What probably seemed to have been a short summer vacation to students and parents alike will come to an end in less than a week, as students in the Clinton County Schools System will return to the classroom next Tuesday, August 9. The official opening day for staff only will be Monday.

Superintendent Mickey McFall said on Monday that the district was working on a few more things and finalizing things in some areas but school would be ready for the students to come next Tuesday.

McFall said there was no major changes pertaining to policies or the Pupil Code of Conduct from last year that will affect students or parents, but added there will be some changes in the dress code at the middle school and Principal Pam Bale has sent out letters to middle school parents informing them of the new dress regulations.

Federal programs under grants received by the district is also unchanged. However, this will be the fifth and final year for the Safe Schools, Healthy Students Initiative in the district. That program has been very successful in linking emergency personnel, law enforcement, school officials and students with promoting safety education within the entire school system.

Staffing changes always take place from school year to school year in the district, including through teacher retirement, staff transfers and so forth. Beginning with this school year, the district will have a new Director of Pupil Personnel, that being Charlotte Bernard, who was recently named to replace Joe Summers, who retired at the end of the past school term. (A separate article on the new DPP for the school district will be published in next week’s Clinton County News.)

There will be a few changes in the way course curriculum is taught in the schools this year, according to the superintendent.

Teachers have worked this summer studying and learning the new state curriculum standards and have been working on developmental units and lesson plans. The curriculum will be more rigorous that in the past, McFall noted, adding that students will be exposed to curriculum content in earlier grades.

Extra help for students who have problems digesting the new material content will be assisted, based upon their performance, with remedial assistance, retention intervention help and after school tutoring.

The middle school will also have end of course assessment in four subject areas, including Algebra II, Biology, U.S. History and English II, McFall said.

The superintendent also said the state is seeking a waiver from the federal government of the NCLF (No Child Left Behind) requirements and asked to be able to test on the Kentucky Accountability System. McFall said the Kentucky Commissioner of Education feels the state’s system has enough components to satisfy NCLB requirements. (A separate article on the new proposed testing system will also appear in a separate article in next week’s edition.)

Once again, the school district will enter into the school year on solid financial footing.

McFall said that even with a reduction in SEEK funding this year, the district is financially stable and is operating on a conservative budget. “We’re watching things closer than in the past year, due to the budget cuts at the state and federal levels,” he said, adding the district has not had to suffer through any major staff cuts or other student services.

The superintendent also touched on the excessive heat the area has experienced up to now and said the district was prepared, with all buildings being fully air conditioned. The primary concern may be for students who ride buses home in the afternoons, since buses aren’t air conditioned.

McFall said he hoped the heat would break by the start of school next week, but added on days where excessive heat advisories were issued, students having to ride buses home in the afternoon would be supplied with bottled water for the ride home.

Director of Pupil Personnel Charlotte Bernard also noted that the annual, and popular, Back to School Bash, that was held at Mountain View Park on July 22, drew some 1,039 attendants. She attributed the high number to moving the event to the evening hours, with cooler temperatures and more people being able to attend.

The school calendar for the upcoming 2011-12 term is also similar to years past. The following is a run down on the tentative schedule for the upcoming school term:

* August 1: Work day/staff only

* August 2-5: Professional days/staff only

* August 8: Opening day/staff only

* August 9: Students report to classes

* September 5: Labor Day/no school

* October 10-14: Fall Break/no school

* November 8: (Election day), work day/staff only

* November 24, 25: Thanksgiving/no school

* December 19 through January 1: Christmas Break/no school

* January 16: Martin Luther King Day/no school

* February 20: Work day/staff only

* April 2 through 6: Spring break/no school

* May 14: Closing day/staff only

The last day for students is tentatively scheduled for Friday, May 11. However, this would be barring no missed days at all throughout the year. There are built-in days at the end of the calendar, from May 15 all the way up to June 7, if needed to make up days missed due to weather, illness, and so forth.

School officials are hopeful that there will be only a limited amount of days missed this year and always aim at ending classes for students prior to Memorial Day.

The following is the 2011-12 bus schedule for bus unloading, school start time and pick-up time at each school:

CCMS: Bus unload at 7:20, start time 7:40 and pickup at 2:32 p.m.

AES: Bus unload at 7:25, start time at 7:50 and pickup at 2:42 p.m.

CCHS: Bus unload at 7:30, start time 8 a.m. with pickup at 2:52 p.m.

ECC: Bus unload at 7:35, start time at 8:05 and pickup at 2:57 p.m.

There will be 173 instructional days, six hours and nine minutes instruction per day, 43 minutes for lunch, breakfast and breaks for a total school day of six hours and 52 minutes.

With the start of school, traffic will increase drastically in the morning and afternoon hours, and drivers are urged to slow down in school zones and use caution around the times the buses are loading and unloading to make the school year a safe one for all students.