I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to discuss the school with our community.

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Student success big part of school's progress

By Matt Fisher, Superintendent

Chase County Schools

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to discuss the school with our community. Being included in this segment illustrates the understanding the Republican has for the key role our school plays in making our community the great place to live that it is.

In thinking about progress and success, those visible attributes like the new track installed here at the school and the work we have done on replacing the roof are things which come quickly to mind. One could also use this platform to discuss the upgrade in our heating and cooling system which is looming on the horizon.

We are indeed very fortunate to have a school board with vision and an understanding of how vital it is to continue to develop and improve our facilities. We are also blessed to be living in a community which is highly supportive of our school.

While these would be appropriate topics for a review of school progress, I am not going to focus on things I am going to focus on people.

As with every year in the school business, the judge of all progress is based on the student successes we get to share in.

In 2011 our students built on the successes of their predecessors and branched out into new areas to stake their accomplishments. The progress made by the young people of our community is diverse and spans all age groups.

In the elementary grades, we have seen steady progress toward our goal of getting all of our students reading at their grade level.

We are now in the third year of our implementation of the Reading Mastery program. This large-scale change in our elementary curriculum has sent waves through all areas of the elementary school. We have had to modify instructional time for science and social studies, we have had to add support staff, we have even had to begin our day earlier.

As with any change there has been a certain amount of anxiety. Fortunately the school board and the staff have embraced the challenges and forged ahead with the knowledge that giving kids the reading skills they need will ultimately benefit every facet of their education.

Throughout the grades we have been blessed with students who have dedicated themselves to developing skills in the arts. Their progress is put on display several times a year at music concerts along with dramatic performances and art displays.

We shared the students talents outside of the community through the successes our groups have had in contests. This past year our sharing reached well beyond our local confines as our show choir performed for the sixth time in Branson, MO.

Our FFA program once more had a good deal of success in the competitive arena.

In April at the state convention, the Senior Parli Pro team and the Ag Sales team each finished their contest as the top teams in the state. In October these teams competed at the National FFA convention and finished in the top half of those teams from across the nation competing there.

While our FBLA and FCCLA organizations did not have that kind of state and national success both of these leadership programs continue to see growth and have an exciting outlook for 2012.

During 2011, we had some exciting events that originated in our science classes. We had a student go through the local and state science fair process and eventually end up qualifying to display his project at the National Science Fair in Washington, DC. Two other students submitted an invention to a competition as part of a science assignment. Ultimately, these two were invited to demonstrate their invention in South Carolina and were selected as the overall winner of this national contest.

Our community can also take pride in the academic and classroom accomplishments of our students. When something happens year after year it becomes less spectacular and the significance of the accomplishment is lost.

In 2011, the grade school and junior high physical education students were again named state champion for the President's Physical Fitness Challenge and our high school students taking the ACT national college entrance exam scored significantly above the state and national average. With those ACT scores, Chase County was once again the SPVA champion for academics.

Much of the credit for the accomplishments of the school needs to go to the great students we have to work with. Those successes are also highly attributable to the dedicated teachers and support staff who provide the opportunity and encouragement for students to explore their potential. When you bring a group of dynamic young people together with a staff who is pulling together to see every child be successful good things are going to happen.

I'm excited to see what this combination produces in 2012.