By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Members of the Hays school board saw examples of positive programming at Roosevelt Elementary School during a tour Monday night, but also some of its infrastructure issues.
Roosevelt houses the life skills program for the Western Kansas Special Education Cooperative. Aspects of the school are designed around the needs of those students, including the halls being marked with colored tape.
Principal Paula Rice said the school also has named its halls for the character traits it wants to see for students: respectful, honest, compassionate, independent and motivated.
The school is set to receive a new secure entrance this summer. A new door will be added in what is now the principal's office. The main office is going to be remodeled and the principal's office moved. The counselor's office is going to be moved across the hall.
This will route all visitors through the main office during school hours.
In addition to the Roosevelt kitchen serving its 418 students, the school's kitchen also prepares portions of meals for O'Loughlin Elementary School and Early Childhood Connections. This increases the school's lunch count to more than 900 meals.
The kitchen is larger than the kitchens at the other elementary schools, but Rice said nutrition services is still tight on space because of the extra meals it prepares. The kitchen is in need of a new freezer, and its stoves are starting to wear out.
Roosevelt's gym also serves as a cafeteria and auditorium. The school has to serve lunch to all of its 400 students in 72 minutes.
"There is a lot of furniture and a lot of bodies," Rice said. "Classroom discipline is crazy in here. Even at a whisper, 200 voices get really loud, really fast."
Each grade can earn points for positive behavior as part of the school's lunch incentive program.
Roosevelt uses a storage area as a tornado shelter, but it is not a FEMA-approved shelter. Rice said the area is not ideal because it still exposes students to an exterior wall and door. The area has to be accessed via steps, so it is not ADA compliant.
"Our kids who have physical issues stand out on the landing until we have to shelter," Rice said. "When we bring them down, sardines isn't even the word for it. ...
"In a drill it is not that big of a deal, but when you have to shelter in place for the real reason, you are down there or sometimes half an hour or an hour."
All of the bodies can generate heat, kids can get panicked and sick to their stomaches, and the nurse can't get to everyone easily, Rice said.
Not all of the students will fit in the space, so the older students shelter in the utility tunnels underneath the school.
Rusted pipes were recently found throughout Roosevelt's heating and cooling system. The chiller and other components of the system are also failing. The district is working with an engineer to develop plans to replace the HVAC system in summer 2021.
SEE RELATED STORY: Audit shows damage to Roosevelt HVAC system
Roosevelt houses the district's STAR program for students with special needs. Three rooms were remodeled for this program when all the STAR services were consolidated at Roosevelt several years ago.
The program serves 22 students, Tasha Lang, STAR teacher, said.
Students participate in a variety of life skill activities in the STAR classrooms, including going through a lunch line, doing laundry and practicing leisure skills.
"We know that kids with autism and significant needs — one of the reasons they don't get employed out of high school is because of their leisure skills," said Lindy McDaniel, STAR teacher. "They don't know what to do with break time. The don't know how to have conflict resolution with other peers."
The STAR program consolidation allows the district to use its teachers and resources more efficiently. The program has been nationally recognized for its work with children with special needs.
Roosevelt also has a dedicated motor lab, which helps children who are behind in developing gross motor skills.
Students with behavior issues also use the room for physical activity that can help them refocus.
"This is another one of those incidental benefits I was talking about," Rice said. "Our entire building benefits. Because OT and PT sees so many kids on their regular case load, our [general education] and [special education] kids get the benefit of having their services, which directly benefits and impacts their behavior and their learning and their overall well being."
However, Rice noted even though Roosevelt has more space than the other elementary schools, it is also running out of room.
"I am asked a lot why [STAR] gets three classrooms for 22 kids," Rice said. "We told the board three years ago, the needs of one of those students is equivalent to three to five general education students. They take more space, and it's OK."
Roosevelt is on a large lot, and its playground is not completely fenced. However, a fence for the playground will be installed in the next few weeks.
Elementary school districtwide have two 15-minute recesses per day. Rice said that is not enough.
"Texas has tripled their recess time, and learning has improved and behavior has decreased dramatically," she said.
Home and school is helping buy pieces of playground equipment for the school. They will focus on needs that have been identified by the occupational and physical therapy staff. Some of the new playground equipment will also be incorporated in PE classes, Rice said.
Based on Roosevelt's enrollment composition, it receives federal funding for Title 1 and Title 2 reading programs. The school has dedicated classroom space for those programs.
The school also has two dedicated resource rooms for the Leveled Education with Accommodations and Differentiation (LEAD) program.