Early school start smooth for students
From our weekly issue dated September 02, 2009
Hallways of all the area schools have been largely empty during the summer break, but that changed on the morning of Monday, Aug. 31, as students returned to the classrooms.
At Evergreen Elementary School in Cave Junction, Principal David Valenzuela spent part of his day in a bee costume as part of an assembly to emphasize positive behavior. This is his fourth year as Evergreen principal, and the first time he’s seen classes begin prior to Labor Day.
Despite the early start, Valenzuela is brimming with optimism about what lies ahead.
“Things couldn’t be better,” he said.
Enrollment is steady at Evergreen with around 470 students, close to what it was last year. Valenzuela said that makes the school an “anomaly” in a district that has been struggling with declining enrollment.
Also pleasing to Valenzuela is the fact that there has been little turnover among his staff.
At Lorna Byrne Middle School, Principal Damian Crowson has much to be happy about.
“This is the smoothest start we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Crowson said.
Preliminary enrollment figures are up slightly in his third year as principal, and LBMS has new football uniforms and a slew of new staff members.
Darrell Erb is now serving as the dean of students, and athletic director; Kaci Holland is teaching physical education; and Brice Cloyd is teaching band, choir and technology.
“The energy all three of those people bring to the building is amazing,” Crowson said.
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Three vacancies with classified staff also were filled by custodian April Baremore, education assistant Barb Gamble, and Barb Becker.
“They’re great additions to our school,” Crowson said.
An influx of federal Title I funds has enabled LBMS to retain and expand its electives programs, much to Crowson’s delight.
“The stimulus money helped us maintain our programs,” he said. “That’s something we’ve really focused on trying to keep.”
The scene was somewhat quieter at Illinois Valley High School, despite the echoes of bells ringing through halls.
Aug. 31 was freshman orientation day, where incoming students learned how to use their lockers and navigate through the school complex.
Principal JoAnn Bethany said that IVHS lost a science and an English teacher, but that Title I funds were used to hire one teacher to help fill those gaps.
“People’s responsibilities have shifted a little bit,” she said.
This year’s freshman class is estimated at 78, the lowest Bethany has seen in her eight years at IVHS.
She said that the freshman class was approximately 159 her first year, and tends to average between 115 and 125 students.
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