Canfield enrollment up due to all-day kindergarten

August 21, 2014 at 12:05a.m.

By ROBERT CONNELLY

CANFIELD

The school district’s enrollment is up, mostly thanks to the introduction of all-day kindergarten, district officials said at Wednesday’s board of education meeting.

Hilltop Elementary has 88 kindergarten students enrolled for the upcoming school year compared with 72 last year, Hilltop Principal Joe Maroni said. Numbers are about the same at C.H. Campbell Elementary.

“They are just so excited about new all-day, every day kindergarten,” Superintendent Alex Geordan said of this week’s kindergarten safety day.

The board unanimously approved the bus stops for the district, totaling 443 stops that include the district’s returning to door-to-door pickup for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. There will be central locations for pick-up and drop-off for kids in grades five through eight and high school.

District officials also approved the resignation of Amanda Thacker, a teacher of third grade at Hilltop, and approved her replacement, Marie Rupert. She attended Wednesday’s meeting and will be making $41,738 for the 2014-15 school year. She taught in the Boardman School District last year and is a 2003 Canfield graduate.

The board unanimously approved six substitutes, one office aide for the two elementary buildings for two hours per day and 10 band paraprofessionals. All 10 will be paid $15 an hour to be reimbursed by band boosters. “These are all, for the most part, retired band directors,” board member Craig Olson said. “They are outstanding people — we’re lucky to get them.”

Also unanimously approved was Gymsters, an adapted physical-education class costing $40 per class. Geordan explained that is an outside organization that provides adaptive learning for students needing to make state requirements for physical education of disabled students, such as work on hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

Geordan said the district received donations of $5,500 this month. He also highlighted building improvements, such as landscaping work at the high school, a senior class project, and a painting job in the high school cafeteria. The district also is working on a new public-address system in the high school. That will be paid for by capital improvement funds, Geordan said.