Curriculum updated

Curriculum at Jay County High School is being revamped to help academically qualified students earn an associate’s degree or significant college credit hours at little or no cost before graduation.
Updates in the high school curriculum guide were unanimously approved Monday by the Jay School Board.
“You guys are rock stars,” board president Mike Masters told director of teacher effectiveness Jeremy Gulley, JCHS principal Chad Dodd and guidance director Vickie Reitz. “This is good stuff.”
“Can a student in our high school earn an associate’s degree before he graduates? We think so,” said Gulley.
The key, Gulley said, is developing sequences of dual-credit courses and creating “a plan for every kid.”
Though JCHS has offered dual-credit courses in the past, those classes have been somewhat random rather than coordinated toward a degree.
“We think we have a shot at this,” said Gulley.
JCHS more than doubled its dual-credit course offerings between 2013 and 2014, and the total number of dual credits earned by students increased by 62 percent in a one-year period.
“Students will take a sequence of classes and put them together so that they mean something,” said Gulley.
The emphasis is on both college-bound and vocationally-oriented students. Because the dual-credit classes in a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College will be transferable, they will help students achieve a bachelor’s degree at less expense.
Because they will be sequenced in career paths such as agriculture, manufacturing and health sciences, they will help students get a “leg up” in those fields after high school graduation.
Gulley said the average tuition savings for an associate’s of science degree in liberal arts would be $7,869. The average tuition savings for a vocational credential or a general education core certificate would be $3,934.50.
“This could reduce the debt on families in Jay County,” Gulley said.
Board members also celebrated East Elementary School’s achievement as a National Blue Ribbon School at Monday’s meeting and learned that Judge Haynes Elementary School is also a candidate for national recognition.
East Elementary principal Andy Schemenaur praised teachers, students and parents for reaching Blue Ribbon status from the Department of Education.
“It’s been high performance over a period of time,” he said. “Success builds on success.”
Trent Paxson, director of testing and assessment, told the board Judge Haynes is a candidate for the National Title 1 Distinguished Schools Recognition Program.
An A-rated school like East, Judge Haynes has 77 percent of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch and the highest percentage of Hispanic students among Jay County schools.
“Their scores continue to increase,” said Paxson.
In other business, the board:
•Learned there’s another potential buyer for the former administrative offices on East Arch Street in Portland. Chris Fennig of MyFarms said he believes the property would be “ideal” for his company. He plans to add five to eight new employees next summer and lack of space is becoming a problem. Currently MyFarms operates out of the former Klopfenstein hardware store building on East Main Street and the former cable television office on East Water Street. Youth Service Bureau of Jay County has also expressed an interest in the Arch Street property.
•Recognized students who took part in the Purdue Summer Leadership Institute.
•Agreed to contract with former East Jay Middle School principal Lee Newman for not more than two crisis prevention intervention training sessions. Bloomfield Elementary School principal Ben Dues will be trained as an instructor for future sessions.
•Heard an update from Gulley on the BYOD (bring your own device) technology program, which will expand in the fall at JCHS.
“It’s being implemented just as we planned it,” he said.
“We were very satisfied with the ninth grade rollout,” added JCHS principal Dodd.
•Noted the loss of longtime school bus driver Bill Lykins, who was killed Saturday in a tree-cutting accident.
•Heard business manager Brad DeRome report that year-end school finances look “a little bit better” as the year winds down.
•Approved its annual bond bank loan for capital projects. The low-interest loan of $900,000 will be repaid by the end of 2015 after property tax revenues are received.
•Hired Janice Schroer as an instructional assistant at Judge Haynes and Ted Habegger and Dennis Dwiggins as driver education instructors at JCHS.
•Transferred instructional assistant Danielle Newell to East Jay Middle School.
•Approved leaves of absence for bus driver Esther Shaneyfelt and instructional assistant Joella Rinker.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Tom Leonhard as assistant boys’ track coach at JCHS, Greg Garringer as boys’ track coach at JCHS, Kyle Bischoff as assistant cross country coach at East Jay, Amy Grady as color guard director at JCHS, Amanda Bruce as assistant boys swim coach at JCHS, Bruce Wood as assistant wrestling coach at JCHS, Lauren Luebke as assistant gymnastics coach at JCHS, Adam Daniels as boys freshman basketball coach and Sarah Wenk as sixth grade girls basketball coach at East Jay.
•Approved field trips by German students and graphic design students.
Two board members — Larry Paxson and Greg Wellman — were absent from Monday’s meeting.