More credit being earned

Jay Schools has put an emphasis on increasing the percentage of its graduates who attain post-secondary education. As part of that effort, more and more students are getting a head start on the process.
In an update to Jay School Board at its Monday meeting, director of teacher effectiveness Jeremy Gulley noted that the number of enrollments in dual credit courses at Jay County High School more than tripled in 2014-15 from the previous year.
The board also discussed the upcoming eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C., which has now been postponed, and approved its  2016-17 school calendar.
Gulley told board members Mike Shannon, Cory Gundrum, Kristi Betts, Mike Masters, Beth Krieg, Ron Laux and Greg Wellman that during the 2014-15 school year a total of 1,029 courses were taken for dual credit, allowing students to earn college credit while at JCHS. That number was up from 311 the year before, a 330-percent increase.
The class of 2015 had 144 students who had earned college credit while in high school.
JCHS principal Chad Dodd, director of guidance Vickie Reitz and Gulley noted that the increase was in part because of a greater push to get students ahead of the game when it comes to earning a post-secondary degree, including more than doubling the dual credit courses the school offers.
There has also been an effort to get students started earlier through the early college class for sophomores.
“Our expectations are going up for our kids,” said Dodd. “What I know is, where you set that bar, they will achieve. And our kids are working hard. … It’s fun to watch.
“It’s exciting to see our kids preparing to take that next step. We feel like that transition now will be much easier.”
Gulley pointed out that 87 members of the class of 2015 completed at least six credits in a “pathway” toward a college degree or industry certificate. Of those, more than half were in the healthcare field with many of those working to become certified nursing assistants.
He also noted that 81 students are enrolled in the JCHS manufacturing academy with 28 having already earned industry-recognized certifications.
Board members decided not to take any action regarding the status of the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C., which was scheduled to start Wednesday, instead asking superintendent Tim Long and principals Fred Medler (East Jay) and Mike Krull (West Jay) to gather information and make a decision.
Long and the principals discussed the issue with the charter company providing the trip, and decided this morning to postpone it until the spring. A new date for the trip has not yet been set.
The topic came up after several board members said they had been asked about the status of the trip in the wake of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris and subsequent threats that there are more to come against Western targets including the United States.
Betts and Laux said they would not allow their children to make the trip in the current climate while Wellman took the opposite view, saying it doesn’t make sense to live in fear. Shannon and Betts also expressed concern that if the school corporation cancels the trip, families would lose money they had already committed.
The calendar for the 2016-17 school year is nearly identical to that of South Adams in order to accommodate students who travel between campuses for classes. The first teacher day for students will be Aug. 11, with fall break Oct. 19 through 21, winter break Dec. 21 through Jan. 2, spring break March 27 through 31 and the last student day May 24.
The only differences between Jay County and South Adams is that Jay County will take a day off on Friday of the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show in August and make it up by going an extra day at the end of the year.
In other business, the board:
•Learned from business manager Brad DeRome that the corporation is $345,000 in the red thus far this year. He is projecting a year-end cash balance of $1.675 million in the general fund, which closed 2014 at about $2 million.
•Heard a request from Dunkirk resident Wendy Robbins that board members attend a town hall style meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at West Jay Middle School to discuss proposed cost-cutting measures, which have included the possibility of closing schools.
•Approved an agreement for use of school facilities for Jay Community Center’s third through eighth grade basketball programs.
•Agreed to liquidate the self-insurance fund, which was at $2,931.32 as of the end of October. The corporation shifted to a fully-funded health insurance program in June 2014 and has completed paying claims from the previous system. The remaining funds will be equally distributed to the corporation’s 365 employees who currently have medical plans, with each getting about $8.
•OK’d new courses for next year, including AP art history, banking and investment careers, computer science, digital applications and responsibility, studio art and a variety of physical education classes.
•Approved getting a loan of $1.1 million from the Indiana Bond Bank for the Capital Projects Fund with the money to be paid back over the course of 2016.
Also gave DeRome permission to make year-end transfers in order to balance the books at year’s end.
•Hired instructional assistant Joe Fennig (East Jay Middle School) and part-time cooks Melissa Bantz (Jay County High School) and Kristen Mansfield (East Elementary); approved making Glenda Masterson a full-time bus aide; accepted the resignation of part-time cook Kari Fields; and OK’d leaves of absence for Jennifer Snow, Carissa Allred, Scott Clamme, Brittany Hemmelgarn, Bill Bice, Amber Yadon and Rene Denton.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Ryan Smitley (West Jay Middle School wrestling coach), Katie Clark (JCHS National Honor Society sponsor); Jacquelin Analco (JCHS art club and National Art Honor Society sponsor), Andrea Hodson and Vickie Reitz (JCHS Best Buddies sponsor), Pazia Williams (JCHS assistant girls basketball coach), Sherri McIntire (JCHS freshman girls basketball coach) and Tom Leonhard (EJMS eighth grade football coach).
•Approved a field trip for third graders to Fort Wayne Shrine Circus.