Column: District students benefit from others' involvement

• District 518

District 518

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — Ready or not, the new school year is here, and we have had a wonderful first week with students at District 518.

Of course a few things do not always go as planned, so we are very appreciate of everyone’s patience as the district makes adjustments in order to help things run smoother for year. The buildings have all been cleaned and prepared for the start of the year with a few projects still being completed over the next few weeks, like the new doors at the high school, the replacement of the underground fuel tank at the high school, the lights for the tennis courts at the middle school or the changes to the baseball field at the middle school. Each of these projects are to enhance the experiences for students and the community of District 518.

Here are few things that I would like to mention regarding the new school year. I encourage parents and adults to become actively involved in a child’s life by monitoring their activities on a regular basis to help them make good decisions for their future. One item I would encourage parents to do is monitor their use of technology (Facebook, Twitter or Internet usage) in order to avoid long-term negative effects that can happen very quickly. After the Twitter issue this summer, it brought to light the need to encourage the proper use of technology by all, whether it would be the ethical use of technology or just to plan the appropriate time to utilize these items (not at the dinner table). All of us can make a difference if we are willing to help educate others on the use of our phones, iPads, laptops etc.

The second piece is that we would encourage you to volunteer in classrooms, because an adult can make a difference in a child’s academic success. Some of the things that you could consider volunteering for are listening to children read, shelve books in the library, help during lunch time, tutor a student or many other things. All you need to do if you are interested in volunteering is call the office and visit with an administrator.

District 518 is so grateful for the wonderful support of the communities in the district, particularly when it comes to promoting a quality educational system that works hard to provide many excellent opportunities for the students attending our school. All of these would not be possible if we did not receive such great support from the community. This leads to the next item I would like to mention — the needs of the district. Being a growing district presents many challenges regarding enough space, which is a great problem to deal with, rather than being in a decline mode and having to reduce budgets. This presents a bright future for our school and community that can help grow the area economy.

The district will be hiring a consultant to review the facilities and programming in order to help provide further direction to the school board. Part of this will be to have a public meeting in order to gather further input from the community. We are excited about developing a long-term plan that will meet the needs of the students and community. Please take the opportunity to participate in these meetings once they are scheduled so that a sound direction can be established for District 518.

Again, I would like to thank you for your outstanding support of District 518. I encourage you to becoming involved by volunteering, participating in public meetings or just attending the extracurricular activities.

Thanks for being a part of District 518!

John Landgaard is District 518’s superintendent.

Tags: district 518, opinion, education, education, worthington