Some students return to changed environment

Class back in session, new twists abound

New school boundary lines. Expansion of Lawrence Virtual School. New technology.

School starts today and Thursday for Lawrence public school students. And as they rush back to school, students will see a few changes.

Today, students in grades one through six, seven and 10 come back on a special schedule. On Thursday, there will be a regular schedule for students in grades 1-12. And Friday is the first day of the regular schedule for all students.

A boundary change will move about 100 students out of the Deerfield School attendance area and into Quail Run, said Tom Bracciano, the district’s operations and facility planning director.

Sixth-grade students have the option to stay at Deerfield, where transportation is not provided, or transfer. Bracciano said the district wouldn’t know how many children moved until school started.

Schwegler School first-grader Brandon Taylor, 6, introduces himself to his new classmate, a training dog named Gemini, as his new teacher Lisa Clark speaks with two of her former students, James and Jasmine Harader-Ellett Tuesday night during new student orientation at the school.

There will be more options available at Lawrence Virtual School. The school, which last year served grades K-8, now has high school offerings, including course acquisition and course recovery.

A bond issue for technology brought new equipment to many schools over the summer. Among the new items, 750 desktops and 550 laptops. And more technology is scheduled to come.

The district’s high schools have made some changes in response to the closing of Lawrence Alternative School and the rising expectations of the federal No Child Left Behind act.

A plan, referred to as “Whatever It Takes,” includes new schedules, attendance and tardy policies, and initiatives aimed at keeping kids engaged in school.

There will be higher expectations placed on administration, teachers and students, Lawrence High Principal Steve Nilhas said.

What’s new at your school?

Elementaries

Broken Arrow

New staff, including new kindergarten, music and first-grade teachers and a new counselor. Also, this year there will be three sections of first grade, up from two sections last year. – Larry Bakerink, principal.

Cordley

New staff include: two sixth-grade teachers, a counselor, a reading teacher, a math teacher and a speech language pathologist. Students will also find new carpet throughout our school. – Kim Bodensteiner, principal.

Deerfield

Two new teachers – one for sixth grade and one for third grade. New equipment on the primary level playground makes the area more accessible to students with handicaps. And there is new equipment on the intermediate playground. New lighting in the primary classrooms. And students in grades 3-6 will find new computers in the labs. – Suzie Soyster, principal.

Hillcrest

A new portable will accommodate growth as the school awaits the 2006 opening of Cordley School’s site for English language learners.

Kennedy

Felton Avery is the school’s new principal. There are four new teachers. New ceiling and ceiling lights are throughout the school. – Felton Avery, principal.

Langston Hughes

The school will have a new look inside. The walls have been painted red and blue for the upper grades and lavender and teal for the lower grades. The school also will start a program to crack down on bullying. Starting early in the school year, some teachers will begin holding weekly class meetings for students to discuss issues, such as bullying. The program will kick off officially in January. – Lisa Thompson, principal.

New York

The East Lawrence Neighborhood Association repainted the playground over the summer, so students will have a bright and shiny play area. Students also will meet several new staff – including a librarian, two special education resource teachers, a kindergarten teacher, a reading resource teacher, a library aide and a health office assistant. – Nancy DeGarmo, principal.

Pinckney

Students will find a whole new section to the playground that includes a climbing wall, swingsets and two slides. There also are several new teachers and staff members. – Lesa Frantz, principal.

Prairie Park

There will be a new reading initiative for students in grades 3-6. – David Williams, principal.

Quail Run

New students, once in the Deerfield attendance area, are entering the school because of boundary changes. While some grades had only two sections in past years, this year every grade level will have three sections. There are several new teachers and paraeducators. – Paulette Strong, principal.

Schwegler

Students will meet 11 new staff members, including teachers and aides. The school is freshly painted and there are new computers and projectors. – Angelique Kobler, principal.

Sunflower

The school has two new teachers – one for first grade and one for fourth grade. One block will be dedicated to reading. Depending on the grade level, it will last 1 1/2 to 2 hours. – Jill Smith, principal.

Sunset Hill

The school celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. A party is set for Oct. 7 at the school. A group of sixth graders and parent volunteers designed and built a new decorative mural in the front entrance to celebrate the milestone. – Chris Bay, principal.

Wakarusa Valley

New Principal Elias Espinosa begins. There is also a new physical education teacher and new third grade teacher. The school also recently partnered with CornerBank for a school banking program. Students will be able to have savings accounts and can make deposits at the school. The sixth graders will be the bankers. – Elias Espinosa, principal.

Woodlawn

A bullying prevention program begins. There will be schoolwide rules and consequences for bullying. Each classroom will have a 10-20 minute weekly class meeting to talk about issues and bullying. Staff are working on a bullying handbook for parents and students. Teachers will document bullying incidents. – Joni Appleman, principal.

Junior highs

Central Junior High

New principal Frank Harwood joins the staff. He said he will try to keep operations unchanged initially. – Frank Harwood, principal.

South Junior High

New principal Will Fernandez joins the school’s staff. – Will Fernandez, principal.

Southwest Junior High

All portable classrooms have been relocated to the north parking lot. This will change traffic patterns between classes. And the back of the building will not be open to general traffic. Later in the year, a temporary access road will be constructed to replace one being blocked off. – Trish Bransky, principal.

West Junior High

The school has had extensive building renovations over the summer. Locker rooms and bathrooms were renovated. There is new carpeting, ceilings and lighting, and the entrance has been renovated. The school also has a full-fledged autism program with a lead teacher and four paraeducators. – Bill Montgomery, assistant principal.

High schools

Free State High

There will be several interventions in place to make sure students succeed. There also will be a greater focus on reading skills and interventions. – Joe Snyder, principal.

Lawrence High

There will be higher expectations for administration, teachers and students. There will be a mentoring program for sophomores as well as a greater focus on student support. – Steve Nilhas, principal.