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Building Our Future Together

Submitted by jcamenga on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 11:21
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Here's a preliminary work schedule

Following passage of the bond proposal May 4, Superintendent Gary L. Feenstra announced a tentative work schedule, shown below. We will update it as more details become available.

We will work with bond underwriters to develop an official statement and set a date for the sale of bonds.The actual sale will be in late June and bond funds should be available in July.

We will start immediately on developing more detailed designs for the new elementary building and building improvements to the four other buildings listed in the bond proposal.

While we have not established a firm schedule, we hope to accomplish the Cityside, New Groningen and High School projects in the summer of 2011.

Grading and site work for the new elementary will start in the fall of 2010, with construction to begin in the spring of 2011. The opening of the new elementary will be in the fall of 2012.

The Technology Department is working on the rollout and implementation of the technology plan developed by the
technology committee. Our early efforts will focus on making the necessary upgrades to our servers and network and equipment. We
will then move to implement classroom and building-wide technologies.

Bond vote, non-homestead renewal OK'ed

Voters approved a $20.275 million bond proposal May 4 by a vote of 2,501 "yes" to 1,961 "no". It was an excellent turnout for a school election, with more than 20 per cent of the district's 20,356 voters casting a ballot.   The one-year renewal of the non-homestead tax passed by a vote of 3,269 "yes" to  1,202 "no."  The election figures shown here are the unofficial results displayed on the Ottawa County Clerk's web site.

 

"I want to thank the voters for making this community-driven proposal a reality," Superintendent Gary L. Feenstra said.  "Our path is now defined for us. This is a great day for Zeeland Public Schools."   

School board incumbentsTom Den Herder and David Lutz ran unopposed for their third, four-year terms and received 3,783 and  3,599 votes, respectively. 

FOR UNOFFICIAL RESULTS, BY PRECINCT, CLICK HERE.

 

 

Josh & Ashley pursue details of bond plan

Zeeland seniors Ashley Blauwkamp and Josh Kolberg have volunteered their time to gather information about the May 4 bond proposal. Watch their videotaped interviews on a variety of subjects:

Tech briefs: short video clips about the future of technology at ZPS:

 

A detailed technology plan is in place and ready to launch.  It is 62 pages long and can be downloaded at right.  In summary, the plan revolves around four main ideas:

  • Achievement (page 11)---Students will be expected to engage in self-directed, responsible learning.  They will work individually or in teams, guided by trained teachers.  These teams will study complex topics. An example might be:  air quality in their community or the history of their town.  Students will gather and analyze information from many resources, including the internet, interviews with experts, print materials and hands-on learning.  Students' work will be evaluated by the teacher, based upon strict local and state standards.
  • Coaching (page 13)---Self-directed learning is possible when a coach is available to guide the learner.  For students, that coach is the classroom teacher or other adult. This coach guides and instructs students how to choose the best technology tools and resources to construct and demonstrate what they have learned.  Students learn best when they work with their peers. We will encourage student coaches who work with their peers or students from another grade level to share knowledge, troubleshoot, brainstorm and enhance learning. Each of our schools has assigned a teacher to serve as coach, showing felloe teachers how to use technology to teach our curriculum. 
  • Cooperation and collaboration (Page 14)---Zeeland Public Schools uses cooperation and collaboration to prepare students for work in a global society. Online learning, audio and video confereing, web publishing, and messaging tools will be used to gather information and to share with other communities.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE: Fifth grade teacher Ms. Harris is blogging with other educators and discovers how insightful these discussion opportunities are for her as an educator. She decides to engage her fifth graders in a community of blogging within their discovery circles. Each group of fifth graders creates a blog designed to help them with discussions, their writing goals, and inquiry based on their discovery topic. One group of fifth graders who are learning about the wetlands is blogging with biology majors at the local college who are studying
the wetlands in their town.

  • Communication (Page 15)---Online resources can strengthen relationships, bring life to simulations and demonstrations, and make it easier to share information with parents.  Much of this can be accomplished with our Infinite Campus program. Zeeland Public Schools will actively cultivate stronger alliances with parents and community members, welcoming their active participation in coaching every student toward achievement of higher expectations.

 

TODAY'S QUESTION: What is Web 2.0 and how does it help children learn? For the answer, click HERE.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How much will the bond issue cost taxpayers? For the answer click HERE

TODAY'S QUESTION: What else is on the ballot May 4?

  • A one-year renewal of the 18-mill nonhomestead tax. Although just a renewal, this levy generates about $6 million annually for the operation of our schools.  The levy applies to businesses, industries, and second homes, but is not levied on primary homeowners.
  • Two Board of Education incumbents, Tom DenHerder and David Lutz, are running unopposed for two, four-year terms on the board.

