Pickup still a problem at Prairie View

SANDWICH -- Picking up students at Prairie View School apparently is still a problem for parents. A longer drive-through has been added to the north to get vehicles off Castle Street, but it seems some parents still park on East Pleasant Avenue to pick up children when they leave school.

A parent spoke about the matter at a recent Sandwich School Board meeting, mentioning that the City Council is considering passing an ordinance that bans parking on one or both sides of East Pleasant Avenue to ensure the safety of children crossing the street.

However, the parent said the line in front of Prairie View School takes so long to maneuver, it's difficult to get to the other side of town to pick up another child at a different school.

The parent was told that city ordinances are the responsibility of the council, and that's who should be contacted on the issue.

Also at the meeting, Doni Morgan, third-grade teacher, and Chris Hartman, special education teacher, told the board about several programs at Woodbury School. Teaching assistants and volunteers have been working with struggling students, trying to build their skills early rather than labeling the children as having learning problems.

Children are also receiving tutoring sessions at 7:30 a.m. five days a week, reading books and taking tests on computers.

Some of the other activities that are interesting to the students and teach them useful skills are: writing and publishing a monthly school newspaper; selecting a subject in which they want to become experts, working three years on the project so they go to higher levels; writing pen pal letters; and putting on a play every year that has a musical element.

In other matters, the School Board granted a leave of absence to Ivy Ratliff, Sandwich High School special education teacher; and hired Kathleen Weeks as a part-time reading teacher assistant at Haskin School and Barb McGregory as a part-time reading teacher at Dummer School. It was noted the reading positions are funded through a federal grant that ends this year.