Registration Follow-Up

A big thanks to everyone who took advantage of our registration days.  It was great seeing all of the parents and students as they registered for school.  If you haven't registered yet, please contact your child's school office as soon as possible.

We have a number of new students in the district this year.  Being new myself, I know how welcome everyone will make these new families feel in our community.  Thank you for that.  Speaking of new students, it looks like we will have at least 69 students in our kindergarten class and 71 students in our first grade class.  That means we will average 23 students in each kindergarten class and 24 students in two of the first grade classrooms and 23 in the other one.  That's doable, but it's not ideal.

I enjoy reading research and reviewing data on what's best for student learning.  When it comes to class size there is a lot that has been written.  With the district's financial situation, I look at all new spending very critically and carefully.  As I was researching, I was looking for any information that would give me a value on reducing class size.  In other words, if we hire a new teacher to reduce class size in kindergarten and/or first grade, is that the most efficient use of our limited resources?  As with most research, there are studies on both sides of the issue.  There is certainly a lot of research that suggests smaller class sizes make a difference in student learning, especially in the early grades.  The magic number seems to be classes smaller than 18 in order to see a meaningful difference.  A couple of things I found is that the students start to see a benefit with smaller classes in Kindergarten and the benefit increases in first grade and begins to decrease in second and third grades.  It should be noted that I certainly found research that suggests smaller class sizes don't make a difference--especially if the teacher teaches the smaller class the same way as a larger class.  I believe our teachers will teach smaller classes differently.  It will allow them to work with small groups of students--something that is more difficult with larger classes.  They will also spend less time on discipline and classroom management issues in a smaller class which will allow them more opportunity to work on teaching and learning.

In the end, what does all of this rambling on mean?  I still have some research to do.  I also need to spend more time looking at our district's finances to see if and how we can make this work.  I will say, I am committed to doing whatever I can to provide the best education possible for our students with the resources we have.  I also believe kindergarten and first grade are formative years that are crucial in a child's development.  The fundamentals of reading and their attitudes about school are formulated during these early grades.  These kids are worth doing everything we can to help them succeed.  If you have any thoughts on class size in kindergarten and first grade, please contact me at the superintendent's office or via email.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for visiting.

It's August!!!

August 1st is here.  The principal's and building secretaries are back; however, I saw so much of the principal's during July that it seemed like they never had any time off.  I am fortunate to be working with such dedicated administrators.  They truly care about the success of each student.  We met today as an administrative team to finalize plans for the start of the year.  We also spent time discussing student learning in our district and began our discussions on things we will focus on to make sure every student is learning at the highest level possible.  After our meeting, I spent some time reflecting on how it went and I have to say I was very pleased with our focus on student learning and I am confident I am working with the right team to make a difference for every student in New Hampton.

I spent some time this evening preparing my presentation for the teacher in-service days that are coming up before school starts.  As I was working, I came across a couple of videos that have been around awhile.  You may have seen them before, but I think these are worth seeing again.  They are both a part of the Did You Know series that was created by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and others over the years.  The first one is focused on Iowa.



I believe technology has changed our world and has the power to change education.  However, before we embark on a technology initiative, we need to make sure we are actually changing what we are doing.  We need to help our children become thinkers and problem-solvers.  In addition, we need to make sure they have the skills necessary to work with others.  I will have a series of community meetings coming up during the first semester of the year.  I hope you will attend one of them to share your thoughts on education and where you believe the New Hampton District should be heading in the future.

Here's the latest version of the "Did You Know?" video.  It takes a more national view.




Thanks for stopping by.  If you have any questions or comments on either of these videos or anything related to the New Hampton District, please feel free to stop by, email, or give me a call.

