Williamston Schools Update: Bond Progress, Tech Revamp, and Addressing Smart Devices in Classrooms

As we inch closer to the heart of the holiday season, there’s a lot to celebrate, especially considering the impactful changes on the horizon. Hosted by Dr. Christopher Lewis, the latest episode of the Hornet Hive podcast features insights from Dr. Adam Spina about the district's progress and upcoming initiatives. Here’s a comprehensive look into the updates that were discussed.

Community-Supported Bond: A New Dawn for School Infrastructure

Gratitude to the Community

Dr. Spina started by expressing his gratitude for the overwhelming support the community showed during the bond election in August. This bond, seen as a long-term investment in the schools, aims to set up students for future success.

Initial Projects Underway

From band instruments to classroom furniture, the bond encompasses a variety of projects thoughtfully planned to utilize taxpayer dollars effectively. One striking initiative is the replacement of outdated locker systems in middle and high schools, which are slated to be installed by summer 2025. The bond will also enhance athletic facilities, with significant investments in a new tennis court complex and an expedited renovation of the softball complex.

Revamping Technology: The New District Website

What to Expect

In addition to these structural developments, Dr. Spina revealed that a long-overdue update to the district’s website will finally go live in early January 2025. While the current website, which had been Dr. Spina’s pet project for years, served the community well, the new design aims to be more user-friendly and conducive to timely communication.

Transition and Training

The tech team is hard at work making the final adjustments and conducting training sessions for staff to ensure a smooth transition. Though there may be a few bugs initially, the district is committed to addressing these efficiently to provide a seamless user experience.

Smart Devices in Schools: Policies and Perspectives

The Challenge

Another focal point is the ongoing discussion about the impact of smart devices on adolescents’ learning and mental health. Reflecting on national and state-level discussions, Dr. Spina shared how the district implemented new policies to restrict device usage during school hours.

Collecting Community Feedback

In a move to engage the community in this crucial conversation, a series of surveys are being conducted to gather input from parents, students, and faculty. These insights will help shape future policies, ensuring they align with the community's perspectives and needs.

A Season of Gratitude and Community: Holiday Messages

Community Involvement

The holiday season provides a unique backdrop to witness the strong ties between the schools and the broader Williamston community. Students and staff actively participate in community programs, whether through performances, volunteer work, or festive events like the light parade.

Dr. Spina’s Wishes

Dr. Spina extended his heartfelt thanks for the continued support and shared his best wishes for the holiday season and the upcoming year. He anticipates 2025 to be a year filled with exciting developments that will further enrich the community and its schools.

Stay Connected

This episode serves as a reminder of the impactful changes occurring within Williamston Community Schools. Dr. Lewis encourages everyone to stay engaged, offering an open channel for feedback and inquiries. As we step into 2025, the community’s involvement remains crucial in shaping the future of our schools.

Stay tuned to the Hornet Hive podcast for more updates, and happy holidays from Williamston Community Schools!

 

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:19]:
Welcome back to the Hornet Hive. I'm your host, doctor Christopher Lewis, one of the members of the Williamston Community Schools Board of Education. Really excited to have you back again this week. And as always, I love having you here to be able to hear about the amazing things that are happening within our schools. And every once in a while, we have the opportunity to bring Doctor. Adam Spina back on to talk about, in general, kind of what's going on in our schools and talking about progress on different goals and and progress on different things. So I'm always excited to be able to have him back here to talk about that. And today we do have doctor Spina with us, so I'm really excited to have him here.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:59]:
Doctor Spina, thanks for being back again this week.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:01:02]:
Hi, Chris. Looking forward to providing some updates on things going on in the district as we approach the holiday season.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:08]:
I know one of the big things that you've been working on after we had the election in August was to really start moving forward with the bond, thanks to the support of our community. And I thought it might be a good time to have you give a little bit of an update on where things are at at this point.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:01:28]:
Well, I wanna reiterate by starting that with that. We continue to be greatly appreciative of the support of the community and their their overwhelming support of the bond and recognizing that these are important long term investments that are going to set up students for success for many, many decades to come. So with that said, being good stewards, this investment of taxpayer dollars is extremely important to me and all of our team here at the district to include, obviously, our our board of education. And so the last several months have really focused around thoughtful planning, mostly around the financial aspects of the bond in terms of we know the projects that have been identified, but working through the financial pieces to ensure that every dollar that's been allocated is used wisely and effectively. So a lot of that is stuff that's been going on behind the scenes, and it's complicated and involves a lot of time, but it's not anything anyone would see. So making sure we finalize the negotiation of our contracts with the architectural construction management firms that are in the best interest of the districts, of the district moving through the sale of the bonds, which we did very well on. We have posted a press release to the bond portion of the website if folks are interested in going in and and reading about that, but very positive outcome to the bond sale, very advantageous to our taxpayers here in the community, and the planning of the projects. And so if it's okay, I can give a quick update on on some of the initial projects that that people will see here starting this summer.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:03:01]:
Oh, it's exciting. And it's I know it's gonna be very exciting as we start to see things moving forward like that and being able to see those tangible aspects of the bond coming into action. So thanks for the update, and I know we'll be providing additional updates in the future. Are there specific examples of things coming, doctor, that you could provide for everyone that's listening?

