By Kayla Gahagan

It is with mixed feelings that I am writing this post, which will be the final entry for Learning Curve. After much discussion with editors and fellow reporters, we have decided that our efforts to provide you with the most accurate, timely education news every day is to spend more time reporting and less time blogging.

While this job has afforded me the opportunity to shoot videos for the web site, write a column for the print education page and occasionally shoot a picture or two, my primary role is that of a print reporter and while I will miss the discussion we have had on here, I’m excited to be able to devote more time to that.

It’s an exciting time for education right now - at the local, state and national levels. We have a new president, as well as new state and federal secretaries of education who have the daunting task of shaping and reforming No Child Left Behind and leading a public education system that faces the challenge of educating students in a global marketplace.

Right here in town, we are less than a week away from a school board election that could seat two new board members. I’ve written many times about what the district faces in terms of decisions about facilities, the budget and curbing drop out rates.

Now, more than ever, the community needs to be involved in discussions and that’s what I love about being a journalist - I get to ask questions, dig for information, listen and then write stories that hopefully inform, stimulate conversation and serve as a catalyst for change, if it is needed.

Before there were blogs, there was e-mail. Before there was e-mail, there were phones. Before there were phones, there were face-to-face conversations. I’m still here, at my desk, available by all those means - to hear what you have to say, to listen and to write the stories that this community needs to hear.

On behalf of myself and my collegue Barbara Soderlin (who has added an immense amount of funny and thoughtful entries to this blog) it has been a pleasure to write for you on this blog and we thank you for reading and for responding.

We’ll see you in the paper.

By Kayla Gahagan

My post yesterday said that Adam Sanders had dropped out of the school board race, but apparently, election rules say he can’t drop out. I’ll interview him later today - stay tuned for what all the candidates have to say in a story that will run next week.

By Kayla Gahagan

I just got word that Area 2 Rapid City School District Board of Education candidate Adam Sanders has decided not to run. These are the remaining candidates:

Area 1:

Candice Estes, Heather Gosch, Arnie LAubach (incumbent), Suzan M. Nolan

Area 2:

Sheryl Kirkeby (incumbent), Curt Pochardt

Area 7:

Doug Kinniburgh

Watch in the Journal for an upcoming story on all of the candidates and their positions. Also, make sure to attend the May 27 hosted by Democracy in Action at 7 p.m. at the Central Administration building.

By Kayla Gahagan

I read this New York Times story about the swine flu and how the experts can’t seem to decide whether it is best to shut schools down or not.

The debate in this article is interesting and made me think of all challenges that are created for families when they have to figure out child care when a school is closed.

And for a school that does not close, administrators are left wondering whether to have students wear masks, use hand sanitizers … (how you would enforce students to wear masks is beyond me).

I’m hoping that when we do get a lid on this outbreak, the Center for Disease Control sits down and writes a comprehensive, strategic plan they could hand down to public schools in case of another outbreak. Mainly, it would put to rest some of the unnecessary rumors about flu, and answer questions that desperately need to be answered.

By Kayla Gahagan

I just read this story about  a Pennsylvania high school ordering shot glasses to give away at prom. It sounds like a simple mistake of oversight, but at a time when the statistics clearly show that prom night is one of the most dangerous for students and other drivers because of alcohol, school officials deserve every bit of flak they get for this.

Read the AP story:

LITITZ, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania high school ordered more than 450 shot glasses for its prom, a move the assistant principal now says sent the wrong message.

As the Warwick High School students left last week’s dance, the prom committee handed them souvenir shot glasses. The girls who attended last year’s prom got a picture frame; the boys, a money clip.

Assistant Principal Scott Galen says: “Unfortunately, this year the junior class didn’t have quite as much money.”

Galen says the principal signed off on the purchase order, but that paperwork simply said “prom souvenir” and didn’t identify the mementos as shot glasses. Galen says he’s certain this will never happen again.

The school is in Lancaster County, about 65 miles east of Philadelphia.

By Barbara Soderlin

Every graduation season, we hear about celebrities earning honorary doctoral degrees. Dolly Parton’s been working 9 to 5, and longer, for decades, and finally earned hers. Not only is she an amazing performer, but she’s involved in a program to encourage early childhood literacy.

Here’s the story:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Award-winning entertainer, businesswoman and education advocate Dolly Parton has a new title.
“Just think, I am Dr. Dolly!” she said Friday after receiving an honorary doctorate of humane and musical letters from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Always joking about her buxom figure, she added, “So when people say something about ‘Double-D,’ they will be thinking of something entirely different.”
The audience of 1,069 new graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences roared with laughter and gave Parton a standing ovation.
Parton, a Tennessee native who is the fourth of 12 children from a poor Appalachian family, is well-known for her philanthropic work. Her Imagination Library sends a book to about 500,000 children each month from birth until they start school.

