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Secondary students to start school year earlier

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By Jim Rudisill | Tuesday, November 21, 2006 11:55 PM CST | () comments

COLUMBUS JCT., Iowa — Columbus middle and high school students will begin the school year about 10 days before the elementary students report, following approval of an innovative school calendar by the school board Monday.

This will be the third year the district has used the innovative calendar. Under it, the older students and their parents meet with teachers and administrators about two weeks before the regular start of classes. School registration is held, the students and parents meet with teachers and assignments are distributed. The day counts as the first day of school.

In other action, the school board opted against offering an early retirement program this year to the district’s certified staff. Administrators said eight teachers would have qualified this year, but the program was not offered after board members learned of teacher shortages in Iowa and worried the district might not be able to replace some of the potential retiring teachers.

In final action, the board approved a pregnancy prevention curriculum and received reports from secondary principals Matt Kingsbury and Chris Hoover on classroom walkthroughs the principals recently completed in their buildings.

The school board also agreed to send a proposed board policy on smoking back for revision. Under the original proposal, smoking would have been allowed in certain areas of the school campus, including parking lots at the elementary, middle school and high school. However, Superintendent Rich Bridenstine agreed to revise the policy after board members said it would mean the campus would not be smoke-free.