Dr. Adam Spina [00:03:21]:
Some specific examples of some of the initial projects that we're working on. We have some that we're gonna do ourselves, take the lead on ourselves. And and one of the reasons we do that is it saves money paying a consultant to support those. So we're we're saving a significant amount of money by handling the planning and the arrangements for those. So examples would include, there was a substantial amount of money included in the bond proposal for band instruments and band supplies. And so we have passed that down to our band teachers in the district to kinda get a shopping list put together of what instruments, what materials and supplies they wanna prioritize for the band program. And then that'll go through the competitive bidding process as any other large purchase would. But letting them kinda start with making that, you know, what are the items that that are most important to those programs that they'd like to purchase.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:04:16]:
Same token with the classroom furniture for our high school and middle school, which was part of part of the bond. We completed an internal furniture audit, which involved going around to each classroom in those two buildings and then doing an assessment of what was already in place. We have some classrooms that have gotten new furniture over the last couple of years, but the majority of them have not. And so right now, our building principals at the 2 schools are leading an initiative to seek out vendors, collect a robust number of samples from different companies and different vendors, and allow our staff and students to go in and take a look at what's available and provide feedback on what they think would work best for particular classrooms or common areas in those two buildings. The goal for that will be to have the furniture ordered for this coming summer, again, after it goes through the bidding process and after the school board approves it so that students have access to that, new furniture starting with the 25, 26 school year. The following summer, we're looking at doing classroom flooring replacement, but we wanted to get the furniture done first, and so that's what we're focused on right now. Another project that we're gonna work on independently is adding, additional maintenance equipment or new maintenance equipment. And so that department is, again, similar to what our our VIN teachers are doing, taking the lead on that.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:05:35]:
And, again, that saves money by doing that component ourselves versus having a consultant come in. Projects that are, quite frankly, over our head that we're working on right now that we are using our partners for will be the replacement of the lockers at the middle school and the high school, with the exception of the newer wing at the the high school where those those lockers are fine, but they're remainder of building. So that has currently completed a site assessment, and we got our first drawing of the lockers about 2 weeks ago, so that's gonna be starting to move quickly as far as finalizing the specs on those, getting them bid out, and then again, the goal is to have those put in place this coming summer, summer of 2025. Another project that's seen considerable progress will be the replacement of the tennis court complex, which is located at the high school. We actually have a start date for that, which is May 14th. I know there were some questions on this about why we were starting it in May, and I probably could have done a better job of explaining that in my initial communication. The main reason is that that project is estimated to be 90 days in duration, And, again, that's subject to how much it rains and other weather concerns over the summer. So we tried to figure out a way to put this in to get it started right at the conclusion of our scheduled home events for spring sports.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:06:53]:
Unfortunately, though, because it's gonna involve the parking lot with staging equipment and materials in that parking lot, we will not be able to host season events this year at that complex. But as folks might recall, we hosted, I think, almost everything last year for spring sports playoffs. So having a down year without hosting, I think, is okay in the long run. And then that 90 days gets us right to the, like, almost the 1st week of fall sports starting. And so that's kind of the goal, to put it in place after all the scheduled home events for our spring sports, but have it completed before it starts to interfere with with practices and and competitions for fall sports, and that was the best way to squeeze it in selecting those dates. So it's a tight window, but, unfortunately, it's gonna be the first of many temporary inconveniences as these projects get going. And then the last project that we're spending a lot of time on right now is the softball complex. Originally, in, what was scheduled, this was not gonna start until the summer of 2027.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:07:50]:
We are really trying to push on our partners to get this completed earlier than that. And so while nothing is finalized, although we have seen the very first mock up of phase 1 of that project. We are optimistic, I would say, at this point that the first phase of our softball field renovations can actually start this coming summer, so summer of 2025. Currently, that looks like that'll include a new walking path and then a new dugouts and a press box, as well as redoing the infield, which was a a major concern and and one of the major reasons we emphasize the softball complex. The infield will have enhanced drainage, which will keep the girls from losing games when we have rain that pools on the field and and doesn't allow them to play, sometimes even a day or 2 after the rain, occurs. So that's the first phase that we're looking to hopefully get done next summer and more updates to follow on that. The following summer, summer of 2026, that's where the concession building and the restrooms and storage facility will be built, as well as any necessary infrastructure, sewer, water, etcetera, to to run out and support that. So softball should be completed by fall of 2026 versus not starting until 2027.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:09:07]:
And so, again, understanding that communities wanna wanna see tangible, visible progress on their investment, we really leaned into that one and and tried to get that project expedited. And then lastly, the main portion of the bond, which I know is the one that most people are talking about, is the construction of the new floor elementary and the the changes to the pick up drop off traffic flow. Planning for that is going to start at the beginning of the new year, so, winter 2025, and we look forward to to sharing more information with that about the community and gaining additional input on what that exactly will look like as we start to get some ideas from our partners in terms of what the layout what layouts are possible. So a lot going on with the bond. Really look forward to providing more information and continuing that open minded communication as we get more information and and sharing what's going on with all the members of our community.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:00]:
Appreciate you sharing that. And it is really exciting to be able to hear all of these pieces coming into action. And I know as they start to show up around the district, I think there's gonna be a lot of excitement that's going to be following that as well. And we'll continue to update all of you as things continue to move forward so that you have an opportunity to be able to know where those bond funds are going and how those are being utilized. And of course and of course, when things do get completed, we encourage you to visit, check it out. You know, when that new tennis court comes, you know, come and check it out. See how it looks in the end. But we're really excited to be able to be able to share all of this with you as things move forward.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:43]:
So thank you, doctor Spina. Now I know that there's been some other big behind the scenes type of work as it comes to technology. And one of the ways that we work really hard to be able to provide you with information, and one of the main ways that we do that is through the district website. And we've had the same website and the look and the feel of the website for a number of years. And on the back end, I know Doctor. Spina that the tech team has been working really hard to be able to revamp our website and put something new into action. Can you tell us about that project?