By Barbara Soderlin

Central High School will host an informational community meeting tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss the proposed additions and renovations to the school. The meeting will take place in the school commons. The public is invited to attend.

The proposal includes a ninth-grade pod, renovated special needs classroom space, a 700-plus seat state-of-the-art theater, a science classroom addition, and an athletic addition, including a three-basketball court competition gymnasium, weight room, and a wrestling room. An additional 150 parking spots and a new entrance are also included in the design.

Drawings of the renovations and additions can be viewed on the Rapid City School District’s Website here. If you’re headed there from the main district web page, go under Administration and then under Support Services; it took me several minutes and a call to the central office to figure that out.

Everyone who has questions about how the construction would work should try to attend. You can TiVo 90210.

By Barbara Soderlin

It’s the fourth of May and the sun is shining, prom is over, graduation around the corner. It’s the time of year when even for the most dedicated students, it can be painful to be in school. I’d like to know how teachers are keeping their students focused  this week, with the local news team telling me it’s going to be in the ’60s and ’70s and sunny all week.

I could use some tips myself — I’ve been working full-time non-stop in the 10 years since I finished college (got the reunion announcement in the mail last week) but I’m planning to be off this summer on maternity leave. I know it won’t be like high school where I spent the summers lifeguarding poolside, but still I admit I’m looking forward to the mental break from work. But I also predict that come fall, I’ll be ready to dive in again like a kid on the first day of school.

Here’s an interesting story about schools that are moving to a year-round calendar, to minimize the “learning loss” that can take place over a 10-week summer break. Dozens of Chicago schools will be going to just about a five-week break. The story leaves a lot of information to be desired, like what will it cost? Do teachers get paid more? But it’s a concept worth discussing. I think it ought to be optional — families that would like their children to have more summer enrichment opportunities can leave them in school for a special summer session; families whose kids are busy can take a traditional break.

By Barbara Soderlin

The Providence Business News reports that Jack Warner, our new South Dakota Board of Regents director, will be significantly boosting his salary in his move west. It seems like he will hold essentially the same job here, just with more schools and staff to oversee. Is the raise merited?

From the PBN:

State education officials long have lamented what they view as a lack of government support for Rhode Island’s college system. Those complaints have increased as the state’s fiscal woes have grown worse and appropriations have declined further.

Last year, some legislators talked of abolishing the Board of Governors for Higher Education to save money, a proposal Warner challenged in an interview with PBN last year.

Maurano said Warner’s annual salary in Rhode Island was about $135,000. In South Dakota, he will earn $323,000.

By Barbara Soderlin

The Board of Regents announced this morning they’ve hired a new executive director to replace the retiring Tad Perry. Here’s the news release:

A veteran educator and higher education leader is the new executive director and chief executive officer of the South Dakota Board of Regents. Jack R. Warner, who has served as commissioner of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education since 2002, will begin work in South Dakota July 8.

“Jack Warner brings extensive experience in a role quite similar to the one he will take on here,” said Regents President Terry Baloun. “Dr. Warner is a seasoned professional who will hit the ground running, given his background working both in and with public institutions. Additionally, he works very effectively within the policy-making environment and that made him a most desirable choice,” Baloun said.

Warner succeeds Robert T. Tad Perry, who retires this summer after 15 years of service to the Board of Regents. Perry is currently the longest serving state higher education executive officer in the country.

As commissioner in Rhode Island, Warner is responsible for governance and policy oversight of the state’s public system of higher education, consisting of the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island, which serve a combined enrollment of 40,000 students. His efforts have been focused on moving the Rhode Island system toward a goal of improving the state’s educational attainment to match that of leading states by 2015.

“I am very pleased that the Board of Regents has selected me for this important leadership position,” Warner said. “The South Dakota system enjoys a fine reputation nationally due to the leadership of the regents and Tad Perry,” he said.

“I look forward to the opportunity of working to build on that reputation to educate more South Dakotans, expand graduate education and research, and link those efforts with the K-12 system and other educational sectors, the workforce development system, and the economic development initiatives in the state,” Warner said.

Prior to his time in Rhode Island, Warner was vice chancellor of the Massachusetts higher education system for five years and associate chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for two years. He has held senior leadership positions at two Massachusetts community colleges as well.

Warner is active professionally at the state and national levels, currently serving as treasurer of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) and as a past president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He has extensive teaching experience at the Graduate School of Education at Boston College and at two community colleges.

He holds a doctor of education degree in educational administration from Boston College, along with a master of education from Springfield College in student affairs administration in higher education and a B.A. degree in psychology from the University of Vermont.

Warner currently resides in Warwick, R.I., with his wife, Celeste, where he enjoys family activities, cycling, golf, and kayaking. The couple has three children and three grandchildren.