×

Gowanda School makes some changes

GOWANDA — The new year has begun and so has the second half of the school year. The Gowanda Central School District has implemented and expanded many facets to improve the students’ education.

With pride, the district continued its 1-to-1 initiative. The initiative focuses on the growing digital age. The students in the elementary school were given iPads and it grew to where the middle schoolers will soon have Chromebooks.

The 1-to-1 developed further.

“We’ve started 1-to-1 initiative,” Gowanda Superintendent James Klubek said. “We’ve kind of phased it in over two years. The elementary school and part of the middle school this year, and next year, we’ll be moving it up to the high school.

“With all the interactive programs that are available, especially on the iPads in the elementary school, the kids have just taken to them. And they can’t wait to get their hands on the computers.”

This past summer, the school built wifi repeaters in the classrooms so that there are minimal problems with internet access. Also, the district hired an information technology specialistic. That role was to assist faculty members to best integrate the equipment into their curriculum. Klubek noted that there will be some staff development days to improve the implementation, including half-days in January through May that will give the staff an additional 15 hours to work together and collaborate.

“Connectivity does not seem to be an issue anywhere,” he said of the new wifi signals. “It’s been a pleasant surprise. Anytime you introduce something with technology, it’s going to take a long time. We are actually ahead of the curve because I think the kids are so comfortable with it that it didn’t take long for them to learn how to use it.”

The school district also dabbled in purchasing standing desks. What are they? Well, it is simply a desk you can stand at. Students sometimes just can’t sit still — their blood is rushing, their energy is high — so to sit and take notes for a 40-plus minute class may be difficult.

Gowanda received a mere nine standing desks — three in each building — to see if it is something they will continue further.

“(The BOCES program) donated the desks to us and we’re hoping we can use them as a pilot to see if it’s something we want to purchase more of going forward,” Klubek said. “I think it’s going to be very beneficial to the kids that have a rough time sitting still for extended periods of time.”

Janine Jalal, director of special education, noted that the desks are in different classes throughout the schools. In the middle school, they are mostly in the fifth grade area, and the high school has them in the English classes, most likely due to content.

“I know we have used a lot of other techniques in the past with (exercise) balls and bands (that can be used to move legs), and those on a piece by piece basis sometimes work out,” Jalal said.

“They (the students) were pretty excited when we first started it,” she added. “They said, like every class, it was the talk of the town.”

Email: akuczkowski@observertoday.com.

Twitter: @Kuczkowski95

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today