P-W Schools Gateway

Board members for Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools passed a resolution with details for the 2012-13 kindergarten at Monday night's meeting. Students in the kindergarten program will be attending school on a full-time basis, meaning all day, every day. For those enrolled in developmental kindergarten, the students will stay on a similar schedule to the 2011-12 school year and attend on an alternate day format.

The change within the kindergarten programming was precipitated by the change in funding structure in the proposed State Aid budget for next year. The option of expanding the developmental kindergarten program to full-time was discussed as well, but not selected at this time.

“Both options will cost us more, but we believe this is in the best interest of our youngest students at this time,” said superintendent Jason Mellema. “DK's alternate day format is currently being offered by our experienced staff. They have adjusted the curriculum to maximize learning, and our research is showing students are being successful. Also, we are excited about offering full-time kindergarten, as it will provide students with an even more solid foundation to succeed in future years."

Discussion followed about evaluating the program annually to ensure this set-up continues to meet the needs of our students and the community within the scope of future budgets. Mellema expected an additional cost of approximately $190,000 annually to implement the new programming.

Why P-W?

Because P-W School District is a TRIPLE-A Program!

Academics:

Current State Champion, 4th Grade Math and HS Graduation Rate, according to Bridge Magazine.
"Beating the Odds" Designation by the Michigan Dept. of Education.
Average ACT Score of 22.4, among the highest in the area.
Pewamo Elementary MEAP scores ranked 1st in the entire state (out of 1700 elementary schools) 2008-09 & 2009-10.
Silver Medalist (one of the top 500 schools in the USA), according to US News & World Report.
Teachers with an average of 15 years of experience, with 70% of teachers with Masters Degrees or better.

Arts:

The 2011 P-W Band received first place honors at the DeWitt Invitational, and nearly swept all awards, as well as achieving straight "ones" at the annual Marching Band festival.
The P-W Drama Program was awarded several "Tommy" Awards (high school version of the "Tony's").
P-W Art and Woodshop students continue to earn many awards at county and state fairs and competitions.
Recent P-W alumni participating with MSU and U of M Marching Bands.

Athletics:

2011 Multiple Individual State Champions in Girls and Boys Track.
2011 State Runner-Up in Football, Girls Track and Competitive Cheer.
2011 Regional Champs in Girls Basketball.
2011 District Champs in Volleyball and Baseball.
2011 CMAC Champs in Football, Boys Track, Boys Cross Country, Girls and Boys Basketball, Volleyball.
Many recipients of the CMAC Scholar-Athlete Awards each year.

The Pewamo-Westphalia School district is currently undergoing an email change. You can contact P-W staff members at:(lastname)@pwschools.org If this does not work, please try the first initial before the last name. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Our staff directories have been updated with the correct email addresses.

For complete athletic and event schedules, visit http://www.highschoolsports.net

Note: For the most current updates on cancellations, call the P-W Hotline at 989-587-5175.

District Mission Statement:

The Mission of Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools is to equip all Students with the knowledge, skills and motivation that enables them to direct their own lives and to contribute to a changing global community by providing a variety of learning experiences in a partnership with the community to meet each student's needs as defined by his or her education goals.

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