School in session
For many area students, classes began early this week
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 10:18 AM PDT
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| Students gather outside the new Adrian Elementary and Middle School Monday to get on their buses to go home at the end of the first day of school. |
ADRIAN — Many area students may be wondering where the summer went, but school is underway in many places today and later this week across the western Treasure Valley.
The Adrian School District was the first area learning center off the block Monday. School began in Vale and New Plymouth today.
Ontario and Nyssa students have just a few more days of freedom as the beginning of their school year nears with all but the top three grades in the Ontario School District starting Friday, and Ontario sophomores, juniors and seniors going back to class Monday.
School in Nyssa also begins Monday.
Adrian elementary and middle school students returned to a new school building — completed in July — for the 2008 to 2009 academic year.
“It’s been pretty nice,” Adrian Middle and Elementary School Principal Bill Ellsworth said.
There was a lot of excitement Monday, Ellsworth said, as community and business owners were at the school in the morning to welcome students and their parents to the new facility.
“They came dressed in new clothes,” he said of the students and staff.
Along with the new building came new desks and other furniture.
Enrollment in the building, kindergarten through eighth-grade is about 144 students, 10 less than last year.
Over at Adrian High School, the enrollment is up 10 or more, at 98, with an incoming freshman class, that is bigger than the outgoing senior class. AHS Principal Kevin Purnell said there are also some new students to the district.
In Vale, enrollment has stabilized after going down Superintendent Matthew Hawley said, and according to preregistration numbers it could be about 890 students. There is one new administrator in the district and three new teachers, he said.
In Ontario, the extra day for the kindergarten through freshmen classes allows the students, particularly incoming kindergartners and freshmen, to get acclimated to their new surroundings, and in the instance of the kindergartners, allows parents to meet their childrens’ teachers, Ontario School District Superintendent Dennis Carter said.
“We have quite a few staff changes,” Carter said, pointing out there are not as many as in past years. “They are spread across the schools.”
Ontario School District students and parents will also see structural changes at some of the facilities.
There will be new kindergarten classrooms at Aiken Elementary School, Carter said, and there is some construction still going on at May Roberts Elementary.
“We’re going to have six new classrooms there,” he said.
Four classrooms will replace four rooms now housed in a mobile unit. The new classrooms will not be ready until November or December, so students will start out in the mobile unit.
At the high school there is a new floor and new bleachers in the gymnasium.
Two administrators have been given new assignments. Paul Erlebach is now the middle school principal, and Nicole Albisu is principal at the Alameda Elementary School. There are also four new vice principals.
“We’re in pretty good shape and ready to go,” Carter said.
Neither school district had an estimate for their enrollments, but Nyssa School District Superintendent Don Grotting said early registration shows the kindergarten class will be smaller more than usual.
“There will be a lot of new faces,” Grotting said. “Most of them will be in the middle school.”
Several staff members also retired after the end of the last school year, he said.
Nyssa administrative changes include Larry Ramirez, high school principal; Luke Cleaver, high school vice principal; Roland Marshall, activities director and David Howe, middle school vice principal.
“We remodeled a building for a new science class.” Grotting said.
The extra science class was added at the high school to help students meet new state requirements for graduation.
