By: Dr. Marcus Lewton, DPS Superintendent
There is nothing quite like the feeling and excitement of the beginning of the school year. Since the start of school, I've done my best to be in our schools as much as possible. This fall, I've challenged myself to spend more time in elementary classrooms. I spent most of my educational career in the secondary realm, so much of what an elementary professional does is unfamiliar. I am amazed at the effort required to keep elementary students focused, whether it be a math lesson or a physical education game. Some call it teaching, others may call it magic, but this job is tough. I am grateful for all our outstanding educators leading our students into another great school year.
This month construction broke ground on the Southwest Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center located in the old Haliburton complex. Although it seems as though we have been discussing this opportunity for years, we are so excited to get this project off the ground. Knowing that we are creating this opportunity for our region without using any additional local property tax dollars is incredible. We are grateful to the state and local partners contributing to this vision.
In the spring, we can begin to welcome students into part of the building.This complex will create 70 thousand square feet of CTE for our region. More importantly for Dickinson Public Schools, it will allow for short-term relief of overcrowding at Dickinson High School.
Due to space constraints at the high school, we have eighteen health career courses being taught out of Dickinson Middle School. To help relieve some of the space concerns at DHS, we have taken advantage of online classes, courses at DSU, and using space at DMS.
Last month our board received extensive reports on enrollment and long-term facility costs to the district. These reports were composed by experts in each of their fields. We aim to summarize this information and share it through multiple-media sources in October.
We have much collaboration in our future regarding increased enrollment and lack of space, in addition to rising maintenance costs due to aging facilities. Although I don't have any immediate answers, we will soon engage stakeholders to form possible solutions.
When organizations face adversity, such as overcrowding and aging facilities, it is easy to lose focus and jump to single solutions without considering long-lasting implications. I hope, like the elementary classroom full of young students, our staff and community can stay focused and reap the benefits of a collaborative solution.