2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor
2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor
2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
www.southwindsor.org<br />
T O W N O F S O U T H W I N D S O R<br />
B O A R D O F E D U C A T I O N<br />
condition <strong>of</strong> the buildings, a facility study was<br />
done by O, R and L Facility Management. The<br />
study was conducted and the results were<br />
reviewed at a school board meeting. It is a comprehensive<br />
study which assesses the quality and<br />
condition <strong>of</strong> the district’s elementary schools.<br />
The study was needed to give the school board<br />
substantive information to determine the relative<br />
merits <strong>of</strong> renovation versus new construction.<br />
Although the Timothy Edwards Middle School<br />
construction is virtually completed, this construction<br />
program still required school board attention.<br />
A good example <strong>of</strong> this is the report provided by<br />
J. P. Engineering. The report was requested by<br />
the town to determine specific reasons why components<br />
<strong>of</strong> the heating system throughout the<br />
Timothy Edwards Middle School building froze up<br />
so quickly during a relatively brief heating failure.<br />
The report contained recommendations for preventative<br />
measures. The school board wrote to<br />
the Public Building Commission (PBC) requesting<br />
that it follow through on the recommendations<br />
noted as soon as possible.<br />
To manage the enrollment growth and to monitor<br />
the class size policy, the school board reviewed<br />
two related reports. One was the annual enrollment<br />
projection. The report established the <strong>of</strong>ficial<br />
enrollment for the 2000-01 school year at<br />
5,008. It also indicated a slowing <strong>of</strong> growth in<br />
grades k-5 enrollment, and significant growth<br />
continuing at the middle school and high school<br />
over the next five years. There was also a report<br />
on the effects <strong>of</strong> the class size policy at the high<br />
school. This report is an indication <strong>of</strong> the additional<br />
staff that might be requested in the next<br />
fiscal year.<br />
Under Connecticut state law, the school board is<br />
the conferring agency for high school diplomas.<br />
Although diplomas are usually based on the successful<br />
completion <strong>of</strong> a course <strong>of</strong> study, a different<br />
kind <strong>of</strong> diploma was established. This diploma<br />
was made possible by a law passed by the<br />
Connecticut State Legislature. Public Act 2000<br />
1-124, An Act Concerning High School Diplomas<br />
and Veterans <strong>of</strong> World War II, allows local boards<br />
to award diplomas to qualifying veterans.<br />
Veterans who left high school prior to graduation<br />
to serve in the Armed Forces and did not receive<br />
a diploma as a consequence for such service<br />
were eligible to receive these diplomas. The<br />
school board approved a policy which established<br />
veterans’ diplomas in <strong>South</strong> <strong>Windsor</strong>.<br />
Other policies that were approved or revised during<br />
the 2000-01 school year related to student<br />
discipline, regulations governing the use <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Internet by students, and the aforementioned<br />
graduation requirement revisions.<br />
Each year a report is provided concerning all the<br />
activities in our pr<strong>of</strong>essional development program.<br />
A pr<strong>of</strong>essional development program is<br />
required by the state. It provides to teachers<br />
opportunities to keep their skills and knowledge<br />
current. All teachers must pursue pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
development courses in order to renew their<br />
certificate every five years. A report that focused<br />
on our teacher evaluation system was also provided.<br />
This report is required by the state and it<br />
focuses on the results <strong>of</strong> our program that evaluates<br />
the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> teachers. Other annual<br />
reports which were reviewed included one on our<br />
information services and another on our custodial<br />
and maintenance programs. The information<br />
services report included implementation plans for<br />
eScholar and a progress report on the new<br />
student administration system (SASI).<br />
In the spring, the school board welcomed visitors<br />
from the Uzbekistan Republic. Through a resolution,<br />
the <strong>South</strong> <strong>Windsor</strong> Public Schools recognized<br />
nine students and their teacher. This is the<br />
third time that students from the Republic <strong>of</strong><br />
Uzbekistan visited <strong>South</strong> <strong>Windsor</strong> under the<br />
supervision <strong>of</strong> their teacher, Evgeniya Flaeeva.<br />
During the summer <strong>of</strong> <strong>2001</strong>, several students<br />
and parents from <strong>South</strong> <strong>Windsor</strong> reciprocated by<br />
visiting Uzbekistan.<br />
No description <strong>of</strong> the activities <strong>of</strong> the school<br />
board in the area <strong>of</strong> policies and operations<br />
would be complete without a review <strong>of</strong> the<br />
2000-<strong>2001</strong> ANNUAL REPORT 9