New tech approved at public session

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Recently ending its original three-year lease with Apple to supply the Greencastle Community School Corporation’s (GCSC) elementary-aged students with iPad tablets, the school board has now approved the purchase of similar devices for pupils in grades 6-12 during a public session in April.

While some of the three-year-old iPads will remain in use for the 1:1 Initiative at the primary level, they are being phased out, prompting the board to approved the purchase of 1,100 Chrome Book-type devices set to aid students at the middle and high school levels beginning with the 2017-18 school year.

Financed through Dell and supplied by BAK U.S.A., the latter of which is education-driven, owned by Microsoft and dedicated to “nourishing communities one device at a time,” the new laptop/tablet convertibles will come with a somewhat lower cost when compared to the conventional iPad, saving parents on rental charges and other related fees.

“Now Pre-K through 12th grade will have 1:1 devices,” Superintendent Jeff Hubble said. “It’s not replacing (the act of) teaching them letters and writing and the like -- that’s still in there -- it just gives them applications on which to practice and for mastery of learning.”

For the past three years, parents have been paying $139.50 at the beginning of each school year to rent the iPads.

Now those same iPads will help cover the final cost of the lease with Apple.

“Any iPads that aren’t used in the primary schools will be sold to a third-party vendor for $140 (each), which (amounts to) the fourth payment of the lease,” Hubble said. “We’ve been charging parents $139.50 for the last three years, so the last $140 will be paid by a third-party vendor who will repurpose and sell them. That helps us balance our budget.

“The new BAK device is slightly cheaper than the iPad, so parents will see a slight decrease in their textbook rental and fee payments with the new device,” he added. “Usually prices don’t go backwards (but) as a dad of three, I try to remember that I had to write three textbook-rental checks every year, so I try to be a parent as much as a superintendent when I put together those rental charges.”

As with the iPads, parents can expect to see the same Internet-filtering system with the new devices. Called Smooth Wall, the filtering system prevents students from visiting any less-than-reputable websites, whether the attempt is intentional or accidental.

In other business:

• A donation acquired via Donors Choose in the amount of $2,000 was approved. The funds, provided by Duke Energy, will be used to purchase applications and software for the iPads in use at Dear Meadow Primary.

• A remediation grant in the amount of $9,736.41 was approved from the Indiana Department of Education for IXL and ESGI software, each of which will be used at Ridpath and Dear Meadow primary schools.

• The 2017 Summer Feeding Program was officially approved. Though it was also discussed during the March public session, the program received final approval in April, paving the way for GCSC, the USDA and Director of Food Services Debbie Carrico to provide free breakfast and lunch to students throughout the months of June and July. Locations will include Greencastle High School, Tzouanakis Intermediate and Robe-Ann Park (via a mobile-food cart).

• A position was recently filled to assist students with special-education needs. The process, which can be difficult considering the needs of such students, is going smoothly, Hubble said.

• Minor changes to each school’s student handbooks were approved. These include changes such as dates, staff listings and definitions for the various diplomas available to upcoming graduates.

• The board approved the hire, transfer, resignation and termination of several employees. They were:

Certified -- Donovan Garletts, hire as assistant superintendent at GCSC; Sharla Arnold, retirement as third-grade teacher at Tzouanakis Intermediate; Amanda Wells, hire as long-term substitute for Lori Gillespie (resignation) at GMS; Matt McComish, approved as summer school physical education teacher at GHS; Donovan Wheeler, approved as summer school English teacher at GHS; Daniel Hankee, approved as summer school math teacher at GHS; Tabatha Briones, approved as summer school math lab/Jump Start math teacher at GHS; Brad Key, approved as summer school government teacher at GHS; Nate Bryan, approved as summer school economics teacher at GHS; Doug Hudson, approved as summer school credit recovery program (Plato) teacher at GHS; Amy Howard, transfer from special education teacher at Tzouanakis to special education teacher at GMS; Wendi Evans, approved as lead summer school teacher at Tzouanakis; Laura Brentlinger, approved as summer school teacher at Tzouanakis; Courtenay Hayes, approved as summer school teacher at Tzouanakis; and Beth D’Amore, approved as summer school teacher at Tzouanakis.

Classified -- Lisa Toole, resignation as instructional assistant at GMS; Brenda Brady, resignation as secretary at Tzouanakis; Janet Mellinger, hire as substitute bus driver; Ashley Lauer, transfer from substitute custodian to head custodian at GMS; Stephanie Hudson, approved as summer school instructional assistant at Tzouanakis; Blaine Johnston, approved as summer school instructional assistant at Tzouanakis; Kim Rossok, approved as summer school intsructional assistant at Tzouanakis; Lindsay Conley, approved as summer school instructional assistant at Tzouanakis; Brenda Beams, transfer from part-time custodian at Tzouanakis to second-shift, part-time custodian at GMS; and Rodney Nodley, hire as second-shift custodian at Tzouanakis.

Substitutes -- Tiffany Smith, hire as substitute teacher.

Athletics (ECA) -- Brittany Labhart, approved as tennis intramural coach at GMS; Renee Marsteller, approved additional hours as varsity cheer coach at GHS; Craig Whitaker, approved as volunteer assistant baseball coach at GHS; Caitlin Downing, approved as cheer coach at GMS; and Taylor Stoltey, approved as seventh/eighth-grade volleyball co-coach at GMS.

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