By DEB WUETHRICH

Young children in the Tecumseh School District who might need a little extra time and attention to adapt to the school kindergarten environment will be able to find such a program within their home district next year, thanks to a nod of approval by the Tecumseh School Board on Monday evening. Parents will be able to learn more about the Young Five’s program for the 2008-2009 school year at a Kindergarten Registration Fair on Saturday, April 19.

Sutton Elementary School Principal Deb Langmeyer, outlined the program at a previous school board meeting, noting that the district previously lost some children to neighboring communities that have such programs. She said the goal was not to steal students from other districts, but provide residents of Tecumseh the option of a Young Fives program right in their own community. Langmeyer said the goal could be accomplished with an increase of one half-time FTE in staffing at a cost of $44,719 including benefits.

“That would enable us to put in a Young Five’s program to address kids who are developmentally young and coming into kindergarten this coming fall,” she said. “We would need just 6.1 students to enroll to have it be cost neutral.”
The move would bring 11 FTE teachers to 11 sections throughout the district. Ten teachers would teach regular kindergarten and one teacher would teach one full day every day section of Young Five’s kindergarten. Three regular classes would take place at Sutton Elementary; two regular and one Young Fives would be located at Tecumseh Acres; three regular all day classes would take place at Patterson Elementary, and two regular all day classes would be located at Herrick Park Elementary School. Young Fives students would be bused to their neighborhood schools and ride a shuttle bus to Tecumseh Acres.
A Young Five’s program offers services to students who are age 5 by December 1 and eligible for kindergarten but whose parents may feel that they are not developmentally ready for a regular program. The students would attend the Young Five’s class for a year and then enter regular kindergarten the following year.

Also at Monday night’s meeting, board members heard a report from Patterson Elementary Principal Eddie Manuszak, who also serves as the district’s Director of State and Federal Programs, regarding a potential Safety Tip Line. Ken Heers, President of Lenawee Fuels and Perky Pantry, also was on hand to endorse the project and point out that area businesses might be able to put forth some funding if the board would like to pursue it.

Manuszak said that such tip lines have begun surfacing across the country following several incidents of school violence. He pointed out that national safety expert Mike Dorn had impressed the importance of following up any leads that might come up regarding potential safety issues when he visited the school in the past. He said that a tip line would provide an opportunity for students to call in and report what they have heard and noted that they will do so when they are aware of potential repercussions.

“We just want to do everything as a school district that we can to keep our kids safe. Could it be as simple as adding a tip line that kids could call?” he asked. He said although there are companies offering similar services, he would like to see the effort kept in-house and has been working on initial exploration with Technology Director, Todd Thieken, regarding the setting up of a dedicated line, and an initial discussion with Tecumseh Police Chief Mack Haun.

Heers said the effort was one of being proactive. “We want to make sure we’re not one of those communities that has a tragedy happen and then say what should we, or could we have done,” Heers said. “I think it’s a service our school district could hold up and say, ‘Look at what we’re doing,’ and it would differentiate us, making people feel more comfortable.” He said he believed that local businesses would help support and advertise the effort, especially so elementary children would be familiar with the process by the time they reached middle and high school.

Board member Debbie Johnson-Berges said it was a good starting place but she would like to see more details before having to vote on such a project. Board members would want to know the operational steps, such as who would monitor the calls, who would evaluate what constituted a “high level threat” that would be forwarded to police, and more. Manuszak said he would continue to research the Safety Tip Line idea and work to develop a proposal to be brought back before the board at a later date.