New Ross Elementary School set to open next week

    Ross Elementary School, the newest addition to USD 443, is set to open several days before the new school year begins.
    Principal Terri Merrifield said teachers and faculty are scheduled to move into the school Aug. 11 to set up their classrooms and offices for the year.
    "The classrooms are ready and furnished," Merrifield said.
    During teacher orientation this week, teachers are meeting with each other and getting ready to begin classes next week. They are working together on the curriculum and activities they will have for the year, especially during the first few weeks of school.
    "We're unified for our goal through the year," said first-grade teacher Jamie Bartus.
    Megan Brust, whose son will attend Ross as a kindergarten student in the fall, will be teaching interrelated K-2 special education classes. She said she would have approximately 10 to 15 students in her class, and she would work closely with the other teachers to meet the children's needs.
    Seventy-five percent of the teachers at Ross Elementary are from the district, while the remaining 25 percent are new to the district or are teaching for the first year.
    Each grade level has four classrooms, so three classes in every grade will be taught by teachers from within the district who have transferred from other schools. The remaining class in each grade will be taught by a new teacher to USD 443.
    Merrifield said this ratio will provide a good blend of experienced and new teachers.
    Of these new teachers, some are Dodge City natives and others are from other parts of Kansas or other states such as Michigan. 
    Dodge City native Amber O'Neal, who will be teaching kindergarten, completed her student teaching in Dodge City.
    "I'm excited," O'Neal said. "I've already met with other teachers and made plans for the start of the year."

South section still unfinished
    Although Ross Elementary is scheduled to open Aug. 11, the south part of the school, which houses the gymnasium, music department and four kindergarten classrooms, will not be completed until mid-October.
    Until the kindergarten classes are finished, the main part of the kindergarten school day will take place in the annexes at Northwest Elementary School. Starting Aug. 14, parents will still drop off students at Ross, where they will start the day with their special class, either physical education or music.
    "We want them to feel like Ross is their school," O'Neal said.
    Following their first class, kindergarten students will be taken over to Northwest. Then for their last class, the kids will return to take either physical education or music, depending on which class they attended that morning.
    O'Neal said the teachers have worked hard to make the bus trip to Northwest and back a fun experience. The kindergarten teachers have decided to incorporate an underwater theme as children "dive into kindergarten." The bus will be decorated like a yellow submarine, equipped with fish and other ocean decorations.
    Merrifield said the same educational program will be taught at Ross Elementary as the other elementary schools in the district.
    Ross will feature some new technology such as laptop computers for each teacher. Computers will also be in the classrooms, as they are throughout the district.
    "To me, the nicest room is the library and media center," Merrifield said. "I'm also excited to have two computer labs."
    The library also has a story-telling room and an open design with large windows so patrons can look outside.
    Merrifield said there's room for technological growth at Ross, and she added that the other elementary schools in the district will also be upgraded with new features.
    USD 443 Superintendent Alan Cunningham said approximately 350 students have enrolled in the district for the 2008-09 school year. He anticipates this number will reach 400 within a few weeks.
    Kindergarten enrollment has been high throughout the district, with 521 children already enrolled. Waiting lists for several schools, including Ross, have been started while classes are sorted.
     Even with the high enrollment, the addition of Ross Elementary will prevent overcrowding at the elementary level.
    "We'd like the class size to be 20," Merrifield said. "Right now, we're close to that."
    The opening of Ross has reduced class sizes throughout the district because children have transferred from other schools. Teachers said they are happy with the new class sizes.
    "I'm excited about the smaller class size because we can offer more one-on-one attention," said Jennifer Goebel, a second-grade teacher at Ross.
    Other teachers at Ross said they were excited about the campus and people at the new school. 
    "I've heard great things about Terri and the other teachers I'll be working with," Bartus said.
    There will be an open house Aug. 13 at the new school to give parents and students an opportunity to drop off their school supplies, meet the teachers and visit with friends.
    "That way, everyone comes to school Thursday ready to learn," Cunningham said. 

Reach Cherise Forno at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at cherise.forno@dodgeglobe.com.