schools

From the Daily News (Tuesday):

• Batavia's Board of Education appointed Shawn M. Clark as principal of Jackson Elementary School last night. Clark will begin July 1 at a salary of $80,000. For a short bio of Clark, see the article by Joanne Beck.
• At the same meeting, the board also looked at switching from paper agendas to a digital version accessed via laptop computers. The decision is still some time out, but the change could save about 200 pages per board member per meeting if it goes through.
• Reporter Scott DeSmit writes that Rochester resident "Anthony E. Sloan, 46, pleaded guilty to two counts of using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct. The conviction carries a manadatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison." Sloan was one of four men indicted for becoming involved over the Internet with the same 15-year-old boy from Genesee County, "who investigators said actively searched for adult men on an Internet Web site."
• With a little help from the clubs of Batavia's Mike Spiotta, the Section 5 golf team took home the state title, beating Section 11 by 14 strokes. It's the first title for the section in 31 years. Congratulations!

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

I've been something of a nerd for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I was literally fascinated by rocks — minerals and crystals and gems, to be more specific, but you get the idea. Learning is one of the greatest gifts of our human race. A monkey may be able to learn sign language, but he can't discuss the Pythagorean Theorem. Your dog may roll over, but he can't sculpt a dog rolling over.

For all of you out there who share such passions for puzzling out mysteries and uncovering the hidden truths in things, you may be excited to know that Genesee Community College is hosting some summer workshops about forensic science, for teachers and for students.

The adult version:

Designed for middle and high school teachers, science coordinators, and principals, the workshop provides ideas for the development of course work that engages students and uses forensic science to foster problem solving, critical thinking, and laboratory skills in all science areas.

The hands-on workshop may include introduction to such topics as accident investigation, fingerprints and impressions, DNA techniques, forensic anthropology, and crime scene protocol.

For further information or to register for the workshop, contact Zane Bloom at (814) 720-0171 or by email at  zane_bloom (at) vwreducation (dot) com.

A children's version will be part of the Infotonics Technology Center Summer Science Camp from July 7-11. GCC will host two workshops related to the camp:

Crime Scene Investigators: The Case of the Calculating Copycat will run from July 7-11. Recommended for students entering grades 6-9, the course allows young forensic scientists to help solve the case of a missing teacher by developing vital evidence in a lab and presenting it to a jury of peers.

And,

Mission to Mars, will be held at Genesee July 14-18. In this session, recommended for students entering grades 5-8, participants must plan a spacecraft launch to the red planet, design a mission patch, and create and launch their own rockets.

A fee of $275 covers instruction, program materials, lunch, refreshments, and activities. A multiple camp discount, which applies to two or more campers per family or two camps per child, is available for a $25 per camp deduction.

Call (585) 389-5125 for more information, or send an e-mail to scicamp (at) naz (dot) edu.

In anticipation of the school budget vote Tuesday, outgoing Batavia City Schools Superintendent Richard Stutzman told the Daily News:

"First and foremost is the budget and the capital project. If both are successful, they will be turned over to (Business Administrator Scott Rozanski and (Assistant Superintendent) Margaret Puzio. I hope that when people take a look at how our students are doing, that they're getting a positive rate of return on their investment."

The $39.4 million school budget means a 2 percent tax decrease, making it pretty easy to accept, according to Stutzman.

Reporter Joanne Beck breaks down some of the expenses in the budget, which will include:

• $5,352,321 in security and technology upgrades
• and $352,102 for a new maintenance shop.

Technology upgrades include security cameras, card access for doors in and out of the school buildings, heating and air conditioning, wireless installations and improvements to the high school auditorium sound system.

That sounds like good news and wise spending for a school district that recently received national attention for its use of technology.

We've talked a lot lately about the quality of life issues in Batavia, about cleaning up neighborhoods, keeping them safe and prizing the many gems in the community — restaurants, architecture and parks, to name a few. Education should go up on that list, too, if you ask me.

It has been some years since I got out of college, yet I consider myself a student still, learning as much as I can every day.

On that same topic, a radio program this morning on NPR discussed Israel's 60th anniversary, and in particular the many great minds that the tiny, young nation has produced, despite its social turmoil. Several people interviewed in the broadcast attributed that intellectual success to a cultural pride in education, investing it with the importance it warrants.

