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South Putnam school board approves trip two years out
The South Putnam Community School Corporation approved a field trip scheduled to take place in two years.
Advanced Placement (AP) Social Studies teachers Brady Rhodes and Zach Love, who also serves as the social studies department chairman, requested the board approve a 10-day trip to Italy during the spring break of 2017 for the current freshman and sophomore class.
Rhodes explained they are asking for the approval so early for two reasons. The first is a deal has been worked out with the travel company that will allow a discounted rate of $2,950 for each student if the trip is booked by this April. If they wait until May, the cost of the trip will jump to $3,200.
In addition, this will allow students to pay a minimum of $125 a month if they commit right away. Rhodes stressed the teachers do not want finances to get in the way of a student traveling with the group of AP students.
"Our goal is to make sure that if a student really wants to do this, finances wouldn't preclude them from going because that averages out to working about five hours a week at a minimum wage job," Rhodes stressed.
The proposed trip is the second in the International Travel Program that the teachers hope to keep going every two years. This week, students will be leaving for London for an eight-day trip. Love noted there are 16 students and four faculty members taking the trip to London, which they were able to schedule about a year ago at the price of $2,500 per person.
Following the meeting, Love explained he and Rhodes' enjoyment for traveling sparked the idea for the first international trip, and has proved to be an incentive for students to take the advanced placement courses in recent years. The teachers stressed how hard the students work to learn the advanced material, and they have seen a growth in the AP classes since the planning for the trips began.
"It's one thing to talk about the importance of British government, but it's another thing to actually see the Halls of Parliament," Rhodes used as an example.
Love added that five years ago the AP program had no students, and now the program collectively has up to 90 students enrolled.
In other business, the board:
* Recognized the following Students of the Month: Kyley Branam, Central Elementary first-grader; Joslyn Bumgardner, Fillmore Elementary kindergarten student; Helen Eaglin, middle school eighth-grader; and Taylor VanSickle, high school junior.
* Approved the resignations of Katharine Miner as custodian at Fillmore; Jamie Parrish as custodian at Fillmore; Toni Sanders as middle/high school server; Trent Scott as middle/high school instructional assistant and girls' track assistant coach.
* Approved the new hiring of Lindsey Green as middle/high school part-time food server; Jamie Parrish as Fillmore custodian; Shella Thompson as Fillmore custodian; and Heath Pruitt as middle/high school girls' track assistant coach. (Superintendent Bernhardt noted Parrish was hired and resigned from the position in the same month.)
* Approved the transfer of Matt Griswold to middle/high school dean of students for the 2015-16 school year.