From upcoming projects to budget cuts, Superintendent Glenn Robbins discusses it all.
The Tabernacle School District shows no signs of slowing down for the second half of the school year, with 2019 being packed with new initiatives.
Based on the district’s mission statement of being “empathetic, innovative game changers,” Superintendent Glenn Robbins said the students do a lot of different empathetic projects for others.
To close out 2018, Tabernacle’s fourth-grade students, along with their parents, partook in “Project Linus” on Dec. 14. This project gave volunteers the chance to make handmade blankets to send to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need.
In addition, students at Olson Middle School and Tabernacle Elementary School have been engaging in video chats to classrooms across the globe. Through a program called Empatico, students can have electronic pen pals to expose them to different cultures to expand their creativity and sense of diversity.
One class teamed up with a class from Memphis, while another teamed up with a class from Ghana. Through this exposure, they learn how different a child’s upbringing can be in different parts of the country/the world.
While speaking with students from Ghana, they learned some students there lived in homes without electricity and with minimal clothing.
Teacher Brianna McCarthy, along with her students, decided to start a clothing drive to help those students in Ghana.
In January, the district will host a “Magical Healing Program” in which a magician will come to the school to help six to 10 students learn skills of illusion over the course of multiple weeks, after which they will perform to students and staff.
Robbins said this program is aimed at the “kid who loses themselves in the cracks” and allows them to gain self-esteem and self-awareness.
Also in January, two new board members will be sworn in — Daniel Dilks and Stephen J, Henske Jr.
On March 8, the Ecet2 conference will be held during an in-service day for all staff to attend. Ecet2 stands for elevating and celebrating effective teaching and teachers, and was funded through a $27,000 grant provided from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This conference will host two keynote speakers from around the country, as well as presenters from within the Tabernacle School District.
Robbins said this conference is open to all educators in the area and everyone deserves to have the “best of the best” education. He said with state aid reductions coming, it is important for the district to invite others to conferences when it can.
Robbins said over two years they have lost around $290,000, which means they are already working with a reduced budget. He is expecting a loss of around $215,000 for the upcoming school year.
“We take pride in being able to do awesome things, these incredible things for our kids, but as money gets tighter and tighter, it’s going to hurt us,” Robbins said.
The district is looking at every program it offers and its inventory of supplies and technology. Robbins said right now they are in a stable place, but maintaining the infrastructure for years to come will be tough.
“Each and every one of our students and our parents represents and means something to our schools. They’re beyond valuable to us and we realize that. Being a small town or rural town, we also appreciate that and love the fact that we have parental support,” Robbins said. “We’re going to continue to give these kids the best possible education.”
