DCMS ponders attendance policy
By Debbie Lowe

In his first month as Delphi middle school principal, Robert DeLaRosa is looking at ways to help students improve their scholastic performance. One issue he wants to address is the attendance policy.

Talking about a small percentage of students, DeLaRosa said that he wanted students and their parents to accept accountability for lack of attendance.

DeLaRosa presented the issue to the Delphi Community School Corporation Board of Trustees at the Tuesday evening meeting. He noted a lack of consequences for missing school and emphasized the need to improve the attendance rate for some students.

Board member Jerry Sparks asked for clarification of the current attendance policy. DeLaRosa said the current policy needs to be "tightened up" to eliminate loopholes. He said students could conceivably miss up to 10 days with few or no consequences, he said.

DeLaRosa said, of the 410 middle school students enrolled, 150 are sixth-graders, which is the largest group at the school.

He explained that 75 to 80 percent of all students participate in extracurricular activities, which he considers a positive for the school.

DeLaRosa said the middle school teachers' focus is on learning and said he told teachers they "need to be risk-takers in the classroom."

High school principal Barry Stone explained the P.R.I.D.E. program, which he hopes to initiate at the school. He said it is a rewards-for-grades, attendance and a no-discipline-issues incentive program. It also contains an element of redemption so students can improve in those areas after a setback.

Stone said local businesses have been supportive of the initiative.

Hillcrest Elementary principal Bill Shidler announced students will celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution Sept. 14 at 8 a.m. He invited the public to attend the event.

He said midterm for the first nine weeks is Sept. 13. Parents should expect to receive a document outlining their child's progress for the year soon after.

Grandparents Day will be Oct. 11.

Camden Elementary will hold a volunteer meeting Sept. 14 for all community members and parents interested in providing volunteer services at the school this year. Topics concerning confidentiality, dress and proper conduct will be addressed.

A public hearing for the 2007 budget was held during the business meeting. Superintendent Ralph Walker explained the state continues to shift dollars back to the local level. He said some school corporations receive more money per student than others, due to their historical behavior.

"There's nothing fair about the money we get now (from the state)," he said.

Community member Tom Brodar asked for an explanation, including a pictorial history, of how the corporation's finances and budgets have changed over the past several years for comparison.

Walker responded by saying the tax rate was "pretty much stable across all five of the major funds" after briefly explaining the condition of each fund.

The next meeting will be Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.