Dewey heads back to school Wednesday

As teachers and students of the Dewey Public School District head back to class on Wednesday, they may have to wake up a bit earlier this year.

According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Wilkins, the start times at all schools will be 8:20 a.m. this year, which is 10 minutes earlier than last year. The school day will still end at 3:15 p.m.

State law and the State Department of Education require that students attend at least 1,080 hours of school per school year, he said. By adding this extra time to each school day, we are able to build in time that may be lost due to inclement weather or other unforeseen causes that would require school to be dismissed. If we miss school because of these unforeseen conditions or problems we will not be required to add extra days to our calendar.

In addition to the earlier start time, Wilkins said construction work is continuing across all buildings on the campus. The construction work is a result of a $6 million bond voters approved in 2013.

When students report on Wednesday of this week, the majority of the work inside each of our buildings will be mostly completed, he said. The middle school and high school will have a small amount of electrical and tile work that will be wrapped up later in the week, but all major work will be done.

According to Wilkins, there is still work to be done at the elementary school.

Construction will be continuing on the new entryway and offices at the elementary, he said. Because of this work, our office personnel will be relocated to various parts of the elementary until work is finalized. Students will need to use the northeast entrance to the elementary and the entry way between the elementary and the cafeteria. Anyone visiting the schools will be routed directly to the offices in each building to check in with office personnel.

Wilkins also said that the district will offer the EZ Pay system again this year to assist parents in easily paying for student lunches.

We began EZ pay last year as a way for our parent to pay for their students school meals., he said. This program is implemented as a convenience for our community. It ensures that parents money is credited to the proper accounts. Instead of parents sending cash or a check with a student, they can log on and pay online with a credit or debit card.

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Dewey heads back to school Wednesday