OCR Text |
Show MESA 5 MESA, a statewide club which promotes math, science and engineering to women and minorities, was enjoyed for die first time this past year at Roosevelt Jr. High and Union High School. MESA is designed to encourage improvement in student achievement in school and give direction to careers in math, science, and engineering . School to Careers I School to Careers has taken on the added dimension of serving the entire Duchesne School district The three smaller high schools have become Comprehensive Guidance certified in the past year and are eligible to receive School to Careers Services. Each school has a representative and we have a person from the Department of Work Force Services who is working very hard to set up internships at Altamont, Tabiona and Duchesne. We will also be working more on one day job shadowing experiences as well as continued field trips to areas where we are limited in our ability to provide significant experiences. Our most active partner is still the Soil Conservation District. They have provided three field trips this fall, two for Altamont, Tkbiona and Duchesne and one for Union. We took a total of 70 students. This program enlists the aid of a large number of partners. In our evaluation we discovered that in the Duchesne District alone there are IS different partners involved from Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife to individual farmers and ranchers in the area. The SCD is also planning a week of teacher education with die possibility of college credit We have an active Junior Conservation Board at Union and are exploring the possibility of Conservation Clubs at each of the other high schools. We had a very well attended workshop in June concerning the idea of integrating curriculum. We would like to focus more on die school based side of School to Careers this year which includes the integration of academics with each other as well as Vocational classes. Wb have our first example of an integrated curriculum at Union High School this year with the advent of our Triivel and TourismGeography Class. This is team taught by Mr. and Mrs. Morris; a geography and a business teacher. It has met with success so far and we hope to add to the participation. Special Education Larry Henry The Special Education program is designed to provide students, ages who have an educational disability, die opportunity to receive a free and appropriate public education. This opportunity is based on the student's individually determined educational 1, People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. , Partnership in Education Duchesne County School District recently received a $13,000.00 partnership donation from Mountain America Credit Union for the purchase of a computer system and laser printer for each of the five area high schools. As a consumer oriented organization. Mountain American Credit Union recognizes how mush technology is changing the consumers world and as a proponent of education. Mountain America Credit Union has donated a computer and printer to our area schools to be used for student Internet research. The Internet is a extensive source of information that Duchesne County School District students can use for current research on a unlimited array of topics. needs. Currently in Duchesne County School District about five hundred students, ages 1, are receiving help through the special education program. The major purpose of the program is to provide instruction and materials appropriate to a students ability and needs. Each student who receives services has the opportunity to receive an educational benefit that he or she might not otherwise receive. This instruction is most often provided in small groups of three to eight students. Small group instruction is provided in the area related to the disability such as reading, math, or social dulls. The district also has specialized tutoring and support provided through the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind for students who have moderate to severe hearing andor vision difficulties. About seventy full and part time employees are hired to work with students in the special education program. There are about thirty special education certificated teachers. There are also speech and hearing teachers, secretaries, school psychologists, administrators, and about thirty support personnel that help in the classroom, and also assist with transportation, feeding, transition, movement, and other educational activities. Technology Department Duane Jensen A recent letter to the editor of our local newspaper discussed a meaningless protest of computers. On any any given day most of us find ourselves expressing our dissatisfaction with computers in our lives for one reason or another. However, for most of us, computers play a major role in our daily routine and, fortunately or unfortunately, are here to stay. Not all teachers in die world of Duchesne County School District have fallen in love with computers and technology. Some instructors fear technology, while others don't want to be bothered by it. Computers are not designed to replace the teacher in tire classroom, but to enhance the way our students learn and to provide a valuable teaching and learning tool for our educators and students. The use of computers in die school classroom has changed the access time to information in the world dramatically. Instead of waiting for information to be published in text book format, we now have The Internet The Internet is rapidly becoming a primary source of timely, reliable information for many of our district's educators and students. The Net provides direct access to thousands of informative sites and experts with whom one can communicate. The Internet is definitely one of the worlds richest resources and source of knowledge for our educators and students. The Internet provides more information to our schools today than at any other time in the history of the world. The district technology department continues to work towards providing access to schools for The Internet As we continue to provide connections this year in our district our classrooms, we hope to be able to provide sufficient training for our educators in die use of technology. Businesses or individuals interested in advancing technology in Duchesne County School District should please contact Superintendent John Aland or Duane Jensen at the District technology Department. . I I am only one; but still I am one . but still ... cannot do everything, I can do something. I will not refuse' to do the something I Helen Keller can do. y fj! |