Smyrna times., 1960-09-08
Board Receives
&-Page Report;
Citizens to Get
3 Separate Ones

Smyrna Special School District
was presented to the Smyrna
Board of Education at its regu-
lar August meeting last We'd
nesday evening. This report,
running 46 pages, included a
series of detailed statements
concerning financial and educa-
tional statistics, statements from
elementary and secondary prin-
cipals, nurses, cafeteria manag-
ers, librarian and guidance per-
sons, general information con-
corning the Smyrna Specia |
School District, and closed with
a statement of the accomplish
ments for the l959-60 school
year and recommendations for
the coming school year. The
board, by official action, adopted
the recommendations of the re-
port for the coming year and
asked the superintendent to take
the necessary steps to put these
recommendations into effect.
One of the recommendations in
wolves improved reporting to the
citizens of the Smyrna Special
School District. Instead of a
single report being mailed to
all residents, it is the plan of
the Smyrna board during the
coming year to mail three re-
ports. One of the reports will be
primarily statistical and finan-
cial; the other two will involve
educational progress and prob
lens of the district. The board
also adopted the recommenda-
ton that the school board pre-
pare handbook of regulations
and policies. The teachers pre-
sently receive handbook of
regulations based on the poll
cies which are found in the min
ute book and the policies adopt
ed from time to time by the
board. The policy handbook for
the board will attempt to con-
solidate all of the policies pass
ed at various times by the
school board in the past and to
establish policies in those areas
where there seems to be a need
for clarification at the present
time. DR.. George v. Kirk, sup
erintendent of schools, indicat-
ed that work had already been
done in compiling the policies
that have been passed by the
Smyrna Board of Education
since l945 and a complete copy
of these policies plus sugges-
tions for additional policies
would be sent to all board men,
bers during the month of Sep
tember for their review. The
board also adopted a recon-
mendation of the superintendent
that a study be made concern
ing a language program of the
district. At the present time,
Smyrna offers Spanish in the
senior high school and two years
of Latin. 1t is proposed that the
district either offer a sequence
of some language such as Span
ish in grades four to twelve or
offer second language in the
secondary school, either German
or French. While there is merit
to both proposals, it is felt that
the district because of its size
cannot hire sufficient teachers
to carry out both proposals 81
multaneously and the decision
should be made egar lin G
whether a second high school
language is more important or
whether an intense training in
Spanish woud be of most value
to pupils in this area. The board
also indicated that they felt that
the Exchange Student Program
where a student is brought to
the United States from a foreign
country and spends year in the
Smyrna School is of consider
able value, and the sc h ool
should reactivate this program.
Considerable discussion con-
corning the status of several
major problems that involve the
yrna District took place.
These problems are the need for
additional facilities for both ele-
mentary and secondary school
pupils in the very near future,
the need for a broader program
of academic construction in for
eign languages, mathematics,
and science, the need for tech
nical vocational training on the
part of a number of students
who do not plan to continue in
college including the possible in