So, before the vote Tuesday, take a close look at your school budget, weigh the pros and cons, look at what resources are gained for what spending — do your research. Do all that. But be sure to keep in mind that even if your own children aren't in school, your neighbor's children probably are, your grandchildren may soon be, and promoting a culture of education promotes a community of learners, and you can take it from there.

Voting begins at noon and ends at 9:00pm Tuesday at Robert Morris, Jackson or Batavia Middle School, "depending on your ward and district designation." Call (585) 343-2480 for more information. Or visit the school's Web site.

Batavia's public schools are helping to drive local economic growth, according to observations by Ann Flynn, director of education technology programs for the National School Board Association.

Flynn was recently in Batavia and made these observations:

In driving around the community, I noticed that new commercial development was underway and after meeting the students, teachers, district staff, and board members, it was clear how the quality of the district's schools must surely contribute to that growth. Sixty-seven educators from 10 states joined me last week to gain a deeper understanding about how Batavia developed its vision and found the funding to create student-centered classrooms. A great example was seen during the visit to a middle school social studies class that had students working in three areas of the room: one group completing work sheets by listening to pre-assigned segments of campaign speeches on iPods; another group using an interactive white board with the instructor; and the remaining students working in pairs on a WebQuest with computers located in the rear of the room.

Throughout the visit, we saw excited, engaged students focused on their assigned tasks that encouraged them to think rather than simply recite facts. Although many factors impact an area's economic well being, the visit to Batavia, reminded me how critical it is for school board members to understand the role public schools play in a community's long-term economic health. It is evident that the city of Batavia is now reaping the benefits from years of thoughtful planning by school leaders.

One of the things that excited us about launching The Batavian in Batavia is the strong sense of economic vitality.  If the schools are helping to drive that, all the better for the community's long-term economic health. 

We certainly believe in education.  Education not only helps create entrepreneurs and a talented work force, but it also leads to a better engaged citizenry.  These are the things that make a community strong.

From Kathie Scott, public information coordinator for the Batavia City School District:

Small City in Spotlight for Big Technology

Behind the scenes, The Batavia City School District has been preparing diligently for the national spotlight.

On May 4-6, the District will host a National School Boards Association (NSBA) Technology Tour. Approximately 75 participants from around the United State and Canada have signed up so far to spend a few days in Batavia to see first-hand why the District has dubbed this tour, Small City/Big Technology.

The event will include some “history” and current overviews of how technology is utilized for student learning throughout the District, information outlining the hardware and software installed or accessed, as well as tours of all the schools. During the tours, participants will be able go into our learner-centered classrooms to see the various technological tools in use by teachers and students in diverse subject areas, K-12.

Except for the visitors, it will be a fairly typical day in the District. Some students, for example, will be collecting data, analyzing and converting it into meaningful statistics and then creating circle graphs. Others will work independently on skill-building in subjects from reading to math. Partners will research topics on the internet to help them better prepare for their arguments in a debate. Groups will interact with students from across the District (or in other cases, from across the country) to discuss and critique literature.  One class will take digital photos and then edit as part of creating a multi-media presentation for the entire school.

To conclude each school’s tour, small instructional focus groups for the participants will enable District staff to share more specific information and answer questions about how technology fits in with instructional programs, age groups, and subject matter. A small sampling of those topics includes Using the Interactive Whiteboard, The Use of Technology in Data Mining, Educational Games, Technology and Special Education, Videoconferencing in the elementary Class, Technology to Enhance Foreign Language Instruction, Blog It!, Geochaching, and Technology in the Primary Classroom.

Another highlight of the visit will be a technology-on-stage performance, Cinemagic. For Cinemagic, students from all three elementary school choruses will perform a choral revue consisting of 38 songs from well-known movies. This particular multi-media performance was chosen for the NSBA Technology Tour participants because of its integration of technology with music. The schools' three music teachers began holding rehearsals with the 150 students several months ago in preparation for the production, which also was performed for District families, and for students at the three elementary schools. As part of their preparation, students were given rehearsal CD’s, produced with music software, so they could practice at home. In addition to lighting and staging techniques, the performance is notable for incorporating the use of PowerPoint and Moviemaker software.