BonnerSprings.com

A bit of dark news clouded the year-end report for Bonner Springs Elementary school during a presentation at Monday night's school board meeting.

BSE Principal Kim Mitchell spoke of her concern to the board regarding a popular attraction located just behind the school's playground.

Mitchell said her students had told her of "icky activity" going on in the skate park, which is located in South Park at 246 Shadyside St. Mitchell said the students didn't go into detail, but she said they found items on the school's playground that young children shouldn't see, including used condoms and empty beer bottles.

"I don't like it," Mitchell said Tuesday. "It's an elementary school."

Mitchell said the school's lead custodian, Neil Sexton, was "fabulous" at checking out the playground each morning before the students arrived to make sure it was safe and that nothing inappropriate was left or scrawled on the play equipment.

"I think it's great we have a skate park, and I'm not saying skaters do it," Mitchell said. "It's just a place kids hang out, and things happen."

Ideally, Mitchell would like to see the skate park moved to Lions Park, she said, where it would be more centrally located and "part of the community," instead of where it is now, next to a wooded area and stream, with no lighting at night.

If that is not possible, Mitchell said she'd like to see more lights installed around the skate park.

"I think police do a good job," she said. "I know they make a concerted effort to drive by frequently."

Mitchell said she hadn't yet called the police department about her concerns. As of Tuesday no one at the department could verify whether anyone else had complained about the kinds of activities described by Mitchell at or near the skate park.

As for the other parts of the year-end report, assistant principal Gayle Bertram said the school's new after-school tutoring model, which featured more teachers per pupil, worked to improve students' test scores.

Van Maren said the school's model would be adopted in the other two elementary schools.

The school's first year using the Expeditionary Learning curricular model was successful, Mitchell reported, and next year each teacher would be taking on an additional expedition, as the semester- or year-long class project that involve research and concepts relating to each grade subject are called.

Also, reported was the fact that one of the school's kindergarten classes had every student able to read by the end of the year, Mitchell said.

The school tallied 65 student incidents requiring disciplinary action for the 2006-2007 school year, involving 36 students.

"We had frequent flyers who turned in their miles often," Bertram said, noting that the 3 percent increase of the number of incidents last year was statistically insignificant.

"We've got a good group of kids," she said.

Mitchell said the state assessment scores were disappointing and were in part a result of the number of ESL students, which was just enough to make up what is considered under No Child Left Behind a subgroup, which the law requires make the same kind of progress as other students.

"We've got to find a better way to teach ESL students," Mitchell said, and to that end she's working with the district curriculum designer Leticia Porter.

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