Susan Lechlitner, Shane Mann, Jacob Workman, Ed Geesaman, Greg Garringer, Jack Wood, Les Bantz, Ryan VanSkyock, Joni Penrod, Ryan Younts, Chuck Denny, Jason Phillips, Gregory Hummel, Jeff Hatch, Alan Bailey, Sarah Ullom, Tessa Thobe, Andrew Schmit, Gwen Bergman, Cheree McCallister and Linda Brackman.
•Approved the hiring of new teachers including Christine Krieg, Jan Rittenhouse, Kristin Westgerdes, Erin Arnold, Christine Whitenack, Tisha Walker, Angela Flowers, Holly Long and Katelin Harvey.
•Accepted the retirement of Judge Haynes Elementary School teacher fifth grade teacher Patricia Bailey.
•Accepted a resignation from West Jay Middle School health clerk Tammy Ford.
•Approved the appointment of Karen Barry and Duane Sautbine to the Jay County Library board.
They will replace Dr. Charles Miller and Jane Prescott who have served multiple terms on the board.
•Authorized medical leave for Kendra Stouder and Cindy Fullenkamp.
•Approved field trips by FFA members to the FFA State Convention at Purdue University, JCHS boys basketball team to Spiece Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne and JCHS football team to Miami University in Ohio and King's Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.
•Approved extracurricular activities resignations for Jenny Stout, Kristy Blalock, Nora Stephens, Melanie Stockton and Nikki Liter.[[In-content Ad]]Jay County is setting out to tackle the high school drop-out rate.
School officials and community members are taking part in the Check & Connect initiative, created by the Institute on Community Integration from the University in Minnesota and tailored to fit the needs of the Jay School Corporation.
"It's a national issue ... and has been for awhile," Jay County High School principal Jeremy Gulley said this morning. "It's about regaining commitment and getting people involved."
Gulley said he is looking for 30 community volunteers to serve as mentors for at-risk students.
"We can't wait until they are juniors or seniors. We need to start in the middle school and continue with them as freshman," Gulley added. "We need more voices than just me or the guidance counselor."
Gulley, JCHS director of guidance Vickie Reitz and Portland Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Vicki Tague spoke to the Jay School Board at Monday's meeting.
Graduation support teams, which include parents, the student, guidance counselors and community mentors, are being created.
Each student will sign a graduation contract along with their parents and Gulley.
Gulley said that the group working on this initiative has set a goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by 2011.
Jay County currently has a 75 percent graduation rate.
He told the board that this rate is figured by taking the number of freshmen that come to JCHS and dividing by the number of those students that graduate.
Students that move or transfer are removed from the number of freshman and don't count against the corporation's total.
See Plan page 5
Continued from page 1
But special education students, even if they receive a certificate from JCHS but not a diploma, count towards the corporation's average.
To figure the graduation rate, the school is identifying incoming freshmen that meet several characteristics of students that don't graduate.
"If we can get through to these kids, then we have broken the cycle," Gulley said, adding that some of these characteristics include a feeling by students that they don't belong or students that feel no attachment to the school. "I want to get them involved."
Of the approximately 1,200 students expected to attend JCHS for the 2007-08 school year 203 (or 17 percent) of students have been identified as being at risk of not graduating.
He added that middle school summer school will help in this initiative.
The school has also been enforcing the attendance policy by filing charges against parents of students who fail to attend school.
The difference from this program to what JCHS was doing before is getting more parent and community involvement, Gulley said.
"We are doing it earlier. We can't wait until a student walks into the office (at JCHS) and says that they are dropping out of school," he added.
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