Engadine Consolidated Schools recently received its No Child Left Behind report card, scoring a B for both the junior and senior high schools. In receiving this grade, the school has met Annual Yearly Progress. Had we not met this criteria, we would have begun the first step in a state-mandated school improvement process. Because Engadine is a small school district, it was able to average the last three years to determine the score. Engadine Elementary received an A on the report card.

Speaking of grades, we recently received the results for the Explore Test. This assessment was given to last year's eighth grade students, and it provides a "snapshot" of student academic core knowledge and career/vocational interests. Parents should have received their student's Explore test results recently. Please contact the school if you have not. Juniors will take the PLAN Test (Pre-ACT) this fall.

Building renovation and repair continue, with the anticipation that replacement windows and heating coils will arrive by late this month or early August. If delays persist, renovation may continue into the beginning of the school year. We are hopeful that all work will be complete by September 2. Access to the building continues to be restricted. Anyone needing to use school facilities is asked to contact Cheryl Adams, Mr. Hobbs, or Donald Butkovich.

When students return this fall, they will find that all locks have been removed from student lockers. Locks were removed because many are old and resetting lock combination every summer proved a time-consuming chore. Every school year, many students preset their lockers for easy access during passing time, which defeats the purpose of having a secure locker. Students will now need to provide their own combination locks.

Engadine received around 70 laptop computers from the state a few years back. These computers have been used extensively by students in grades four through eight, and are now reaching obsolescence. It is too costly to update these basic laptops and, as such, we have begun the process of replacing them incrementally (10 at a time). Computer literacy is a high priority in our district given the fact that computer technology is an important prerequisite in today's challenging job market.

This coming school year, Engadine Elementary will go to a full time kindergarten program and split the first grade. The high school will increase one position to full time to provide additional support to students who need prescriptive assistance to master core concepts, as measured by the yearend assessments. There will be additional staff changes in the elementary as we deal with half time positions.

The Engadine Sports Boosters had a sizeable turn out for the annual Black Bear Run. Two hundred and thirty-some runners participated and the Boosters made about $4,600 before deductions. Anyone interested in joining the sports boosters may give Amy Zdebski, Aaron Fulton, or Mr. Hobbs a call.

Go Eagles!