TODAY'S QUESTION: If the bond issue passes, how would Zeeland students use cloud computing? Click HERE.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What are the details of the district's technology plan?
The details can be found in the pdf file available HERE. The schedules in the plan are all 1 year off because we delayed an earlier bond issue that would fund purchase of equipment.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What is happening to the high school cafeterias? Click HERE for the answer.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How do I vote absentee?  You need to fill out an application, which you can download. Then, stop in at the clerk's office and vote on the spot. Clerk's must have absentee ballots available no later than April 14.   If you are away at school or serving in the military, you'll need to mail your application to the clerk's office.  They'll mail you the ballot, which you must complete and mail back. Give yourself plenty of time. For more details, including a list of the clerk's offices within our school district, CLICK HERE.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Will devices similar to netbooks be the only computers purchased with the bond issue?  No. Desk-top computers will also be purchased for teachers and they will serve as the main presentation device in the classroom.  The computers will be used for video streaming, multi-media, and capturing images. It will mean the end of televisions in the classroom.  Computer labs will also be updated, but there will not be as many labs because students will have individual devices. To learn more, view a 5-minute video HERE.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How does Schools of Choice affect the issue of classroom space? Of our 5,416 students, approximately 600 are Schools of Choice, which means they live in a district other than Zeeland Public Schools. Many have asked, "If we didn't have 600 Choice students, could we get by without building a new elementary?" The answer is no.  Choice students are spread across the district. With 324 teachers in the district, that is an average of 2 choice students per classroom. To learn more about Schools of Choice, we encourage you to watch Josh and Ashley's interview with Superintendent Gary L. Feenstra HERE.

TODAY'S QUESTION: How will the opening of a new elementary school in Zeeland Township affect students at Woodbridge and New Groningen?   There will be students at Woodbridge who would move to the new school because it is closer to their home. That would create some vacancies at Woodbridge that could be filled by some New Groningen students.  No action would take place until a new elementary is approved by the public and a boundary study completed.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Why are the offices at New Groningen and Cityside being moved to another part of the building?  Because their present locations do not provide the best security.  Entries will be redesigned at both schools so that individuals coming into the building after school starts have to go through the office and check in before being able to walk down the hallway.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Will the learning devices given to students be laptops?  No. They'll be more like the smaller netbooks on the market, priced in the $250 to $350 range.  Netbooks are designed to make use of online content, sometimes referred to as cloud technology.  The plan would probably allow students in grades six through twelve to take the devices home with them after school.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Will the district be hosting meetings so we can see the plan and ask questions?  Yes. Look for an announcement soon of several meetings. They'll be scheduled for the second half of March and in April, after spring break. We'll post the dates, times, and places on this web page and in the "events" section of our Facebook page.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Instead of opening a new elementary, why don't we just add onto an existing school to handle growth?  For two reasons:  1. The district believes in limiting the size of an elementary to no more than 500 students. 2. Adding onto one elementary school could add to the population imbalance we are experiencing as children move onto middle school and high school.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Will the bond issue pay for renovation work to prepare our existing elementary schools for the arrival of kindergartners in 2012?  No. Any renovation work will be paid for with our one-mill building and site fund.

TODAY'S QUESTION: If a new elementary school is built, what path will students follow from kindgarten through 12th grade?

  • New Groningen, Quincy, Roosevelt----Creekside----ZWHS
  • New school, Lincoln, Woodbridge---Cityside---ZEHS

TODAY'S QUESTION: How long will it take to finish the construction? If voters OK the bond, the new elementary and renovation of the ECC could be done by fall, 2012. Projects at N. Groningen, Cityside,  ZEHS, and ZWHS, could be done in 1 year.  The technology plan could be started in fall, 2010.

TODAY'S QUESTION:  Will this proposal increase the district's millage rate? No. The district's debt retirement levy remains at 6.63 mills and has not changed in more than ten years. We have been able to keep pace with constant growth and provide our children a quality education without bumping up the tax rate. This bond proposal is projected to be paid over a 20-year period, which is only one year over our current debt schedule.

TODAY'S QUESTION:  If we build a new elementary school, will that increase our operational costs?

We don't expect any significant increase for two reasons:  1.  The new elementary would be built with a geo-thermal system for heating and cooling. That's the same system that has saved us thousands in utility costs at Zeeland West High School and Quincy Elementary. Also, the people who would work at the new elementary are already employed in our existing schools.  We would only have to hire staff to cover growth in student numbers. 2. By transforming the Early Childhood Center to a new home for our existing preschool programs, we will create an operation that pays for itself.  Those programs are paid for with parent tuition or state and federal grants, not with the district's operational dollars.  Plus, all the people who would work in the renovated building already work for us at several locations around the district.