The Paton-Churdan board of education at its Dec. 11 meeting changed the date of commencement for this year’s seniors. Commencement will be Sunday, May 25, at 2 pm. That is during the Memorial Day weekend.
The change was required because in calculating attendance days for seniors, the May 18 date left them short of the state-required 175 days. The board will consider adjusting the start date of the 2014-15 school year to avoid having commencement over the holiday weekend for the class of 2015.
The board spent considerable time discussing the policy for high school students driving private vehicles to Jefferson for classes at Greene County High School. The policy now prohibits students driving themselves unless they are given special permission on a day-to-day basis. Under consideration is a liability waiver signed by a parent or guardian that would allow the student to drive. Proof of insurance would also be required. It is still the desire of the board that in general, students ride the bus to and from Jefferson. Students driving would be a privilege that could be denied by the school or a parent. No action was taken.
The board also began discussion of moving to a trimester schedule. Paton-Churdan currently uses a semester schedule with two 18-week semesters for classes taught in Churdan, although high school sharing partner Greene County uses a trimester schedule with three 12-week trimesters. Principal Annie Smith was not at the meeting, but according to superintendent Rob Olsen, Smith sees many educational advantages to a trimester schedule.
According to Olsen, Smith says staff has enough planning time and professional development time available to make the change for the 2014-15 school year. Board president Steve Burrell questioned that, saying that from what he had heard when J-S switched to trimesters, there may not be enough time to do the transition well. The board will discuss whether and when to switch to trimesters at its January meeting.
