PUTNAM COUNTY
The Putnam County Board of Education heard updates for the Summer Inspiration program, the new elementary school, and from two Georgia College & State University student teachers.
Student teachers Sarah Brown and Georgia Taylor presented to the board first and informed the board of their observations and determinations regarding how Putnam County Middle School (PCMS) assists in child development.
According to Brown, PCMS is “developmentally appropriate” to meet student needs. With the wide range of social and interactive activities, students are encouraged to participate in class and be engaged with learning. At the end of their presentation, Brown and Taylor remarked that they had been very impressed by PCMS and enjoyed the time they spent there.
Beth Bacon and Kathy Smith presented a short update on the 2024 Summer Inspiration program. Currently, there are about 120 camp ideas to be presented to the kids that Bacon said should be shortened to about 100 camps to choose from based on student interest. Bacon and Smith began preparation for the program in August and have been working with teachers to refine and critique camp ideas. Registration for camps will open in early March and the pair are expecting a large turnout.
In addition to camps, Summer Inspiration is making improvements to extended learning opportunities (ELO). ELO will be offered to kindergarten through eighth grade for reading and math. ELO will include some camp activities this year and Bacon estimated, based on Winter MAP and Standard Proficiency data, that about 30-50 students per grade level will attend for each subject.
“We are looking forward to another awesome summer,” said Bacon.
Assistant Superintendent Derick Austin reported that timber has begun to be removed from the site of the new elementary school.
However, they are waiting on a Land Disturbance Permit before any more actions can occur. According to Austin, the architects have submitted the final designs to contractors and the defined prices for everything should come before the board in April.
Concluding his update, Austin reported that the district is extending its traffic study and working on more proposals due to some pushback from the Georgia Department of Transportation about the proposed cutaway. These proposals will be brought before the board to discuss when they are ready.
“We are currently working through several options,” said Austin.
At the end of the meeting, the board unanimously approved the resolution for National School Breakfast Week, a requested furniture purchase for the district from H. E. Hodge not to exceed $70,000, and the Head Start 2024-25 budget.