DECATUR -- The meeting room at Decatur High School was packed with students, parents, faculty and administrators as Ike Owens, board president, dropped the gavel opening the April 21 school board meeting.
The students were present at the meeting to demonstrate to the board the practical applications of the iPad and smart-tablet technologies as they relate to their use in the classroom. The demonstration was given by Jacquee Smith's technologies class.
The students showed how they can use the various applications within the systems to aid with the assembly of, not only in-class projects, but also extracurricular activities outside the classroom setting. Smith's students demonstrated their understanding of the operating systems and how they can be better prepared for professional applications in real-world settings.
Students can now build a presentation in a few days or hours, as opposed to 30 years ago when the technologies of the day were a 30 pound video camera attached to a 20 pound recording machine or a super 8mm movie camera and a cassette tape recorder. These presentations took weeks to put together and were often of poor quality.
The Decatur School System purchased a series of 40 laptops and 40 smart tablets that went into service during the beginning of the 2013-14 school year. The program was designed to give the school board an idea of how the district's investment helps Decatur students keep up with the modern world. By the end of the presentation, the school board was satisfied that the investment they approved last spring was the right one to better serve Decatur students.
Larry Ben reported that current student enrollment stands at 555, the highest enrollment count since the fiscal distress issue in 2009. Ben expects those numbers to grow in the coming school year.
Ben announced that Jeff Gravette, Northside Elementary school principal, has accepted the superintendent's position with the Decatur School system. He also advised the school board that applications for the Northside principal's position are currently being taken.
Toby Conrad will begin his duties as Decatur High School and Middle School principal on July 1, the beginning of the 2014-15 school year. He will replace Deborah Coffer who tendered her resignation effective June 30.
Ben announced that John Unger, Decatur's athletic director, will take on additional duties as dean of student affairs for the middle school, which will reopen for the 2014-15 school year. Unger will spend half of his day attending to students' needs at the middle school. In the remaining time, he will continue to serve as athletic director and basketball coach.
The safe-room project at Northside Elementary has finally received its funding request from the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation grant. Ben reported that this project has now received its full funding from the state and Federal Emergency Management Agency. A meeting is set for May 6 to discuss the next step in the process in the construction of the facility.
Angie Dennis, of the Benton County Special Education Consortium, gave a short presentation. She reported that, at present, 54 students from K-12 are receiving a special educational program geared to make them more self-sufficient.
General News on 04/30/2014