A report on the advances seen by students attending the newly created Success Room occupied the Perry School Board at their January meeting.
The Success Room is a new venture for the district. Located at 1030 26th St., in what is commonly referred to as the East Perry Plaza, the space is leased until June 30 from Tom and Kay Stokely for $1,000 monthly, not including utilities. The board expects the annual cost to be from $35,000 to $40,000.
Jake Enderton, lead teacher at the site, addressed the board at the Jan. 15 meeting and said he believed the alternative approach is living up to its name.
“We are seeing kids earning credits, and seeing improved attendance,” he said.
Perry Middle School Principal Shaun Kruger echoed Enderton’s comments, noting the attitude toward staff and education in general has improved in the 13 students currently using the facility.
Students range from sixth grade through 12th. They begin their day at the regular school, where they have breakfast and attend the first two hours before riding the busto the Success Room. Once there, they focus on core class work, with some of the older students working on elective classes.
If the students meet their goals and complete their assignments, they enjoy a 15-minute “reward time,” when they may use headphones, enjoy a snack or other means of positive reinforcement.
After lunch, students typically work in their on-line classes before traveling back to the main school campus for the final hour of the day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, some students visit the Perry Child Wellness Center, where they read to and interact with the toddlers, an arrangement all agreed was working well for both sides of the bi-weekly visits.
The Success Room accepts students who have difficulty learning in a traditional educational environment as well as those with disciplinary issues. The local venue saves the district from sending those students to the Woodward Academy or other area specialty sites, the board was told.
High School Principal Dan Marburger said the benefits of the Success Room are accruing both to the students who attend and the students who stay on campus.
Marburger said many of the discipline cases result in one student disturbing the instruction of dozens of others by disrupting classes. Removing the disruptive students while still offering them a high-quality education benefits everyone, he said.
In related financial matters, PHS Guidance Counselor Tami Valline asked the board to approve a Modified Allowable Growth and Drop Out Prevention/At-Risk application of $598,010.
Valline listed the many duties the Drop-Out and At-Risk staff oversees. The past four years had seen a total of 18, 10, 11 and 20 students drop out, respectively. She noted many of those students were not original students in the district but moved in briefly and then chose to drop out, with the Perry school system then assessed their drop-out status.
The majority of the costs for the programs are personnel, Valline said. The funding pays for eight counselors, five At-Risk teachers, five At-Risk para-educators, a juvenile court liaison and a district/community coordinator.
IJAG receives $40,000 in funding through the application, with travel reimbursements, conference fees, summer school costs, substitute pay and consortium fees also covered.
The board unanimously approved the application and also gave approval for an SBRC application of $4,952.91 for administrative costs due the Woodward Day School.
Also agreed to as an SBRC application for administrative costs at Grandwood Consortium. The Woodward school is currently serving four Perry students who require special education or have exception behavioral needs. Total cost will be $11,178.11 or $2,794.54 per student.
The meeting concluded with the board approving several minor policy changes, two early graduation requests and a handful of personnel matters.
The Perry Community School District Board of Education meets the second Monday of each month in the Brady Library at PHS at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend any meeting.
