[5/16/03]Teachers who want answers about how class hours are scheduled in secondary schools will have to wait until a new leader is chosen for the Vicksburg Warren School District.

Trustees allowed 5 minutes for the Vicksburg High-Warren Central group to talk and present handouts at Thursday’s meeting.

“We are trying to get a schedule that makes sense for the majority of our students ,and that is not what we have in place right now,” said Betsy Selby, a ninth-grade teacher who spoke for the group.

Board members tabled any discussion until a new superintendent is selected. Finalists are being presented to the public tonight and being interviewed by board members Saturday.

“We feel like with a new person coming on board, we should let them take that information and make that decision,” said Kay Aasand, board president and District 5 trustee.

Secondary schools in the district are on what is known as a block schedule, in which students attend each course for 92 to 96 minutes every other day.

Schools were switched from a seven-period day to the block schedule in 1995.

About 20 teachers were present for the meeting, during which Selby said teachers have met to discuss alternatives to the block schedule.

“We met to come up with suggestions to implement schedules and chances of remediation in both schools,” she said.

Some of the suggestions listed were having morning and after-lunch locker or bathroom breaks to shorten class changes, requiring all freshmen to have study halls for study skills lessons and remediation, requiring all students who fail a subject-area test to have a study hall for remediation, grouping students by ability and doing away with summer school.

Advantages to the “straight-period” day, with all courses meeting every day, were listed in the package and included fewer discipline problems, more structure, repetition and drill for students, fewer excuses for leaving books or assignments at home or in lockers and teachers are better able to plan and can monitor and adjust more easily.

In other matters, the board:

Honored 45 retiring educators with a reception before the meeting began.

Discussed keeping the level of noise down at graduation ceremonies.

Listened as Jason Bailess was sworn into office as the safe schools coordinator. Bailess was hired after Mike Ouzts announced his retirement.

Approved personnel matters, including hiring Cedric Johnson as assistant principal at Warren Central High School.

Accepted a $525 donation from Computers for Education to be used in the computer lab at Bowmar Avenue Elementary School.

Accepted a $199.70 donation from Premier Impressions to be used for instructional supplies and awards at Bowmar Avenue Elementary School.

Accepted a $1,000 donation from Wal-Mart Foundation to be used for student activities at Beechwood Elementary School.

Accepted a $100 donation from Whageum and Joon Rhee to be used in the robotics program at Warren Central High School.

Approved discarding of food service records from 1997-1998 and 1998 – 1999 school years stored in the central warehouse and cafeterias.

Agreed to meet on the last Thursday of each month instead of the third Thursday.

Approved a bus turnaround repair in the 900 block of Redwood Road.

Approved 16th Section land matters.

Approved out-of-state travel requests.