Dr. Adam Spina [00:11:14]:
So for the last several months, the work's been done behind the scenes on creating a new website. We originally had thought we wanted to launch it last summer, but with everything going on with the bond and other projects, it got postponed until now. We anticipate the new site will be launched the 1st week of January. We are currently working on training staff and making some final touches to the layout. We tried to go with a model that'll look as similar to the current layout of the current website as we could. So, obviously, there's gonna be design changes, but we tried to pick a layout that isn't completely foreign to folks that are used to finding things on the current site to the extent that we could. It's, a little bittersweet because the current website was kind of my pet project for many years, and it is becoming dated now, and and we do need to make an update. So saying goodbye to that is is a little tough, but the night the new site looks very nice, and I think will be easier to use on the back end and more conducive to providing timely communication information to, to visitors to the site, once that's launched.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:12:19]:
So keep an eye out for the new site, 1st week of January. Obviously, there's always gonna be some bugs and things that need to get worked out, but we'll be diligent about addressing those and look forward to sharing what we've come up with with everyone here in a few weeks.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:12:33]:
I'm really looking forward to seeing the vinyl product. I've seen some drafts, and I'm really excited to be able to say that it looks really amazing. And I'm excited for you to have the opportunity to be able to see it for yourself, interact with it, and be able to engage with the content very, very soon. Now doctor Spina, I know that over the past, there's been a lot of conversation at the board level about smart devices and the impact of smart devices within our schools and the impact on learning. And there's been some changes that have happened at both the middle and the high school level. And there's been a lot of news articles lately across the nation about the impact of these devices on learning. And we're currently gathering some data to be able to inform this process as well. Can you tell me a little bit about this whole consideration, what the board's been talking about, and share some of your own thoughts on where this may be going?

