Ellis continues strides toward future

Things are going well at Ellis USD 388 and we anticipate a productive 2005. We are a 2A school that offers a lot of exciting opportunities for our students. We offer a wide range of activities/athletics and a rich academic/vocational program for our students. We are particularly proud of the online grades we are able to offer our parents and students.

The staff is also currently involved in aligning our curriculum with the state standards via the computer. This will ultimately lead to our curriculum being available to everyone over the internet anywhere, anytime. Ellis USD 388 has always been a strong district in the area of technology. The staff, administration, and the board of education are continuing to look to the future. For the past year and one-half, we have been visiting other districts, looking into the possibilities of some type of laptop or handheld computer initiative for our students.

We received a grant two years ago that put laptop technology in the hands of our fourth and fifth-grade students. With the integration of this technology into the curriculum by our teachers at these grade levels, we are seeing a very positive and a changed learning environment for these students. With the advent of this technology and technology upgrades like online textbooks, we are envisioning expanding this to other grade levels and teachers so that more students can reap the benefits of the power of technology in their learning. We hope to finalize plans this spring.

In order to meet the mandates of NCLB and to better service our at-risk students, USD 388 is also expanding its summer school program. After a pilot program in the summer of 2004 that had very good results, the board is allowing this program to expand to include more students K-six. Next year, we hope to open it up even further to include K-eight. Along with summer school, both our grade school and high school are attempting to further meet the needs of kids by offering other extended learning opportunities for students who need the extra help. Our teachers and staff are working hard to meet those needs.

So, at USD 388, we feel things are moving forward. Our board of education is very progressive and supportive of the district's improvement efforts. The teachers administrators and support staff strive to give our students the best. The community of Ellis is looking to grow and has improvements and housing projects in the works that will continue to make Ellis a super place.

Lyndell R. Barton is superintendent of Ellis USD 388.