Eagle Newsletter - September 1, 2010

Playgrounds, parking, teachers, administration, RTA, lack of leveled math, 501c3, Oh My!

As you have been reading there has been a lot of controversy going on this year already.  This only shows me how strong the connection is between the teachers at Eagle Elementary and the community it serves.  People are not afraid to speak up and think outside the box when something is not working. 

When a new rule was put in place for the kids before the bell rang at Eagle Elementary, parents spoke up.  Administration met those questions with a parent meeting so that things could be discussed and a resolution could be made.

Dottie Heusman, principal at Eagle Elementary sent out a letter going over the policy revision.  The parents who came to the meeting all expressed that free play was important and should not be done away with.  They did not feel as though there was adequate facts to back the safety concerns being raised.  With that being said, they understood that administration disagreed and we had to come to a compromise.  I thought the letter of the revised plan that went out was a workable solution.  It allowed K-2 free play while 3-5 grades did walking club or went to the library to read and then they switched the next day.  As they set this into place I imagine it may need some more revisions but I think that administration listened to the parent concerns and met them half way. 

The following is the letter Mrs. Heusman sent out to parents: 

The following will start sometime during the week of August 30. These options will address the two main concerns (from the school and parents). We will meet the safety concerns while still allowing active movement by students prior to school on a daily basis. All parents will receive a letter prior to our first day explaining the new procedures. As I explained at the meeting the delay is occurring because of the prep work that Mr. Erickson is doing with students.

Procedures:

All students will report to their designated area by the entrance lines when they first arrive on the playground. At 8:00 a.m. the following will occur:

Day 1--K-2 on playground for free play.

--3-5 participating in a walking club--Walk Across America. (The details of this program will be provided to all parents prior to the first day.)

Day 2--Switch Rotation

We will be on a two day rotation schedule. Students will also have other possible options no matter what their rotation is:

1. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays the library will be open. Any students wanting to come sit in the pit area or at the tables to read may do so.

2. Students may continue to gather at their designated area by the building.

3. Breakfast--this option remains in place for all students and has not changed.

At 8:10 the bell will ring and all students will come to their designated area, pick up their bags and enter the building in a safe and orderly fashion.

If anyone would like to talk with Dr. Heimann or myself about any of the details of this plan, please contact us. Thanks, Dottie

Dottie J. Heusman

Eagle Elementary Principal

600 S. 1st Street

Eagle, NE 68347

402-781-2210

(fax) 402-781-2068

dheusman@esu6.org

Still More...

 As parents and community members wait to see how the new playground policy works out they have other issues weighing heavy on their hearts and minds.   A couple of the items that parents and community members want to see addressed first are RTP (RTA as most parents refer to it) and leveled math.

RTP stands for Responsible Thinking Process.  If the goal is to not interrupt instruction, let teachers teach and kids learn, it cannot be effective in one classroom.  There must be a place for disruptive students to go and receive help, R.T.A.  (Responsible Thinking Area).  This cannot happen without the full support of administration.  A lot of time and money was spent implementing RTP in our school.  How can it be dismissed so easily?  I myself thought a lot of the RTP program.  We implemented what we knew into our own household.  It teaches our children to be responsible for their actions.    They can form a plan to understand why they made the choices they did and what to do not to let it happen again.  You can go to http://www.responsiblethinking.com/index.htm to learn more about the program.

Leveled Math is no longer an option.  I would like to learn more about how this is working.  I always thought wehad leveled math so that kids that did really well needed to be challenged more, some kids were good with where they were and others needed a little extra instruction.

Parking.  This was brought up again during the parent meeting discussing the playground.  Now that the buses are in the loop around 8:00 and more parents are dropping off around 8:00 because of the 8:10 start there is an increasing problem of parking.  Monday morning again, I was in line behind one car and two behind me waiting for the buses to move forward.  A white truck passed us all and pulled in between two of the buses who then had to wait for the truck to move before they could move.  Why is it so hard to wait in line?  What makes one person's time so much more important than someone elses?  On another note, if you are taking more than a few minutes to drop off....find a parking space.  Does anyone have any other ideas for parking?  I really think we need someone standing out by the curve to keep things going and to talk to parents who pull in front of everyone or park in the curve.  This really is setting up to be a dangerous situation and one that I would hate to say "I told you so" to.  Before and after school I watch cars pass kids standing on the curb waiting to cross. 

This and so much more.  I am hoping that we can hear more from the teachers.  I see a definate lack of a teacher voice in the last couple of years.  I don't know if it's because we had so many teachers take early retirement and we have new teachers not wanting to speak out or if it's something else.  But I hope they find their voices soon.  I am interested in what they think or if they have ideas on how to make things better.