It’s certainly wonderful to have students back in our buildings. During the summer months, our staff was busy completing many projects. Most of our classrooms have Smart Boards but we upgraded 22 rooms throughout the district with a newer model. These boards can enrich our curriculum by taking a typical lesson and turning it into a fun, more interactive one. They provide students with an enriched learning experience by projecting visual elements. The boards also make differentiated learning much easier because teachers are able to accommodate different learning styles.
At Will Rogers Elementary, we moved several classrooms so each grade level would be opposite each other. This makes collaborating together much easier. A majority of the rooms also received a fresh coat of paint. The office area was also painted and new carpet was laid. The elementary looks much more professional and inviting, too.
At the high school, a few rooms were painted but most of our attention was spent in the Lemke Gym. All of the locker rooms were painted as well as the lobby area. The school board office area also received new carpet as well.
We also owe a huge “thank you” to Dustin Moore and the Burns Flat Cooperative for repairing and replacing electrical lines and tower lights on our football field. They also replaced lights on the baseball and softball towers. While our school paid for the materials, Mr. Moore and his staff provided all of the labor for FREE. It saved our district a great deal of money during these tight budget times. If you have the opportunity to see these gentlemen, I hope you thank them for their time and effort as well as their caring hearts.
A major change has occurred at our elementary this school year. Because our reading scores are not where we feel they should be, our staff has instituted a DEAR policy (Drop Everything And Read). Our First through Fifth graders are spending the first hour and a half of every day working on reading. They have also reduced the number of Eagle Time assemblies from four to two each month. This provides a greater opportunity for our children to engage in reading and also applies the proper emphasis on it as well. If students can’t read, then they will obviously struggle trying to do math, history or grammar. I applaud our elementary staff for their efforts and I encourage our parents to find ways of inspiring students to read at home, too.
I would also like to take this time to congratulate our fastpitch team and Coach Ervin for the great progress they have made this season. They have significantly improved in every facet of the gamehitting, fielding, pitching and base running. Being an old softball coach, myself, I really enjoy watching this team play.
Our football team and coaches also deserve high praise for their efforts. Not only did they “45” CBA in their opening game, they did the same to a tradition-rich Tipton team. This squad enjoys a great deal of talent and I look forward to seeing how their season goes forward. I hope each of you will take the time to come out and support all of our student groups. You won’t be disappointed.
Larry Johnson is superintendent of Burns Flat-Dill City Public Schools.