A Year for Expansion at Chatham High

administrators are busy putting the finishing touches on classrooms and facilities in anticipation of welcoming back teachers Thursday and students on Tuesday.

"I think the conversion of some of the space for classrooms in the building is going to look different," Principal Darren Groh said. "We have more instructional space than we've had in the past."

Three rooms inside the school were converted into classrooms, including the science department office on the ground level, a computer lab and the athletic office, which is now located across from the trainer's office near the gymnasiums.

"Right now we're scheduled for school and we're at full capacity," Groh said. "So there are some periods in the day where we have no empty space."

Enrollment at Chatham High is currently at 1,151 students. The demographer's report from last year anticipated 1,143 students.

By the time the spring semester starts, Groh hopes the four new classrooms will be complete and ready for use. "They're supposed to be ready by January," he said.

Additional computer carts were purchased over the summer to make the computer lab class completely mobile. Beginning this year, any classroom can be used as a computer lab or for one of the school's computer classes, with the laptops going to the students rather than students going to the computers.

"Each of our departments will have a 26-laptop cart available to them, and each teacher in the department will be able to check out that cart," Groh said. "Because the building is completely wireless, [the students] will be able to log in from anywhere without a problem."

New Teachers, New Programs

The high school also hired 10 new fulltime teachers, including . English science world language. Pamela Ahn will teach English, Virginia Casazza will teach physics and Kelly Reynolds will teach Spanish and French at both the high school and .

The following teachers have been hired to replace teachers who have taken leave, retired or left the district:

• Edward Suczewski, English Department
• Ryan Skardal, English Department
• Connor Henderson, Technology Department
• Meri Walters, Social Studies Department
• Mallory Weingartner, Math Department
• Olga Wickerhauser, Science Department

AP Worlld History and Chinese II will be offered for the first time at Chatham High this year. The Board of Education also approved a dual enrollment program with Rutgers University for certain science classes, but Groh said the program was canceled due to low enrollment.

Parking Lot Brings Big Changes

, which Groh and other school administrators hoped would be completed before the start of school. Dennis Fyffe, inteirm superintendent for the School District of the Chathams, said he expects the lot to be completed now at least "a week or two" after school starts.

"The weather has really been tough because they cant put the machines on there when there's mud, and they need the good weather in order to [apply the] cement," Groh said.

Once complete, Groh said the lot will be "a big change" to students', parents' and faculty members' daily lives. "The in-and-out is going to be a lot safer than it's been in the past. Anybody passing in front, they're either going to be coming in or they're going past. There won't be any concern about people going out into traffic," he said.

Groh said the school will increase directional signs to help control traffic flow on campus, and he hopes parents will cooperate. A staff member will also be assigned each morning to direct traffic into the lot, both preventing anyone without assigned tags from parking and directing parents to the appropriate drop-off points.

As part of the parking lot package, student parking fees increased this year from $6 to $50. The Board of Education also approved the construction of a walking path from Dellwood Avenue, which will allow for more pedestrian traffic to approach the high school and Lafayette Elementary School from the east, something Groh said he has wanted for over a year.

"This has initiated the walking path, the [new] driving pattern and some of those other things that have been headaches for really a long time," Groh said. "We’ve wanted change. ... Now we’re able to have more parents drop their kids off in the back and using the walking path."

A Parent's Portal into the Classroom

Parents of Chatham High School students will find it even easier to track their children's academic progress this year.

Chatham High introduced the parent portal in February as a way for parents to check students' grades online. This academic year the administration has expanded the parent portal services to include grades on daily assignments, including homework, participation, tests and even attendance.

"It's really going to be a great way for parents to stay involved with what their students are doing," Groh said. "If there's a test or an assignment due one week, parents are going to be able to see it."

Parents will also notice the decrease in the activity fee from $150 in the 2010-11 academic year to $100 this year. The fee was used last year for the first time in the district. It is a one-time fee per student and applies to sports and extracurricular clubs and activities.

Back to School

Chatham High starts classes again Tuesday at 7:40 a.m. Back to School Night, which will include a tutorial for parents on how to use the parent portal, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

Chatham Patch brings you everything you need to know for the start of the school year with several stories over the course of the week to get students, and parents, ready for the year to begin.

Coming up next:
Thursday—Chatham Middle School has a new dress code, new lockers and new classrooms.
Friday—Important dates and What parents and students at Lafayette Avenue School need to know.
Saturday—Familiar faces for students at Southern Boulevard School.
Sunday—Milton Avenue School has a new fulltime librarian this year.
Monday—After four days without electricity, Washington Avenue School prepares for the new school year.
Tuesday—School begins today, and we'll have photos from schools throughout the district as kids start another year. We'll also look at 9/11 curriculum in the district this year.
Wednesday—A look at the district's new anti-bullying policy.