What a Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day we had today.  The weather was noticeably cooler and there was a nice breeze.  It was a perfect day for the Chickasaw Open.  If you don't know, this is a fund raiser for the district to provide items and opportunities for our students that the district may not normally be able to purchase.  I want to thank Sally Kriener and her husband Lyle for putting this together and all the volunteers that helped out today.  They all do a great job of making this a fun well-organized event.  Also, a big thanks to all of the businesses and individuals who made contributions to make this happen.  Finally, thanks to all the people who came out and golfed and also enjoyed the great food.  I love barbecue and I must say the food today was awesome!!

As I mentioned last week, registration is next week.  I hope to see nearly every student and/or parent on those days.  Then it's just a couple of weeks and school will be starting.  As parents you can really help your child get the new school year started right.  The Iowa Department of Education publish a newsletter titled Each and Every Child.  In this months issue they talk about some things to help your child start the new school year off right.  Here's the condensed version of their main points:  

A. Talk to your child about going back to school in a positive manner.  

B. Encourage your child to talk about what he/she expects in school.

C. Create enthusiasm by taking your child back to school shopping.
D. Discuss the change in routines with your child.
E. Begin the new bed times both morning and night at least a week in advance.  

You can view the complete newsletter here.  You can view previous newsletters here.  

If you have any questions or concerns about the New Hampton School District, please contact me.  My email address is j_jurrens@new-hampton.k12.ia.us or please call me at (641) 394-2134 ext. 2039.  

School Registration

It's hard to believe that in two weeks we will be holding school registration.  It will take place on August 2nd and 3rd in the Elementary/Middle School Cafeteria.  Look for information in next week's New Hampton Tribune and also look for something in the mail.  It's important that everyone register during these times so that we can make sure we are prepared for all students on the first day of school by having adequate supplies and staff members.  If there is someone new to the community who may not see or receive registration information, please share this information with them as well or let us know about them at the school and we will contact them to make sure they know about this process.

With registration coming that also means that fall sports will be starting shortly.  Please make sure your child has a physical before the first day of practice and you have adequate insurance coverage for anything that may occur.  The school does have insurance available for purchase if you need it.  In order for your child to have the best experience possible, it's important that he or she is ready to go on the first day by having the physical complete and all paperwork completed and turned in.  If you have any questions about this, please send me an email (jjurrens@new-hampton.k12.ia.us) or contact the superintendent's office at (641) 394-2134.  A quick word about athletics/activities, students who participate in some extra-curricular activity in school tend to do better in school and they find they enjoy school more.  If your child is at an age where extra-curricular activities are available, please take time to visit with him or her about participating in something.  New Hampton students are fortunate to have such a wide variety of activities available to them.  I'm confident there is something that everyone can find that he/she enjoys.  

Finally, when you come to registration please take time to stop by and introduce yourself and your child to me.  I plan to be at registration most of the time on both days as I want to take the opportunity to meet everyone I can.  I continue to learn more about the school and community every day and I have to say I can really see why it's Great to be a Chickasaw!!  

Thanks for stopping by, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or concerns about the New Hampton District.  

Here is my first blog post as the new superintendent for the New Hampton School District.  Please check back regularly as I will share many of the latest happenings within the school.  First, let me say it is a privilege and an honor to serve this community.  I look forward to working together with you and all the district's residents as we improve our district to make it the best place possible to educate our children.

A large part of my first year will be spent learning about the district and community.  I will host several community meetings to get your feedback on where the district is and where it should be going.  From these meetings I hope to establish several committees that can help plan our district's future direction.  I have presented my Entry Plan to the board of education.  In this plan, I share my planned actions that will help me during my first year. You may view it here.  If you cannot attend a meeting, but still would like to provide feedback, please contact the superintendent's office at (641) 394-2134 to set up an appointment or to visit on the phone.  

It's hard to believe it is July 13th already.  The custodians are doing a great job getting the buildings ready for the school year and we are finishing up some of the summer projects.  The buildings will .be ready for the first day of school.  If only we could get a little rain to help green things up a little.  Anyway, I'm heading to Waukon this evening to cheer on the boys in their first round sub-state game.  I hope to see you there.  Go Chickasaws!