I-Pads & Dual Language Indicate Success For Bruce Drysdale Elemtary School

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I-Pads & Dual Language: New Things This Year At Bruce Drysdale Elementary School

This time one year ago, Henderson County school board members and the school system’s administrative team were all scratching their heads…wondering what they could do to improve things at Bruce Drysdale Elementary School. Neither educators nor parents were satisfied with the way things were going at the school. A number of approaches had been tried including transforming Bruce Drysdale into a “year around” school.

Serious consideration was being given to consolidating Bruce Drysdale with the Hendersonville Elementary, another “year round” school. Much of the reaction from parents and others to the consolidation idea was negative.

After about a year of collecting comments and opinions, collecting information and data, and looking at many possibilities, county school officials ruled out the consolidation option…and began a course of adding new things and trying some new ideas.

The Assistant Superintendent, Bill Parker, and the Bruce Drysdale Principal, Christine Smith, both say the new things appear to be working…and working well.

One of the new things is a dual language program that starts at the kindergarten level. The students are learning to read, write, speak, and do math in Spanish as well as English. Principal Smith says that dual language policy will go with the students all the way through all their elementary years at Bruce Drysdale.

Another innovation is putting today’s new technology in the hands of the students at the school. Teachers and other staff members at Bruce Drysdale are using I-Pads…and with the start of the current school year, all third grade students were given I-Pads. Like dual language, Principal Smith said the I-Pads would accompany the students all the way through their learning experience at Bruce Drysdale. She told WHKP News that it’s amazing and exciting to watch all the constructive and educational things these young students are doing with their I-Pads.

Assistant Superintendent Parker says he makes regular visits to the school, and has witnessed the progress and students and the school are making and all the exciting and innovative things they’re doing.

It is assumed that all the things the school system is now doing at Bruce Drysdale will be carefully and regularly monitored and evaluated to verify that the progress the school apparently is now making is substantial and on-going.

By WHKP News Director Larry Freeman

5pm 11/05/12