Published: April 15, 2008 10:43 am            

NA-FC School Corp. names two new principals

More FCHS improvements get OK

The New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. board named new principals for Floyd Central High School and Hazelwood Middle School during Monday night’s school board meeting.

Principals John Marsh, at Floyd Central, and Jackie Apple, at Hazelwood, will resign at the end of this school year.

Superintendent Dennis Brooks first announced Hazelwood’s new principal, Terry Weilbaker.

“I feel like I’m at the Grammy’s,” Weilbaker said, smiling as he took the microphone in acceptance of the appointment. “I would like to extend a special thanks to Jackie for retiring. Thanks Jackie.”

Weilbaker — who has served as the school’s assistant principal since 1999 — will take over as principal July 1.

Weilbaker started his career in 1993 as a science teacher at Floyd Central High School and has since worked within the corporation.

“I’m excited and I can’t wait to start,” he said.

Brooks then announced FCHS’s new principal, Louis Jensen Jr. Jensen has been the school’s assistant principal since 1997.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” he said. “I’m looking forward to moving us to the next level.”

Jensen has been with the corporation since 1988. He started his career in 1983 teaching in the Salem Community School Corp.

He also will take over July 1.



Changes at Floyd Central High School

The board approved three change orders at FCHS for renovations, totaling $468,740.

The majority of that, $340,430, will go toward a “pole-vault” system. The system will include a pole in each classroom, which will have all the technology needed wired through it, such as a DVD player.

Deputy Superintendent Brad Snyder said this is new technology, but even when he looked at older technology, the costs were still high.

“We looked at ‘cheaper’ solutions and we came to the conclusion that they weren’t any cheaper,” he told the board.

He said this — along with an intercom system for the entire school and dimming system for the lights in the auditorium — were part of the original plan for FCHS’s construction. However, when the project came in over budget, those and other changes were put on hold.

Snyder said the project included contingency funds, just in case something came up during construction that would require more money, such as issues with digging in certain types of soil that wouldn’t be known until it was done. Snyder proposed that those funds pay for these three extras.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, but if all stays the same, such as the market and such, we should be fine,” he said.

“The question is if the money were coming out of your pocket and you were building a house, would you put the money back in (for the things that were cut)?” James Zoeller, board member, asked the group before voting.

The motion to approve all three improvements passed 6-1, with Zoeller dissenting.



Board recognizes bus driver for avoiding wreck

The board recognized a NA-FC bus driver for her quick thinking that avoided a wreck.

On April 4, Peggy Riley was traveling along Interstate 71 with a bus full of students on their way to Cincinnati, when a car going the opposite direction flipped and slid across the median around mile marker 23. Riley swerved over to the guardrail and the car came to a rest right beside the bus.

“I think because of your alertness that night you avoided something that could have been very awful,” Brooks told Riley.

Riley, who was asked to take the microphone, politely declined. Instead, she just stood as Rebecca Gardenour, board president, presented her with a certificate for her actions.

No one on the bus was injured in the incident and the group was able to continue on their trip after Riley inspected the bus just to make sure no damage was done.



Stopping the bullying cycle

Kathy Goodknight, a counselor at Scribner Middle School, updated the board on the school’s pilot bullying-prevention program.

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program took about a year to develop and has been in place for two years.

When this started, 15 percent of students said they were bullied. Now that number is 33 percent.

“We expected to see an increase,” Goodknight told the board. “Now, they are more aware of what bullying is and they have a name for it. They also feel more comfortable reporting it.”

At Scribner, the consequences of bullying someone on the first offense is a one-on-one meeting with a counselor, with notes of that meeting going into the student’s permanent file.

Students who have a second offense have to meet with the counselor and their parents as well as write an apology letter to the victims.

Those with three offenses have their social privileges taken away from them. They no longer use lockers, but instead have a crate on wheels that carries all their belongings.

They have to wait until all the students clear the halls during passing times between classes before moving on to their next class. They also are not allowed to eat in the cafeteria. Instead, they eat in the office.

“It’s about teaching kids that bullying is wrong and we won’t tolerate it,” Goodknight said.

She said there were 13 level-three students in last year’s seventh-grade class. In that same group of students this year, there is only one.

Since school officials have deemed this program a success, Goodknight will train all certified workers, such as teachers, cafeteria workers and bus drivers, corporation-wide by the end of this school year on how to identify bullying and how to report it.

Goodknight said she can already see the positive impact this has had on the victims.

“The biggest difference I can see is in the attendance,” she said. “Some didn’t feel safe, so they stayed at home. I have seen a visible difference there.”

This program is made for elementary and middle schools. So far, no program has been created for the high schools.



Also at the meeting

• Bill Briscoe, assistant to the superintendent for administration and operations, told the board about today’s collective-bargaining meeting with the education association that represents about 700 teachers.

“We look forward to meeting with them face to face at the table,” he told the board. “Hopefully we will move toward (a) settlement.”

• The board approved the purchase of property at 1100 Myrtle Ave. for $122,000.

• The board approved the purchase of property at 6357 Old Vincennes Road for $133,500.

• The board approved the purchase of property at 1741 Shelby St. for $80,000.

        

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