New era begins at our schools

By Jerry Ness | The Daily Journal

Published Thursday, September 4, 2008

Jerry Ness

September 2 marked the beginning of a new era for the Fergus Falls Public Schools. We are excited about nearing the completion of the first phase of our reorganization process, and this column is a primer to get you up to date on the changes in our district.

McKinley School is providing a great educational start for students in kindergarten and pre-school, including the federally funded Head Start program, Early Childhood Family Education, School Readiness and Kinderstart.

Adams School remains the site for grades 1 and 2, where students continue to focus on learning to read and advancing their math and language skills.

Cleveland School welcomes grade 5 back from the Middle School, changing our district into a two-tiered school system with elementary grades K-5 and secondary grades 6-12. The addition of eight new classrooms and a gym allows Cleveland to house students in grades 3-5. Students in grade 4 and 5 who will be attending the Prairie Science Class at the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center will enjoy new classrooms at both sites.

The move of pre-school programs from Eisenhower made way for 6th graders, who will have their classes at Eisenhower until the Middle School’s remodeling project is complete.

Secondary students in grades 7-12 are located at the High School. Middle School students, who are separated from the High School students by schedule, are located in what’s known as the College (C) Wing.

Cleveland is the school that has seen the most changes over the summer, with an upgrade of the entire site. New wells were drilled on the sliding hill for the expanded geothermal heating and cooling system. The hill has been restored and landscaped, and the playground has been reshaped with new pea rock added for student safety.

The 1957 portion of Cleveland also saw some remodeling: New doors were installed, and the office was expanded. New entrance doors will provide better security in the building. The only area not ready for use is the gymnasium. The cement floor has not cured enough, meaning it still has too much moisture to begin installing the wood gym floor. We expect installation will begin in less than two weeks.

OAAO

One of the district goals this year is to implement the Otters A.R.E. Always Otters (OAAO) theme in the community. OAAO is based on a successful middle school program developed by health teacher Renee Erickson and her students.

The acronym in Otters A.R.E. Always Otters outline behaviors that we expect: A is for accountable, R is for respectful and E means enthusiastic. We want our students and staff to be positive by setting examples and being role models in our community.

The Otters are well on their way to being recognized as outstanding citizens. Last year in the Central Lakes Conference, the Otters were recognized by their peers with sportsmanship awards in eight different activities, including five during the winter (a conference record). The banners recognizing these achievements are proudly displayed in the rafters of the Otter gym.

Otter Pride Night

The 3rd Annual Otter Pride Night will take place before the Sept. 12 football game vs Sartell. Beginning at 5 p.m., there will be games and activities in the middle school new gym (the Maroon Gym). The 544 Education Foundation will be selling tacos in a bag. Come and join the fun and excitement of being an Otter!!

Open Houses

Please join us on Monday, Sept. 8, for open houses in our district. Check out our Web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.isd544.org" www.isd544.org for a complete list of open house times.

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Jerry Ness is the superintendent of the Fergus Falls school District. His column appears on Wednesday.