News Update

Congratulations to the girls basketball team for reaching the semi-state level, to the boys swim team for sending four members to the state meet, and to the boys basketball, girls swimming, wrestling. and gymnastic teams for their fine winter seasons. The Wawasee cheerleaders and pep band do a great job, too!

Please remember the calendar changes made due to this winter’s weather.There is a no school/teacher work day on Thursday, February 28. Early release days for staff development will be held on March 10 and 21.

The corporation ACT Committee shared goals with the School Board at its February meeting. Those goals are:
Reading – improve comprehension of and responses to reading across the curriculum
Writing – apply strategies and conventions through the composition of various genres (types of writing)
Math – use mathematical skills to think critically and apply knowledge and reason to solve problems
Thanks to the ACT Committee for their oversight efforts at Wawasee.

The federal government is working to reauthorize No Child Left Behind legislation. They are strongly considering the “growth model”. This model requires schools to measure the progress of individual students over time. WCSC, thanks to Dr. Bob Cockburn, is now able to track individual student scores, while also safeguarding privacy. We are ready for the NCLB changes and challenges.

Indiana received their state report card recently from Education Week. The Quality Counts report has Indiana standards, assessments, and accountability ranked #1, school finance ranked #11, chance for student success ranked #29, K-12 achievement ranked #25, teacher evaluation ranked #28, and pre-K through 16 alignment ranked #12. We are doing pretty well as a state!

How many times on an average day does a WCSC bus cross a railroad track? Would you believe 188!

There are no secrets to success: Don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence…. Colin Powell Former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff






Blog Posting 2-22-08.docBlog Posting 2-22-08.doc

2-Hour Delay: Wednesday, February 27

Wawasee Schools are on a two-hour delay today, Wednesday, February 27. Please follow the alternate kindergarten schedule if you have a student in kindergarten.

Boys Basketball Sectional: Game On

The Wawasee boys' varsity basketball team will host Northwood tonight at Wawasee at 7 p.m. in the first round of sectional.

Wednesday evening, Lakeland and Whitko will compete at 6 p.m. followed by Columbia City and West Noble at approximately 7:30 p.m.

On Friday night, the winner of the Wawasee/Northwood game will play Tippecanoe Valley at 6 p.m. followed by the winners of Wednesday's games at 7:30 p.m.

The championship game will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.

All games are at Wawasee High School.

Go Warriors!!

Schools Closed: Tuesday, February 26

Wawasee schools are closed today, February 26. This makes the last student day on Tuesday, June 3, and the teacher work day on Wednesday, June 4.

Northern Lakes Conference Athletics

Following the winter sports season, the Wawasee boys are in 7th position in Northen Lakes Conference all-sports standings with 44 points. The Lady Warriors are in 5th place with 51 points. Northridge tops the rankings for both boys and girls with 84 points for boys and 76 points for girls.

School District Funding

Someone referred in a previous blog to funding issues for public schools. Different districts are allowed different levels of funding by the state. Wawasee is near the bottom in our area (Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette, Sunday, May 6, 2007). Eight area districts are lower than Wawasee, while 26 districts are higher in General Funding. If we received the same per pupil funding as neighbors Tippy Valley and Whitko, our annual increase would be about $300,000. If we had the same funding level as West Noble (or the state average), we would increase our General Fund by over $1,000,000 per year. The funding level of the top school district on the Ft. Wayne area list, Wabash City, would provide Wawasee with over $4,500,000 each year in additional General Funds to provide and support instruction. Being near the bottom of the funding list means that Wawasee has to work harder to provide the best possible instruction for our children on a limited budget.

Superintendent Goals

I was asked about the goals set for me as a new superintendent for Wawasee Community Schools. They are to:
-learn about the district and community. (Continuous)
-study the teaching learning process in place at Wawasee. (by August)
-move to the community. (by summer)
-update the current 10-year plan for facilities. (by September)
-formulate a new school board member orientation program. (by October)
-complete the new transporatation/maintenance facility on Kern Road. (by November)
-and update school district policies. (by December)

Please feel free to comment on these goals or suggest other goals for now or the future.

I do know that winning ball, swim, and wrestling titles may be on your list. Like the recent weather, though, these are not mine to control!

Calendar Change Reminders

Corporation calendar changes made because of cancelled days due to weather were posted a couple of weeks ago. We just want to remind everyone of those changes that are happening in February and March:

• Wawasee Schools will be in session on Monday, February 18.


• Schools will be in session on Monday, February 25.


• Students will not be in school on Thursday, February 28. Teachers will be working on this day, and the third trimester will begin on Friday, February 29.


• On Good Friday, March 21, students will be in school until 12:30 p.m. (12:45 p.m. at Wawasee Middle School), and teachers will have in service time in the afternoon.

More information regarding our corporation calendar is on our corporation website.

Two Hour Delay Tuesday

Wawasee is on a two hour delay Tuesday, February 12, 2008.

2 Hour Delay Monday, February 11, 2008

Wawasee is on a two hour delay on Monday, February 11.

Early Release Reminder/Update

Wednesday, February 6 is a scheduled early release day for teacher in service in the afternoon. If we would have to have a delay on Wednesday because of weather, there would be no early release. Students would follow the delay schedule and go to school until the regular school day dismissal time. This would allow us to count the day as a student day.

If weather is good and we can start on time without a delay, students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. (12:45 p.m. at Wawasee Middle School).

2-Hour Delay: Tuesday, February 5

Wawasee Community Schools are on a two-hour delay with alternate kindergarten schedule.

Make Up Day

The weather has not been too cooperative with our efforts to have school every weekday! Friday was our sixth day missed this year. We have notified parents, staff, and community members about making up one day during the morning of Good Friday. It was our last opportunity to find time within the school year before adding days to the end of the school calendar. Our missed day on February 1 will be made up on Monday, June 2. We will work with WHS administrators on bringing back Seniors June 2, since that will be after their graduation date.

2-Hour Delay: Monday, February 4

Wawasee Schools are on a two-hour delay with alternate kindergarten schedule. Roads are very slick this morning. Please drive carefully!

Closed Schools: Friday, February 1

Wawasee Community Schools are closed on Friday, February 1. This will make the students' last day of school on Monday, June 2, 2008, with the teacher work day on Tuesday, June 3.



The Wawasee Academy will be closed on Friday and Saturday.