By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
The Wynford Board of Education received a crash course on the three pathways for high school students to graduate during its November meeting Thursday night. Board members also heard concerns from High School Principal Jeff Holbrook and Guidance Counselor Beth Heinlen.
Heinlen began the presentation going over the first pathway in which students need to accumulate 18 points after end of course exams with four being in algebra and geometry, four from English one and English two and six from science and social studies. Currently, Wynford’s number to graduate is 24 which includes five elective courses, one-half health and one-half physical education, and at least one course of government within the social studies credits.
“Many juniors have two, two and six. We feel good about in-house kids taking government except the kids who study at Pioneer, which have their government class their senior year,” Heinlen said. “We are working with them to allow for the class to be taught the students’ junior year.”
The second pathway for students in Ohio to graduate would be by achieving 12 points of industry credentials at a vocational school.
“That pathway doesn’t stress me,” Heinlen said. “What does is that the students have to score 13 points on the Workkeys Test specific to the lab. That is a lot of points on a test. The state pays for the first test, which costs $600. However, if the student fails it becomes the student’s responsibility to pay for the retesting.”
The third pathway for students to graduate would be to earn a remediation score of 22 in math, 18 in English and 18 in reading.
“This stresses me, as I have watched over the years. This is not a good pathway,” Heinlen said.
“The problems around the state are that there have been three different tests in three years,” Holbrook said. “If you look at the seven habits, what is the end game, what do you want from the students when they hit the stage?”
Holbrook pointed out that the current test, the AIR test, not matching up with the ACT test.
“There is a penalty on the school’s grade card if the kids retest and fail. Across the state that is at 40 to 60 percent. Wynford is one of the lowest in the area at 12 percent,” Holbrook said. “It is all computer based for AIR, not the ACT. English, language arts, and math standards have changed in the past two years.
“We want our kids to be prepared for the world and college, and in my opinion we should start at the ACT and work our way down from there,” Holbrook added.
According to the presentation, 43 percent of students at Pioneer wouldn’t be able to graduate under new state requirements.
The Wynford volleyball program will be in search of a few volleyball coaches after the board approved the resignation of head coach Chelsea Garner (Keegan) and assistant Abby Ruffing. Garner was head coach for the Lady Royals volleyball team for the 2015 and 2016 campaigns posting a record of 21-26 overall and 15-17 in the N10, finishing fifth in the conference both seasons.
School board members toured the two new school buses that were purchased for the district. The buses will travel on average 150 miles per day to pick up and drop off 70 to 75 kids on the 78-seat school buses. The buses are equipped with LED lights to allow for better field of vision, air brakes, and a tracking system that sends text alerts to parents when their student gets onto the bus. The system also allows parents to know when the school bus is entering their vicinity.
In Treasurer Leesa Smith’s report to the board she noted that the district received an additional $4,800 in foundation money which is to be spread through numerous aides employed through the North Central Ohio Education Service Center.
During Smith’s report, the board approved the creation of the Crawford: 20/20 Vision Grant which will be used to go towards the Crawford County Leadership Council program. Each school participating in the program will receive $500 through the grant which was co-written by Holbrook and Buckeye Central Principal Mike Martin.
Wynford Elementary Principal Nelle Nutter delivered a presentation of the elementary school’s Veterans Day assembly. During the presentation, photos of Wynford studentss family members who served in the armed forces were displayed.
The school board approved all items on the agenda without a dissenting vote. Included in these items were the aforementioned resignations along with a $7,000 donation from the Wynford Athletic Boosters to offset the cost of a new softball fence.