School's Out at Goddard, Now What?

What actually goes on at a school when there are no students there? For faculty, it’s a bit busier than you’d think.

Though most of the Goddard Middle School campus resembles a ghost town this time of year, the main office is just about as busy as during the regular school year—minus the students. Everything from grades to next year’s schedules to even naming a new principal are the types of things still going on.

“We’re just closing out the old school year and starting the new one,” says Secretary Lynnell Caldwell. “Taking records and storing them, printing report cards, compiling accumulative records.”

A full-time faculty remains on campus through the end of June, so the date is looming to have all the necessary work done to be prepared for the following school year.

The first duty of the faculty is to get grades out. Once they are received from teachers, they must be put through a scanning machine to be entered in to the computer, where they can then be printed and mailed.  The next task is scheduling for the next school year, which is a laborious process. Though mostly also done by computer, some special scheduling does required the personal oversight of Assistant Principal Eric Osborne.

An extra piece of work this summer has been in dealing with updated immunization requirements. which carries a number of protections. Without receiving the vaccine (and providing proof to the school) a student can’t register for classes. Complying with the new law has brought many parents in to the office during the summer to ask questions.
 
Much maintenance work is done during the summer. Besides annual work like waxing the gym floor, this year landscaping work as part of the Measure G bond is still being completed. Additionally, all the classrooms are given a complete top-to-bottom cleaning.

Additionally, in a bigger piece of news, last week saw the naming of La Fetra Elementary Principal Brock Jacobsen as Goddard’s new principal, replacing Elizabeth Eminhizer, who moves on to the Covina Unified School District.

“(Goddard) is really the perfect learning environment for parents, students, and staff,” says Jacobsen. “We’re going to try to continue integrating use of technology in the classroom.”