The Woodward News

Local News

August 2, 2012

Laverne, Buffalo schools gear up for state changes

Brandi Thomas Woodward News

Woodward, Okla. — Laverne Public Schools will hold enrollment for new students on Aug. 7 and in Buffalo, enrollment for all students runs through Friday.

Laverne's first day of class will be on Aug. 15 and Buffalo starts classes on Aug. 14.

Both schools had little turnover during the summer.

Laverne Superintendent Ed Thomas said the school hired just one new teacher to replace their agricultural education teacher who retired.

Martin Adams, superintendent at Buffalo, said they hired 3 new teachers and added 4 new para professionals to their staff.

Thomas said Laverne schools had a quiet but quick summer having no major projects.

"We just did our normal general maintenance and cleaning this summer, but it has gone by way too fast," Thomas said.

Buffalo, on the other hand, was busy working with all sorts of projects brought on by the passage of a bond issue, Adams said.

"We remodeled the gym floor, coaches offices, officials dressing room and put new carpet in all the classrooms. We are also putting a new roof on the school and with that goes the new firewalls and doorways, but that won't be complete until about October 1st," Adams said.

Both schools are gearing up for the state changes that will be happening during the year.

"We had more professional development this summer," Adams said.

"With the new training for the teacher evaluations and common core we are hoping to transition into these smoothly," Thomas said.

According to Adams, the goal for the school this coming year is to keep the students on track with all of the changes that will be taking place.

"We will continue to work toward getting the highest marks on our testing, which we have had increases on our scores over the last few years," Adams said. "Our enrollment should remain about the same this year. We had a few that left but we have had several new families move into town."

Adams said that they have seen the most growth in 1st grade and below and they had to extend their pre-k class this year.

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