CHURUBUSCO, Ind. (Friday, March 12, 2010) – A fight between two teenage males today at Churubusco High School may result in charges being filed at the Whitley County Prosecutor’s office against one of the teens, who is reportedly 18 years of age.

According to one of the parents of the teens, he was called to the school after his son was reportedly involved in an altercation with another student. The parent said his son suffered a dislocated shoulder and was knocked unconscious, but the school had not called for medical assistance. It is still unclear as to whether or not a call had been made from school officials to local police for assistance.

*Update: Monday 03/15/2010 10:30 a.m.: According to Churubusco Police Department investigating officer, Melanie Crapser, misdemeanor charges of battery have been filed against the 18-year-old and filed with the Whitley County Prosecutor’s office.

School officials did contact police on the school radio, Crapser said, but did not contact local EMS.

“As I understand it, the boy’s (who was injured) father arrived at the school quickly and said he would transport his son to the hospital,” Crapser said.

The parent reportedly transported his son in his own vehicle to the hospital for treatment, stating his son was “bruised and battered.”

Eerily, on the same day, a DeKalb High School student in Auburn was reported to be in critical condition, and in the intensive care unit of a Fort Wayne hospital after being punched in the head by another student. For more of this story go to Wane TV.

Churubusco High School, part of the Smith-Green School Corporation, has a zero tolerance policy in effect and has said, in the past, that the school will not tolerate violence of any kind.

*Update: Monday 03/15/2010 11:30 p.m.:

The father of the 17-year-old juvenile who was injured in an altercation Friday at Churubusco High School with another CHS student said he was satisfied with an administrator’s promise to continue with a thorough investigation of the matter. An expulsion of the 17-year-old for “bullying” that was to begin tomorrow was temporarily suspended until the investigation is complete.

The boy and his father attended tonight’s school board meeting and were prepared to address the school board, but were asked to remain after the meeting and meet with Smith-Green Superintendent Steve Darnell, instead.

The boy’s father said he thought there had been a rush to judgment, and that he wanted to see the school provide some oversight, and at the same time, allow a thorough investigation that includes parental involvement.

“My son was knocked unconscious and did not fight back, other than to try and fend off blows and protect his face with his hands. His shoulder was dislocated and he was thrown against a locker so hard that the door sprung open,” he said. “The school nurse is not trained to deal with trauma of this sort, and the EMS was not called.”

The father of the 17-year-old arrived shortly after school officials called and told him that his son had been involved in an altercation at the school.

“I took my son to a hospital to be treated for his injuries,” he said, “because the school had not called an EMS.”

The parent added that the school also had neglected to call local police. “When I got there, I told the vice principal that I intended to file charges,” he said. “He said he could take care of that and picked up a school radio and called the local police. My question is, why weren’t they called immediately?”

A school hallway camera caught the entire incident on video. Misdemeanor battery charges have been filed against the 18-year-old who allegedly injured the 17-year-old.

A meeting of the proposal to reconfigure the schools at Smith-Green was held 10 days ago.

Letter to the Community:

Last week I attended the parent meeting at Smith-Green Community Schools’ cafeteria. it was there the SGCS administration presented its reconfiguration plan for the 6th grade to be moved back to elementary.

The administration states this plan is necessary because our sixth graders have such a hard time transitioning into junior high. They state that roughly 20% of our sixth graders are failing when coming into 6th grade, continue to fail, and eventually drop out. The “plan” is to move the sixth grade from the middle school to the west hallway of the elementary which now houses the third grade. The third grade would be moved to the hallway with the Kindergarten, fourth and fifth grades. John Davis would no longer be administration, stepping down as the Middle School principle and become a counselor focused on the lower 20% of students helping them to improve grades and stay in school. The Middle School would cease to exsist and SGCS would then consist of k-6 and 7-12 buildings. A second administrator in the elementary would be hired to assist Nicole Singer with the extra load of students. Two elementary computer labs and the elementary teachers’ lounge will be moved to the high school, as well as moving a sixth grade science lab and sound-proofing the new computer labs next to the HS music rooms. Mr. Darnell thinks the physical move will cost “approximately $20,000.”

