Edwardsburg Schools start year with gender specific kindergarten expansion, few program cuts

Published 10:48 pm Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Edwardsburg Public Schools students in kindergarten through 12th grade returned to the classroom this week. (Daily Star photo/JESSICA SIEFF)

Edwardsburg Public Schools students in kindergarten through 12th grade returned to the classroom this week. (Daily Star photo/JESSICA SIEFF)

By JESSICA SIEFF

Niles Daily Star

With pencils sharpened and backpacks full, another school year began for Edwardsburg students this week and as teachers and students settle into their classrooms, the year seems promising for the district.

“Based on preregistration,” said Sherman Ostrander, superintendent for Edwardsburg Public Schools, “it appears (enrollment) numbers are higher than they were last year at this time.”

That’s good news, considering an increase in enrollment can result in an increase in state funding.

“For every additional child you receive,” Ostrander said, “you receive additional state aid.

“Your hope is that you can at least maintain your enrollment from the previous year or preferably show some increase,” he added.

In what was a tumultuous year for many school districts throughout the state, Edwardsburg Public Schools seems to have been fortunate.

“We were able to sustain our programs; there were no reductions in programs,” Ostrander said.

On the contrary, in regard to the gender specific program offered for kindergarten classes, Ostrander said that program has been so popular it has been expanded into Eagle Lake for second and third grades and the intermediate school for core classes.

In programs such as arts and athletics, Ostrander said students and parents might be happy to know there have been little — if any — changes.

Art, band and athletic students continue to compete in festivals and athletic competitions at the district level.

Ostrander said instructors for those groups have been asked in some instances to cut back on any non-district competition specific activities should they result in increased costs, but no major reductions have been made necessary.

And there remains no fees for athletics, he said.

“We would have not yet moved in that direction,” Ostrander said. “We hope we don’t have to.”

Back at the elementary school, one new development is the district’s move to an every day all day kindergarten program.

“I understand it requires a greater financial investment on behalf of our district,” Ostrander said, but he added that research had shown school officials that the all day every day program had yielded positive results “for continuity and retention of material” in other districts.

Parents have, for the most part, responded favorably.

“I think there’s been some adjustment,” Ostrander said. “I think there were a couple situations and no more that I’m aware of, that opted for a preschool type experience because socially or chronologically they felt that, the parents believed that they (the students) would not be able to sustain an all day program.”

Overall, the district has seen minimal changes in programs, offerings and even staff. This year will be the first for new high school principal Jan McLean.

“We’re excited we find ourselves uniquely situated,” Ostrander said. “We’re certainly not experiencing a decline in enrollment — for that we’re very grateful. We’ve managed to, for the most part, avoid any drastic staff layoffs, program reductions or some of the avenues that other districts would have to contend with.”

And the future, it would seem, looks just as bright.

“We think we’re a good school system,” Ostrander said. “But our goal is to be a great school system.”