By VICKI URBANIK

As it has been for the last seven years, the Head Start program at Westchester Intermediate School is operating at full capacity with 20 students.

“We’re alive and well,” Head Start family support specialist Ray Gartner told the Duneland School Board Monday, in what has become his annual report to the board.

Head Start, a federally funded educational program for children aged 3 to 5, opened in Chesterton seven years ago. The program is targeted toward low-income families, those considered at-risk or those with special needs children.

Gartner told the board that the Head Start program at WIS has enjoyed much stability among the children participating, with a turnover rate of only about 10 percent. He said that’s significant, especially given the high costs of gas. The Head Start program serves all of the Duneland School Corporation, but some of the participating families travel from the farthest distances in the corporation boundaries, he said.

“Our parents seem very dedicated to keeping their children (in the program) on a regular basis,” Gartner said.

Gartner told the board that Head Start still has to counter a common misperception that it’s little more than a day care center. The Head Start philosophy is one that involves the whole family, with parenting classes and parent-teacher conferences. The children receive several development and health-related screenings, and referrals are made to other social service providers when necessary.

Partnerships are an important part of the Head Start program, Gartner said, and one area that the local Head Start officials hope to expand upon. He said he’d like to see more outreach with families with special needs children, especially since the federal government will now start mandating that 10 percent of all Head Start children are special needs children. Up until now, the 10 percent participation level was only a recommendation, he said.

Gartner said the Head Start program has begun accepting applications for the 2008-09 school year, and that the program is about half full so far.

When asked by Duneland School Board member Janice Custer if the local Head Start program coordinates with the Parents As Teachers program, Gartner said the two mutually assist each other when they can, by referring resources or contacts with each other.

Personnel

The school board accepted several personnel changes, including the retirement of long-time kindergarten teacher Joan Sosbe.

Sosbe has 37 1/2 years of teaching experience at the Duneland Schools, most recently at Yost Elementary. Her dedication and enthusiasm for teaching were fondly noted at the school board meeting. Duneland Assistant Superintendent Monte Moffett said Sosbe was his son’s kindergarten teacher, and that he can personally attest to her role as an advocate for children.

“I’m sure many of you have been touched by Mrs. Sosbe,” he said.

In other personnel matters, the school board accepted the resignation of Liberty Elementary Title I aide Tammy Shideler and approved the hiring of Michelle Krieter in the post. The board also approved the hiring of six instructional aides: Melynda Tipton, Joy Martisen, Bonnie Stolz, and Laurie Corbett, all at WIS; and Jean Wasielewski and Tamara Reinhart, both at Liberty Intermediate.

Grants

Also Monday, the school board took note of two grants awarded to the school corporation.

Chesterton High School teacher Lance Nolting won a $10,000 grant from Best Buy for interactive technology. He said CHS was one of only 50 schools in the country to win a $10,000 grant, and in turn gets to apply for one of eight $100,000 grants that Best Buy will award.

Nolting said he intends to purchase computers, equipment for presentations and other technology. He said he applied for the grant online, submitting about two pages of explanation of how the technology will be applied. “It was actually pretty easy,” he said of the grant application.

Liberty Intermediate School Principal Greg Guernsey also outlined a $5,490 grant awarded by Fifth Third for “The Weather Bug,” a weather lab that will be installed in the school’s courtyard. The weather lab will allow students to conduct weather-related data analysis.

LES Presentation

It isn’t everyday that a dog is one of the highlights at a school board meeting, but that’s what happened Monday, when Maguire, a member of the Duneland elementary counseling program, appeared as part of a presentation by Liberty Elementary School.

School counselor Rick Lawson said Maguire came to the Duneland Schools eight years ago, donated by Canine Companions. Among the various ways that Maguire is used, students vie to win the right to give him his baths, a process that Lawson noted helps to teach responsibility.

Also participating in the LES presentation were Principal Christy Jarka, who outlined a program that allows students to vie for the chance to eat lunch with the principal and another that awards a “floating fish” to the class with the highest attendance each week; 4th grade teacher Judy Polite, who outlined the use of smartboards by students; 3rd grade teacher Sharon Keilman, who spoke of a letter writing project to troops in Iraq and to veterans; 2nd grade teacher Joyce Goodwin, who spoke on electricity-safety presentations given to the students by NIPSCO retiree Buzz Ingram; 1st grade teacher Gayle Sandquist, who outlined how palm pilots are being used in a reading and writing program; and kindergarten teacher Monica Hargarten, who outlined how students learn writing skills.

Accompanying the LES staff were second grade students Kaitlyn Balakir and Hannah Mullin, who read their own writings, and kindergartener Nick Hanson, who used an oversized fly swatter to show how to identify capitalization and punctuation marks.

Posted 3/4/2008