Students in the Conneaut School District will return to classes on Wed., Sept. 1, the start of the 2010 - 2011 school year.

Schools in the Conneaut Lake, Conneaut Valley, and Linesville areas will welcome upwards of 2,500 students.

Much work has gone into preparing for the new school year with Wendy Szalley, Conneaut Schools Superintendent, going into her first full school year. She became superintendent during the last school year.

Also going into his first full school year as assistant superintendent in the district is Jarrin Sperry, who began his duties part way into the last school year as well.

Several main retirements will take place in the upcoming school year. Business manager Joe Yeager will retire effective the middle of January and use will use several vacation days before.

He will be replaced by Kara Onorato, who will become assistant business manager on Sept. 7,and then will become school district business manager in January when Yeager retires.

Mark Ruttenberg will retire at the end of the school year next June, he a 35-year veteran of teaching. He was long-time coach of the girl’s basketball team at Conneaut Lake and has been teaching at Conneaut Lake Elementary School recently.

Also retiring in June 2011 is John Acklin, long-time athletic director at Linesville High School. He had stepped down as ASE librarian several years ago but maintained the AD position at Linesville.

Others who retired at the end of this past school year [or during the school year] were, Georgiann Bossard – 34 Years (began Sept. 1976), Roberta Bullock – 35 Years (Sept. 1975), Patricia Chechak – 33 Years (Sept. 1977), Susan Crandall – 33 Years (Sept. 1977), Richard Crilley – 30 Years (Sept. 1980), Marsha Davis – 35 Years (Sept. 1975), Mary Jane Parks – 16.73 Years (Nov. 1985), and Amy Work – 33 Years (Sept. 1977).

Szalley notes, in the school district’s web site, that the mission of the Conneaut School District is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which all students acquire the skills necessary to become productive members of a global society. Our Board of School Directors, administrators, supervisors, teachers and support staff are committed to providing a quality education to all students.

She notes that a great deal of effort precedes the opening of a successful school year and points out that a variety of professional development activities or training's were offered during the summer months of June, July and August.

The training's included:

• 4 BLOCK (a language arts instructional delivery approach)
• WILSON READING (a language arts remedial reading program)
• DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION and INCLUSIONARY PRACTICES overview
• NEW CURRICULUM MATERIAL training's - provided to family and consumer science and business education teachers
• MEASURING UP (a secondary math remediation/PSSA related training)
• LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling training) - provided to grades 3 through 6 elementary teachers and middle and secondary level teachers in grades 7 through 12.
• HALT (bullying prevention training) - District bus drivers
• SCANTRON (on-going electronic PSSA diagnostic testing training) - provided to grades 7th through 12th grade teachers
• READ 180 (reading remediation program training) - provided to kindergarten through 12th grade learning support teachers and 9th grade through 12th grade English teachers

Szalley notes the Conneaut School District was very fortunate to have received a grant that covers all expenses related to the implementation of the Olweus/HALT Bully Prevention Programs. The Olweus Program (pronounced OlEY-us; the E sounds ling a long A) is a comprehensive, school-wide program designed and evaluated for use in elementary and secondary schools. The program’s goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school children and to improve peer relations at school. The program has been found to reduce bullying among children, improve the social climate of classrooms, and reduce related antisocial behaviors, such as vandalism and truancy.

Olweus works in partnership with HALT: A component of the Highmark Healthy High 5 Initiative.

During the 2009-2010 school year Olweus/HALT training and implementation took place for staff at: Conneaut Valley Elementary School, Conneaut Lake Elementary School and Conneaut Lake High School.

The plan for the 2010-2011 school year is Olweus/HALT training and implementation at: Alice Schafer Elementary School, Conneaut Valley High School, and Linesville High School.

Curriculum has been revised and updated in several academic areas. The revised curricula is posted on the District web site. The course syllabi will be of particular interest to parents wanting to examine course content.

Course maps are also available and provide the teaching staff with a guide to instructional delivery. All new/revised curricula are tied to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. The addition of new/revised curriculum, in most cases, is tied to the purchase of new text books, teaching materials and supplies. It also brings new technology for utilization within each curriculum area..

This school year, most classrooms throughout the District will have SMART or Poly-Vision Boards (interactive white boards) for use in the delivery of instruction.

• New curricula for the 2010-2011 school year includes
• FAMILY and CONSUMER SCIENCE in grades 7 through 12
• MATH - curricula in kindergarten through grade 12 reviewed and updated
• MEASURING UP PROGRAM (math remediation program) in grades 9 through 12
• BUSINESS EDUCATION in grades 7 through 12
• LANGUAGE ARTS -
• READ 180 (reading remediation program) in grades 1 through 12
• LANGUAGE ARTS in grades 7 through 12 will be finalized this school year for implementation at the start of the 2011-2012 school year.
• LANGUAGE ARTS in kindergarten through grade 6 will be started this school year and finalized during the 2011-2012 school year for implementation at the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

The District’s technology team and maintenance department have been very busy installing, wiring, and updating the District’s technology. Students have new high performance computers in the District’s CAD(Computer Assisted Drawing) labs this school year.

Over 80 interactive white boards with projectors have been installed in the schools. Laptop computers have been added to the schools for use by students, and over 30 ÒruckusÓ units were installed that allow computers to operate wirelessly throughout the District.

During the summer months the administration and the Conneaut Board of School Directors have hired a number of new employees. Personnel changes include welcoming 13 new teachers, 5 of which are long term substitutes, 10 instructional aides, and 6 EAP Tutors.

Szalley says “this upcoming school year will be critically important for the Conneaut School District.

“The school district is facing uncertain and fiscally challenging times. Our ability to work in partnership with our parents and community members will be the key in continuing to uphold the mission of the Conneaut School District. “

She concludes the web site information by writing to parents, “It is my hope you feel welcome in our schools and that you take advantage of the opportunities to become involved, to learn more about your school district and be a part of the many activities that are taking place each day.