As public school systems face budget shortfalls, the Effingham Public School System has undertaken an aggressive program to cut energy costs this year, and through various energy projects they will achieve at least a 25.67% cut in costs for the 2009-2010 year. The system retained Energy Education, Inc. beginning in 2008 to go after potential savings.

From Feb. 2008 through Dec. 2009, the system had expected to spend $4,532,437, but instead spent $3,368,803, saving $1,163,634 to date, according to Director of Administrative Services, Dr.Slade Helmly, who supervises the energy manager.
Superintendent Randy Shearouse has ordered a 40-day shutdown of the heating and cooling systems in the schools for the summer from June 5 through July 11. The buildings will not be completely without  AC, however, as units will be run for dehumidifcation purposes about two hours a day to insure indoor air quality issues, according to Helmly.

Effingham’s schools will close early this year on May 14, helping to conserve, but primarily aimed at cutting personnel and bus fuel costs.

While Ad valorem property tax collection has been strong in January and February in Effingham County, the Board’s year-to-date losses for 5 months of operations as of November 30, 2009 were over $12 million in the General Fund.
The large tax collection in December and January, however, has reduced those losses by more than $10 million with 7 months of losses coming in at minus $1,987,694 in General Fund, according to the school board.  The additional cost reduction steps initiated by the Superintendent, including the energy conservation program, are aimed at addressing continued reduction in funding by the Georgia Department of Education.

The five day cut from the system's academic calendar is projected to save $1.18 million in salaries, bus fuel and energy. Teachers have also been furloughed another three days during the Spring semester – the were furloughed three days during the Fall.

Overall, the Effingham schools are cutting 1.5 percent of total budget, but will still have enough instructional hours for the 2009-2010 school year to meet the State’s educational requirements.

Other Effingham School Board News
The Effingham Elementary schools have submitted their CRCT intervention plans. Implementation of plans began for all schools no later than February 22, 2010. Plans are being developed for post-administration remediation efforts for those students not meeting standards and who will retest prior to the last week of school.
* * *
Training of all elementary school faculty that will administer the kindergarten readiness test concluded March 2, 2010. The revised test is now vertically and horizontally aligned to Pre-K, Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS) and GPS standards, respectively.
* * *
There was a 28 percent participation rate for the parents of K-12 students that attended the February 10 and 11 parent-teacher conferences.

Mrs. Arulyn Jackson from the Effingham School District has been named to the Georgia Department of Education’s statewide Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC.)

Effingham was selected as one out of 30 school districts in the state to have the opportunity to nominate a parent to serve on this first statewide group.

Mr. Yancy Ford and his staff were given the opportunity to nominate a parent from their school. Mrs. Arulyn Jackson was nominated by the school staff and selected by the Georgia Department of Education to serve on the PAC. She along with other selected parents will meet two times this year with State Superintendent Kathy Cox to discuss education in Georgia with a specific focus on how to increase parent and family engagement to ensure student success.

The parents will get an opportunity to provide feedback and input on new policies, projects, and materials that influence students and their families. PAC members also serve as advisors and act as ambassadors, sharing the information they’ve learned with members of their communities, other families and local schools.

For parents wishing to register their students for the myriad of specialty education programs offered by the Savannah Chatham Public Schools, a series of deadlines are approaching.

Open Houses were held in February, but parents can still register students up until April 14 for the 2010-2011 academic year for any of the programs available.

Programs include the Traditional with Core Knowledge program at Hodge Elementary School and the International Baccalureate (IB) Middle School program held at Southwest Middle School. Also available is the Medical, Allied Health & Biomedical Research & Development taught at Beach High School and the Medical & Allied Health program at DeRenne Middle School.

At Bartow Elementary School, students can apply for the Math, Technology, and Design program, and at Heard Elementary School, the Advanced Learning with Core Knowledge program.

The Early College program is offered at the Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School, and at Johnson High School there is the IB Diploma Programme, also offered at Windsor Forest High School.

Visual and Performing Arts is offered at the Esther F. Garrison School of Visual & Performing Arts and Savannah Arts Academy High School.

The IB Middle Years Programme is available at Coastal Middle School, and the School of Law & Criminal Justice program is available at Savannah High along with the school system’s School of Liberal Studies and School of Mass Communication.
Marshpoint Elementary School offers the IB Primary Years Programme as does Largo-Tibet Elementary Schoo,  and Bartlett Middle School offers the Center for Advanced Learning curriculum.

A Montessori educational approach is offered at Coastal Empire Montessori  Charter School and theCharles Ellis Montessori Academy.

Hubert Middle School offers the Career & Technical education program and Jenkins High School offers Engineering.
The system’s new high school at Whitemarsh Island will offer Biological/Environmental Science.

Specialty applications are available at the school of choice and must be received at that school by 12:00 p.m, April 14, 2010. A lottery will be held on April 23 at 2:00 p.m. at each school site.  Notification letters will then be mailed to parents by April 28 and must be accepted by May 18.

Georgia Southern University’s Undergraduate Game Design Program in its College of Information Technology has been ranked one of the top 50 in the United States and Canada by The Princeton Review.

“This ranking by The Princeton Review highlights the ground-breaking education our students receive in the College of Information Technology,” according to Ron Shiffler, dean of the College of Information Technology. “As one of the only colleges of its kind in the Southeast United States, we are preparing students for work in a field that will have global impact and opportunities for decades to come.”

The Princeton Review selected Georgia Southern’s program for its Top 50 after reviewing more than 500 similar programs in the United States and Canada.  The Princeton Review made its selection after interviewing faculty members and assessing factors that include the curriculum, college facilities and infrastructure, financial aid, and career opportunities. The rankings will appear in the April edition of GamePro magazine.

“Game design professionals are increasingly in demand, but the industry remains a competitive one,” said Shiffler. “Pursuing a degree from a University ranked among the best by a publication the caliber of The Princeton Review will be one more way our graduates stand out once they reach the job market.”

In addition to its top-ranked game design program, Georgia Southern’s College of Information Technology also offers one of only ten VMware academies in the world where students can graduate certified in VMware virtualization technology. The college also offers a highly sought-after SAP certification. Both allow students to graduate with more hands-on training than some already working in the industry, and saves future employers thousands of dollars in training costs.