NJ-SP School Corporation Closed on 11/19

From Dr. Annette Zupin, Superintendent of NJ-SP School Corporation: 

"North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation has made the decision to close on November 19, 2019 in order for our educators to attend the Red for Ed Action Day in Indianapolis.  This day will be made up on Monday, February 17th (President’s Day).

The reason for the cancellation is that November 19^th is an important day for educators across the state of Indiana.  Many of our teachers will join thousands of other Indiana educators in a rally at the state house to fight for our students.  Inadequate financing, excessive standardized tests of very high expectations and shortage of teachers have been the results of laws that the Indiana General Assembly has approved.  Teachers have worked tirelessly for many years to fight these problems, but we have not been heard.

The decision to close was made for two main reasons:  1) not enough substitute teachers to fill the vacancies created by teachers taking personal days to attend the rally.  2) I support our teachers attending the rally and advocating for our profession.

You can find more information about the “Red for Ed” Rally at  https://www.ista-in.org/invest-in-education.  Thank you in advance for your support."

North Judson-San Pierre School Board Approves Cases and Keyboards for new iPads

Posted on November 7, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

Some new technology that was recently purchased by the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation will be better protected following a decision made by school board members in a special meeting Monday.

At their final meeting in October, the NJ-SP School board approved purchasing additional iPads to help move forward with the second phase of their devices-on-demand plan.

Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin said when members met earlier this week, a purchase request for cases, as well as keyboards, for all of those devices was approved. The total cost for the purchase was approximately $35,980.

Summer Projects Wrapping Up at North Judson-San Pierre Schools

Posted on July 20, 2019
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is making progress on a few summer projects. In her report to the school board Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin said the track has been resurfaced. The tennis court cement project is complete. At the junior-senior high school, painting and the installation of white boards was wrapping up.

Zupin also reported that the school corporation’s new iPads have been delivered. As part of N.J.-S.P.’s new “devices on demand” initiative, each fourth, fifth, and sixth grade student will have access to an iPad. iPads will also be available in every language arts and math classroom at the junior-senior high school. But so far, students will not be allowed to take the devices home.

North Judson-San Pierre School Board Approves Administrative Handbook

Posted on June 19, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

The administrative handbook for the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation was up for approval during Tuesday night’s school board meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin told members that some changes were made to help improve readability.

Dr. Zupin explained, “Currently, it’s on a one page document and it’s hard to read. It was suggested by Sherry Fort, who’s been working on some of our HR items, that we have a handbook so that’s what’s in front of.”

She continued, “The content and what administrators have received is not changing. It’s just a formal document that I think we should have.

School board members provided unanimous approval to accept the updated format of the administrative handbook.

All North Judson-San Pierre Buses Now Equipped with Stop Arm Cameras

Posted on May 28, 2019
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation has completed a major safety initiative. “All of our buses now are equipped with the stop arm cameras,” Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin told the school board last week.

The school corporation began installing stop arm cameras as part of a pilot program in December, following bus-related fatalities in other nearby counties. School officials say the effort has already helped catch some disobedient drivers.

NJ-SP School Officials Move toward ‘Devices on Demand’ System With Updated Tech Plan

Posted on April 23, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

A $30,000 technology planning grant from the Indiana Department of Education was the driving force behind the North Judson-San Pierre’s updated technology plan.

Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin shared some details about the plan when it was up for final reading and approval during last week’s school board meeting.

She explained, “A lot of schools call it 1:1, what we want to call it is devices on demand; that the students have a device when they need it here at school. That’s how we’re going to move forward with getting a device in the hands of the students.”

She noted that professional development is another key element of the technology plan, as teachers will need ample opportunities to be trained on how to effectively utilize the devices.

Zupin mentioned that the technology plan also involves making sure the infrastructure exists to support the addition of more devices and ensuring the corporation will be able to sustain the technology upgrades for years to come.

She noted, “We don’t want to be able to buy them one time and then four or five years from now, when it’s time to replace we don’t know where we’re getting the funds from, we don’t want that to happen so we’ve developed a rotation in leasing it to make sure that we’re always able to fund the computers.”

School board members voted unanimously to approve the technology plan. A tentative timeline and additional details related to the IDOE technology planning grant will be shared in a future article.

North Judson-San Pierre Incorporating Curriculum Audit Suggestions in Updated Corporation Plans

Posted on February 26, 2019
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is making headway in addressing the some of the concerns brought forward during last fall’s curriculum audit, according to Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin.

She told the school board last week that school improvement leaders have spent the last couple months developing a curriculum mapping format. “It’s going to be a very simple document on Google Sheets, and it will have what the standards are, how they teach it, what resources they use,” Zupin explained. “And they can just pull it out and look at it every so often and make adjustments, as needed.”

Zupin said they also came up with a schedule to guide teachers’ discussions about data and curriculum over the next school year. “An example of that would be that at the junior/senior high, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 English teachers can talk about making sure that they are overlapping or that there aren’t gaps,” she said. “But then also, they need to have a conversation with the elementary, sixth grade, in particular, fifth grade English teachers, to make sure that they’re all aligned. We haven’t had time for them to do that, and we have created time for them. That’s important.”

The curriculum audit also suggested enhancing the schools’ use of technology. Zupin said the school corporation will be able to address that, thanks to a recent $30,000 planning grant. “That will help us get organized, so that we have a plan so that every student, when they’re here at school, will have a device. So that is the plan.”

Zupin said school officials are in the process of reviewing the corporation’s strategic, wellness, and technology plans. The updated plans will be unveiled to the entire staff in March and April.

Special Ed Transportation Needs Prompt Amendment to N.J.-S.P. Bus Replacement Plan

Posted on February 23, 2019
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is adjusting its bus replacement plan to accommodate the need for special ed transportation. Rather than getting three new full-size buses as originally planned, the school board agreed Tuesday to let the corporation buy one full-size bus and two multipurpose vehicles, instead.

Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin explained the white multipurpose vehicles are designed for extracurricular activities and special education. “Because of the special ed transportation, the number of trips we are making, we need that,” she said. School officials noted that the change will save the school corporation some money this year.

In other business Tuesday, the school board appointed Linda Schumacher to the North Judson-Wayne Township Public Library Board through the end of 2022.

North Judson-San Pierre Schools to Upgrade Technology with Help from E-Rate Program

Posted on February 22, 2019
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is upgrading its technology infrastructure. The school board agreed Tuesday to move forward with a list of improvements, at the recommendation of Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin.

“So these upgrades will include running new fiber everywhere – we have fiber optics in a few places but this will be everywhere, all new access points and five-year licenses with those, new cabling, and all new switches,” Zupin said. “I don’t know what all of that means, but our tech person does. And I believe it’s important as we move forward with our device enhancements and our digital learning, that this is done.”

The total cost of the project is $225,000, but Zupin said the school corporation will only have to pay less than have of that, since part of the work qualifies for a federal E-rate funding match. “Those opportunities have always been there for schools,” she explained. “However, the schools have to have some cash available, and until the auditorium bond issue went off, our cash flow was an issue. So now, we have some money with our G.O. bonds, that we can take advantage of this.”

Zupin added that school officials chose the company N2N to complete the project. She said N2N’s bid was the lowest of the five the school corporation received, and the company scored the highest for the work that needs to be done.