From virtual reality headsets to a professional level printer to flexible seating options, students in the Hamburg Area School District are provided with a variety of options that help create a learning environment that fully engages them.
At the school directors’ meeting on March 26, school administrators spoke to school directors about how some of the funds that they have been asked to allocate in the general budget are being utilized.
School directors and some audience members wore virtual realty headsets downloaded with a World War II program that made the wearer an observer of the action.
“(You) can read about (WWII), but that’s a little snippet,” Superintendent Dr. Richard Mextorf said. “We did it because there’s a lot of possibilities.”
The set of eight headsets cost the district $3,000.
In the elementary schools, some classrooms have flexible seating options, such as accordion stools, which allow students different seating options throughout the classroom.
“It creates a different learning environment,” said Teresa Freiwald, chief learning officer. “It’s putting tools in their hands to allow them to learn in a way and at a pace that’s appropriate for them.”
A set of 24 to outfit a classroom costs $1,500.
The district will also increase the number of iPads and chromebooks available in the elementary schools.
Freiwald noted that almost 200 field trips have been approved for the school year at a cost of almost $50,000.
“This is another experience available for our kids to explore,” Freiwald said.
The district has three Vision Pillars for learning, learning anywhere at anytime, fully engaging students and teaching the whole child.
“It’s more than preparing them to make a living,” Mextorf said. “We’re preparing them to live in the world.”
In other news, school directors agreed to spend $15,917 to install wood carpet at Tilden Elementary Center and to spend $11,055 to remove the existing rubber mulch and install new fabric throughout the playground.
“It’s called engineered wood carpet and it meets ADA requirements,” said Mark Meinhart, facilities director. “It compacts and knits together well. The area totals 13,550 square feet.”
The current surface is chipped rubber which did not knit together and is very dirty, according to Meinhart.
“Every three years we will refresh the area with a layer of fabric about a foot deep,” Meinhart said. “Work will start when the school year ends.”
In other news, school directors approved the district’s portion ($825,375) of the Berks Career and Technology Center 2018-19 budget ($13,138,735).
Hamburg’s portion reflects a $24,648 or 6.3 percent increase.
The next meeting of school directors is Monday, April 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the James A. Gilmartin Community Room.
