Watonga public schools set the calendar for several dates to get more people in the buildings. First was parent teacher conferences set for March 9-10. That same night from 4-7 p.m. was STEM night, sponsored by Oklahoma Oil and Natural Gas. The free event with interactive learning and food from Chick Fil-A was open to everyone in the community.
It wasn’t all about extending ownership to the residents though.
“It has been successful elsewhere,” said high school principal Todd Overstreet. “And the school gets $2,000 in STEM equipment,” he added.
The Eagle Concert Band went into district competition March 8 at Alva, and performed really well, according to school board President and band parent Aaron Clewell. There were also competitions for the solo and ensemble performers. Students who earned a ‘1’ score will go to state competition at Stillwater in April.
With spring break this week, the schools will begin the headlong rush to the end of the year as soon as the students return. Spring sports have already started, with baseball team having two games under its belt and heading to Alva on March 10 and the Union City Spring Break Festival March 16.
The middle school scholastic team was headed to Clinton with 40 students for a competition there, according to middle school principal Ty Hussey.
Fifth grade students recently attended a Thunder game where STEM experiments were shown on the jumbotron during breaks; they also went to the ORFF music festival in Ponca City where they were complemented on their good behavior, knowing their lines and performing on key. The same fifth graders will perform a play on April 4.
The competitions are a backdrop for the upcoming state end of year testing. To prepare students they take part in groups known as RTI or response to intervention.
.When a student is identified as having a deficiency in a topic – say story problems in math – they get extra help in that topic. When they show mastery of the topic, they can move to other RTI segments or enrichment classes, where they may pursue their own interests. For instance, enrichment might be building a robot or programming a drone.
“We have to make sure the kids who are doing well get what they need, too,” commented Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran. “We focus on making sure kids are learning by making sure the teachers have what they need to cause learning. We have to believe we make the difference.”
In addition to keeping students who are on point for their grade levels, enrichment may also serve to motivate students to master their RTI topics so that they can move to enrichment segments.
The board heard from Hilterbran that the first half of a $1500 retention bonus for staff would be in the pay packet this week and the second half would be sent out in June. The board also heard an overview of the construction projects ongoing and discussed the finances of the district in light of that construction, most of which is paid for out of a recently-passed bond issue.
“We are in a good spot,” Hilterbran said. “We’re staying on track.”
In executive session the district agreed to offer temporary contracts for the upcoming school year to Ricky Petty and Jacolby Mitchell as elementary teachers. Temporary contracts are sometimes offered to educators who have graduated and are expected to soon take their tests for certification, or who have taken their tests for certification but have not yet received their scores. If the arrangement is agreeable to both parties, the educator may be offered a regular contract for the next school year