September 27, 2001
Community leaders get a look at average school day
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
By peeking into classrooms, local community leaders got to look at an average school day in Old Fort Wednesday.
The school district sponsored its first "Look At Me'' day for local business and government officials. Students in the elementary and high school took nine visitors on tours of the building. Each visitor then had a chance to sit in the class of their escort.
Old Fort Superintendent Jim Barney said that 50 area community members were invited to spend the day at school. Included were county commissioners, state and U.S. representatives, township trustees, local business leaders and church pastors.
"We wanted to bring in some people to see what is going on in the classroom,'' Barney said. "Schools are often criticized, so we thought we would let people come in to view a normal school day. It's business as usual, nothing special was planned It's exactly what we do every day in the building.''
Sixth graders Kathy Karle and Lindsey Hoffert took State Rep. Rex Damschroder, R-Fremont, and County Commissioner Jeff Wagner through the hallways of the elementary school.
Damschroder stopped in the classrooms, asking questions of the teachers and chatting with the youngsters. In a third grade classroom, with a window facing a playground, he asked about the school's recreational facilities. In the computer room, if the subject matter accessible through the Internet was filtered.
In the music room, Hoffert played a piano while the others looked at the Yamaha keyboards the students used. In the fourth grade room, Damschroder had a short quiz for the children.
"Can anybody tell me who the governor of Ohio is?'' he asked. He cautioned them beforehand that none of his government students at Terra Community College had been able to answer this one. However, Lauren Gillete earned an Ohio state flag pin for correctly identifying Gov. Bob Taft.
In the sixth grade classroom of teacher Amy Baker, the students were learning the proper way to write a letter. They started with how to begin their letter, indent the body of the letter and where to place the date and address. Then they were asked to write a letter, using an idea that Karle gave them.
"Your letter should be a fun one,'' Baker told them. "You are going to write a letter to a genie in a bottle, because genies grant wishes. He will grant you three wishes.''
The tour then moved on to the high school, where senior Janessa Rice took Damschroder around the facility. He had questions about the guidance counselors work with the students, how the wireless computer labs operate and took a look through a microscope in a science class.
"This is a rare opportunity,'' Damschroder said of his school visit. "We don't get a chance to come in and sit in a classroom, talk to students and see first hand the new computer labs.''
"We (state representatives) spend a lot of time and money on education issues without having any real exposure to the education in the classroom,'' he added. "These are the front line people in education. It's so important to see where it's actually taking place.''