JACKSON CENTER – The first day back to school this year for Jackson Center is Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The student’s days run from 7:55 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Students can enter the building at 7:30 a.m.
There will be an Open House Thursday, Aug. 13 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. (Bus drivers will be available also) Fourth graders and their parents are invited to come in at 5:30 p.m. so they have individual time to meet their teachers and find their way around.
Lunch prices this year are $2.15 for early elementary students (K-3) and $2.40 for grades 4-12. School picture day is Aug. 27.
There were no changes to the fee schedule this year for most students. Two exceptions are that they will now offer an additional vocational class and dual enrollment costs are being reduced to zero dollars for parents. Eligibility requirements for dual enrollment have stayed the same, but the cost is significantly less for students and parents.
Soccer will be in its second year and Destination Imagination in the elementary will also be in its second year.
There will be a meeting in the High School Band Room on Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. This meeting is absolutely essential for fifth graders who know they want to play. Randy Johnson will be there to answer all questions, and they will have a music representative from Kincaid Music there to explain the rental/purchase process. Students will be able to try out the instruments again, or for the first time if they didn’t get to at the end of last school year.
New staff:
• Melissa Beal: Beal served as a long term sub for Mr. Bucklew last year and has been hired to replace him as he moves into retirement. She comes to Jackson Center after serving as a high school science teacher in the Miami East district for a number of years and then taking some time off to raise her family. She resides in the Conover area with her husband John and family.
• Kelly Beckman: The hearing impaired unit will see a few additional students this year so Beckman will be serving as an interpreter/instructional aide for those students. She comes to Jackson Center from the Findlay area where she lives with her husband Ryan and son Carver.
• Kassie (Schroeder) Hill: Hill is re-joining the staff after taking a year off to raise her twin boys. However, this time she will be serving in a different capacity because she will be working with the special needs students in the elementary. This is not a new program, just one that they have moved from the direction of the ESC to JC Schools. Hill lives with her husband Steve and family in the Wapakoneta area.
• Alanna Lotz: Lotz will be rounding out the middle school math department due to the retirement of Pat Burmeister. Lotz has been a teacher in the Fairlawn School District for the past few years and comes highly recommended. She has called Jackson Center her home since marrying Nathan Lotz (’04).
• Aubrey McCalla: McCalla served as a long term substitute teacher last year and has now been hired to replace Barb Gloyeske as an instructional aide in the elementary. McCalla lives in Wapakoneta with her husband Kyle.
• Taylor Nehls: Nehls served as a baseball coach last year and will continue this year, as well as serving as a special needs instructional aide. He will be finishing up his requirements for his teaching license and is currently residing in the Urbana area.
• Amber (Martin) Regula (’96): Regula will be replacing Barb Fogt as a cafeteria staff member. She also comes highly recommended by her past employers because of her work ethic and team approach. Regula, her husband Chris (’96) and their family also reside in Jackson Center.
• Tara (Spicer) Shuster (’09): After completing her schooling and starting a family, Shuster was assigned to do her student teaching here last fall and will now be joining Jackson Center as a full time middle school/junior high math teacher.
New building update:
Freytag and Associates has been contracted to be the architects for the new building and now the construction manager has been chosen, Peterson Construction in Wapakoneta. So along with representatives from the state, the team has been assembled to design and build a new school that will last for decades.
They have some preliminary designs and are very anxious to share them with the community, but before they do so, they need to make sure that the cost estimates on the designs stay within the budget. They don’t want to share what they think the building will look like only to find out that they need to cut back in some areas.
The estimates are being formulated now and if everything goes as planned, they will share the design outline with the community, then move on to more detailed plans. If interested in helping with a committee that helps develop more of the specific designs, please call 937-596-6053 or email at [email protected]. Ground breaking is scheduled for some time next spring. A specific date will be announced as soon as they have it.
With being in the planning stages of the building project, they are holding off on many new purchases for now, according to Superintendent Bill Reichert. He also said enrollment will probably be up this year, but they don’t have a number to report yet.
This information and more can be found in the Jackson Center Back-to-School Newsletter.