Dr. Adam Spina [00:13:33]:
So as you noted, the board has been actively involved in the research literature around the impact of smart devices, especially on adolescent learners. I would say last year plus going back to when it was first reviewed at the policy committee before prior to moving to the full board for conversation. So it's something that we've been engaged in for some time as a district governance team. But in addition to that, our administrative team and district leadership team has been very engaged in studying this and reading about it, for the last several years. I think and hope most of our community is aware that there is a lot of discussion at the state and national level around the impact of smart devices and social media on adolescents. You know, any given day, pull up in the, you know, a newspaper, or online media, and there there seems to be a new article published or a new book that's been released. In fact, our men admin team spent last summer in a book study on a on a recent publication focused on on this very topic. So we spent a lot of time reading about this, a lot of time thinking about it, and one of the tangible outcomes of that was last year, after a lot of conversation, the board of education directed our middle and high school to revamp their policy on smart device access during the school day.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:14:53]:
And what that resulted in was devices not being allowed in the classroom with some exceptions. There's always gonna be exceptions for medical reasons and other student specific, criteria. But generally speaking, that smart devices will not be allowed in the classroom at our high school. We're really focused on this as a mental health enhancement for our students, providing them more time to be separated from those devices and have more impactful interpersonal connections with their teachers and their peers versus being worried about what's on their phone as a distraction. At the middle school, it resulted in phones not being allowed throughout the day except during lunch. So where we're at right now is at the high school, students can have smart devices during passing time and lunch, and at the middle school, only at lunch time. The thought was to step back and see how those policies look before making any other potential decisions. And so at this point, what we're focused on is soliciting input from our community on the topic.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:15:53]:
And so there's a series of surveys that are out that will gain input from from parents of middle and high school students, from our high school students themselves, and from our staff and faculty at the high school. And it's a combination of looking at the effectiveness changes that might have come about from this new policy that's been in effect for 4 or 5 months now. And then more philosophically, what are their thoughts, on smart device access and social media as far as adolescents are concerned. The plan will be then to take those data, share those with the board of education, and give some broader context and multiple perspectives into what our community feels specifically about this issue and what next steps, if any, should be considered. So we're in the process of gaining those data, that feedback from our community, and again, it'd be presumptive at this point to kinda know where this is heading, but we are looking forward to seeing what those thoughts and perspectives are and and then kinda starting to have those conversations about what, if anything, happens down the road.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:16:54]:
Really appreciate you sharing that as well, and I encourage everyone to make sure that your voice is heard to be able to fill out those surveys and to get in your feedback, during the time that it's open. Finally, I guess, is really just an opportunity, doctor Spina, to say any final words in regards to the holidays as we get ready to finish off December and then move into the final few weeks of our first term of the year. But do you have anything that you'd like to say?

Dr. Adam Spina [00:17:25]:
Well, I always appreciate the close ties between the schools and the community, and I think it becomes very I mean, it's it's persistent all the time. I mean, it's just the way things work in Williamston, which is fantastic and unique. But it's especially noticeable during the holiday season as our staff and students are very much present in the community, supporting different organizations and different initiatives. The senior center, the food bank, the light parade. I mean, there's there's tons of examples, different holiday concerts. It's it's it's always great to see that relationship and those connections. And so, again, a great opportunity to celebrate not only holidays, but the close ties between the schools and the broader Williamston community are very evident this time of year. I'd also like to say thank you for for all the ongoing support, and best wishes over the holidays and into 2025, where there's gonna be a lot of exciting developments in the district.

Dr. Adam Spina [00:18:17]:
So again, my appreciation, support, and best wishes for the holiday season to all those in our community, and, very best, in 2025 and the year to come.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:18:28]:
I echo those sentiments and truly wish you all the best and encourage you to continue keeping in contact with us as we move into 2025. And, if you have any questions, concerns, thoughts, things that you're hearing here on the podcast or seeing on the new website or whatever it may be, stay in touch. Let us know what is going on. And if you've got questions, feel free to reach out because we definitely want to hear your voice and want to make sure that your questions are answered. So happy holidays from all of us in the Williamson Community Schools and the Hornet Hive, and we'll be back in the new year with more great content to be able to keep you connected with the amazing things that are happening within our schools.