FeedsSchools active despite break
With less than a month before classes resume in the Wayne-Westland school district, activity continues behind the scenes as educators prepare for the upcoming year.
Gregory Baracy, superintendent of the Wayne-Westland Community Schools said that residents will likely see increased activity at area schools as teachers trickle in more frequently to prepare their classrooms for the first day of class, Sept.4, and the district springs back to life.
The apparent quiet in the district was simply an illusion, he said. In fact, learning continued even after classes let out.
“We’ve had summer school going on at a number of schools all summer long,” he said.
The tables were turned as teachers became students, too.
“We’ve probably had more in-services this summer than in past years,” Baracy said. “We’ve had extensive staff development.”
There have been physical changes in the district, too, as buildings were prepared for the upcoming school year. Maintenance crews stayed busy as they tackled budgeted capital improvement projects, including new heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units, electrical upgrades, and technological upgrades, at various schools throughout the district in an effort to have the work completed by the time classes resume.
As the 13th largest school district in the state, the Wayne-Westland district constantly has such programs in the works since the “continuous upkeep” is necessary to keep the 26 district buildings operating as they should, Baracy added.
With school out, district staff has also been able to shift more focus onto future projects, Baracy said. The anticipated renovations of the media centers at Schweitzer and Edison elementary schools, for instance, have been one key focus as district officials worked on the design for the upcoming changes.
“They are close to coming off of the drawing boards,” he said. Groundbreaking is anticipated for early 2008.
