As students spend their days splashing in the pool and trying to stay cool, school administrators stay busy during the summer closing a school year and starting a new one.

According to Bonnie Fullmer, curriculum coordinator, the upcoming schoolyear will be a big transition as teachers and faculty prepare for the common core curriculum.

Kindergarten through second grade will implement the common core curriculum for math and literacy.

Third through 12th grades will implement the new curriculum in literacy and partially in math.

“We’re experiencing alot of changes through the common core curriculum,” Fullmer said. “The standards are changing.”

When the school year ends, the summer easily becomes the busiest time of year for the school’s administration.

“The school’s fiscal year is July 1 to July 30 so when the school year ends we have to make sure all of thebills are paid and then work on the budget for the next year,” Bonnie Colville, district treasurer, said.

When summer begins, the administration receives standardized test results which shape future changes in the curriculum for the upcoming school year.

“We look at how the students perform and we try to plan how we might makechanges in the curriculum next year to focus on certain areas that are lacking,” Fullmer said.

Administration isn’t the only branch of the education system that works in the summer. On Aug. 8, teachers return to school for training and professional development.

“Teachers are required to have a minimum of 60 hoursof professional development each year,” Fullmer said.

“When the teachers come back they start five days of professional development.”

Before Fullmer worked in administration she was unaware of the role they played while everyone was on vacation.

“It’s really amazing how busy it is in the summer,” she said.

School, Pages 8 on 08/03/2011