Andrew Long was hired to teach mathematics and science by the St. Ignace Board of Education Monday, August 14. He will work half-time at LaSalle High School and half-time at the St. Ignace Juvenile Detention Center. Mr. Long recently completed his student teaching at Traverse City Central High School under the auspices of mathematics teacher George Boehm, who referred to Mr. Long as one of the best student teachers he'd ever had, said Superintendent Mike Springsteen.

Kim Dykstra was recalled form layoff status to fill an elementary teacher's aid position vacated when Judy Robinson was hired to fill the high school secretary position. Teresa France will take over as a full-time middle school cook, possibly eliminating the half-time cooking position she held last year. If it turns out that the school needs another half-time cook, the board will consider re-instating the position, Mr. Springsteen said.

There have been several shifts among teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Pat Shiemke will teach first grade this year, after teaching eighth grade last year. Laura Janeczek moved from fifth grade to teach third grade this year. Clyde O'Rourke will teach fifth grade, having moved from seventh, and Helena Shepard, formerly a third grade teacher, will teach sixth grade.

Mr. Springsteen explained that much of the shifting results from a "bubble" of students coming up through the system. Although the school is experiencing declining enrollment, there is a large number of sixth grade students this year, which means the school needs more sections. Last year, there was a need for three sections of fifth grade, he added.

Curriculum changes are also causing teachers to change positions.

The school must have all positions filled with "highly qualified" teachers. Traditionally, high school and middle school teachers were allowed to teach classes in both their majors and minors. Under to new rules associated with the No Child Left Behind Act, however, college minors will no longer be considered sufficient background, leading some teachers to seek additional training.

To explain how the middle school is updating its curriculum to meet new state's new graduation requirements, Principal Bonnie Ledy provided copies of new social studies and mathematics textbooks to be used by sixth and seventh grade students. These books not only correlate directly with the new requirements, they also correlate with the Academic Yearly Progress (AYP) standard. The AYP, according to LaSalle High School Principal Don Gustafson, is a set of criteria designed to push schools to increase student aptitude in language arts and mathematics.

School districts must now show annual progress, and the state assigns grades for each school to reflect this progress. The grade for St. Ignace Area Schools will be released at the end of August, Mr. Springsteen said.

The new textbooks Mrs. Ledy presented are also geared to follow a set of state-planned Grade Level Expectations (GLECs), which detail what information and skills students should master at a given time. Although teachers are not required to follow the GLECs program strictly, Mrs. Ledy said textbook companies have discovered that correlating with GLECs is a must, if they want to sell their books.

The new textbooks are also online. This will have a number of benefits for families and the school system, Mrs. Ledy said. Families on vacation with computer access, for instance, can leave the textbooks behind. This will reduce wear and tear on the books and save the school district money in the long run, Mrs. Ledy said.

New carpeting is being installed in the middle school, and fencing at the elementary and middle school playgrounds is in place, Mrs. Ledy reported.