Conservation Efforts are Abundant for Independence Local Schools

Conservation efforts continue throughout the district and the results are impressive. At each of the buildings, the district website has become the “goto” place to find information that used to go home in paper form, such as school supply lists, parent/student handbooks, newsletters, and field trip forms.  Communication to staff is primarily done through internal quick email.

Principal Mrs. Judith Schulz keeps in touch with her parents on a weekly basis through the “IPS News Blast.” They also email and phone parents for communication purposes instead of sending home written correspondence. Teachers encourage their students to utilize the back of worksheets for their math problems. Whenever possible, they copy and/or print on both sides of the paper to use less sheets of paper. The schools also have an extensive recycling program that all staff members use for classroom papers, construction paper clippings, or scraps. They also use these art scraps for future projects. They recycle and reuse plastic bags for things that travel to and from school. In the primary school’s special education room, they have purchased fabric cloths (which are washed daily) to aid in clean ups vs. using paper towels. Also, they use metal utensils (washed daily) vs. plastic utensils for lunches and snacks.

The high school will save an estimated $3,000 this year in postage and paper by producing the quarterly principal’s newsletter electronically. Principal Mr. Roger Howard also sends electronic copies of his “Principal Notes” to the faculty each week. Teachers are encouraged to place tests on overhead projectors or use PowerPoint. They are also encouraged to post worksheets and other handouts on their Progress Book page or web pages for students to download at home. Independence Middle School

Principal Mr. Carl Smilan also uses email quite frequently and the Progress Book, calendars, and other information for the school are all on-line. The high school also has an extensive recycling program with bins located in each area of the building and offices. The high school’s special needs students collect and deposit the paper in the parking lot bin provided by the city. Proceeds from the recycling are dispersed equally between the three buildings. Students and teachers repurpose things at the primary school for projects such as glass baby food jars for snow globes or votive candleholders. In the staff lounge and cafeteria, they recycle aluminum cans. Independence Middle School also recycles all paper, plastic, and metal. The school has earned more than $1,000 over the past two years for its efforts. They also use recycled paper hand towels.

The schools also recycle metal, which is sent to the Board office to be picked up by a steel recycling facility. They dispose all chemicals and paints through the City of Independence Service Department.

Lights Off and Other Bright Ideas...

All buildings turn off classroom lights when not in use and have replaced the burned-out incandescent bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent ones. Independence High School has removed every other bulb from each ballast in the hallways. Fluorescent bulbs are recycled with the city’s Service Department. The buildings also open windows instead of using the fan to cool off the room and open shades in the windows to allow sunlight in to heat the room on the cooler days and close the shades to keep the room cool on the warmer days. Thermostats have been recalibrated and lowered. In many of the classrooms at the primary school, staff members have live plants to provide more oxygen. Before leaving for the day, teachers put the computers in an energy saver or “sleep” mode. This past summer, the primary school completed another phase of its window replacing construction project. The old windows were replaced with more energy efficient windows.

October 20, 2009

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As anticipated, the influenza virus has arrived in the Independence Local School District.  We are closely monitoring student absenteeism, and are in frequent communication with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.  Our current absenteeism rate of 11% (October 20, 2009) approximately doubles our normal illness-related rate.  We have not had any H1N1 confirmed cases.  However, we know of several “Type-A” confirmations, and there are probably more that have not been reported.  H1N1 is one strain of “Type-A”.  Most healthcare providers are successfully treating “Type-A” as if it were H1N1, and are not pursuing formal testing for confirmation of H1N1.

Our school district has been working closely for several weeks with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) regarding the H1N1 influenza (flu) virus.  Our goal is to be proactive in order to minimize the impact of the virus on our students, our staff, and the community.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended that children and young adults, 6 months through 24 years of age, be vaccinated against 2009 H1N1, as soon as the vaccine is available.  It is important to have your child immunized because most people have no prior exposure to the H1N1 virus and, therefore, have not built up any previous immunity.  By having the student population vaccinated, the likelihood of significant outbreaks should be decreased.

Currently, our school is not planning a school-based clinic to provide the H1N1 vaccination.  We understand that some local health care providers have ordered the H1N1 vaccine.  You are encouraged to contact your provider to see if they will be offering the vaccination.  Additionally, public health officials are working with communities to hold large community-based vaccination clinics.

Independence Schools elevated its ranking from an “Excellent” to “Excellent with Distinction” rating on the 2008-09 Ohio Department of Education Report Card.  The school district is in the highest category ranking possible among all Ohio schools.

The state rates districts and schools based on several indicators: Achievement Test Scores, Graduation Rate, Attendance Rate, Performance Index, Adequate Yearly Progress and Value-Added.  To meet a standard, a district must have a passage rate of at least 75 percent on tests in grades 3-10, a passage rate of at least 85 percent on tests in grade 11, an attendance rate of at least 90 percent and a graduation rate of at least 90 percent.

“Our Excellent with Distinction rating can be attributed to our hard-working students and outstanding teachers who work hard each day to provide the highest quality education to the children of Independence,” said Superintendent Mr. David Laurenzi.  “We thank the community for its support in allowing our district to provide the tools needed to offer this level of learning.”

A closer look at the scores shows that students not only scored consistently higher than the state average, but did extremely well when compared to other similar districts.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, the Independence Locals School District met 29 of the 30 indicators on the report card this year and received a Performance Index score of 105.6.