Smith-Green Superintendent Steve Darnell listens to parents' concerns at the recent reconfiguration meeting.

So, essentually we will have half of the student body crammed into one third of the building. The sixth graders will no longer be roaming the halls with seniors, but our first graders will. We weren’t told exactly what would happen to the classrooms vacated by the sixth graders because we were only given half a map. The administration doesn’t even know what gym the sixth graders will use. So if they need to use the MS gym , they’ll have to make quite a trek. And I have yet to speak to an elementary or middle school teacher that is 100% behind this.

Do I think the sixth graders need some more TLC for their transition? Yes. My sixth grade son had a rude awakening this year. Do I think SGCS needs to do something about the graduation rate? Definately. Should John Davis be allowed to do what he is best at–counseling? Absolutely. Should we have to reconfigure the entire school to make that happen? Absolutely not. I am asking the school board to vote NO when this is presented to them at the December 7 meeting. There has to be other options, and I feel none other has even been considered. Please contact the school board members and let them know your opinion on this important matter. Please note that at the December 7 meeting you will be able to give opinions, but this is not a question/answer session. If you want to make your opinion known, you need to do so before Monday.

Richelle Bock
Churubusco, Ind.

By Kayla Crance for buscovoice.com

CHURUBUSCO, Ind. (Nov. 25, 2009) – School officials stressed that  a proposal for reconfiguring the school structure was not a done deal at a community meeting held Tuesday night, although a vote on the issue could come before the school board as early as Dec. 7.

It was the second such meeting regarding the reconfiguration and about about thirty people were in attendance, not including the administrators.

Steve Darnell, Smith-Green Schools Superintendent, began the meeting by introducing the proposal. Basically, the idea is to move the sixth graders to the elementary school.

Darnell stated that the program in place now is working for about 80 percent of the middle school students, but the other 20 percent seem to be falling through the cracks. After saying that 20 percent of the students who enter and leave the middle school are failing, a parent asked why we are focusing on the sixth grade and middle school when it should be addressed before the students even reach middle school.

Superintendent Steve Darnell listens to a parent's question on the proposed school reconfiguration.

Austin Couch, high school principal, then spoke on his reasons for being behind the plan. Couch believes that “artificial boundaries” have been placed on the students, that there are a lot of excuses, but not a lot of solutions as far as the school is concerned. He stated that there are two upstairs rooms in the high school that will no longer be ADA compatible so the high school will lose those classroom spaces.

Nicole Singer, elementary principal, explained a map given to those in attendance; the map showed what the elementary would look like after the reconfiguration. A room that is currently a computer lab would be transformed into another classroom for first graders. The sixth graders would be put in what used to be third grade classrooms; “this way they are off by themselves and somewhat isolated from the rest of the elementary school”, she said.

The high school study hall room would then be converted into computer labs for the elementary. In order for this to work, however, the choir room, band room, and possibly the auditorium would have to be soundproofed which the administrators stated could be done at “nominal cost.”

A parent suggested that altogether, this plan could cost about $100,000; that cost coming from converting the rooms and the hiring of an assistant principal for the elementary school.

John Davis, middle school principal, voiced his support for the plan and stated that he just does not have the time with the current setup to assist the 20 percent who are failing or that need help. The question was then raised as to why the school could not hire an assistant principal for the middle school to assist Davis.

“Why do we need to take such big steps, when we could take some baby steps first?” one parent asked.

Another asked if the administrators had considered any other options and how the teachers feel about reconfiguration. She stated that she has yet to speak to a teacher who is for the plan though the administrators stated otherwise.

Another question was whether or not the proposal would be ready by the first of the year for the school board to vote on; the concern being that there is not sufficient time to get the plan up and running should it be passed. The superintendent stated that the school board would be voting on whether or not to go forward with the restructuring as they do not want to waste the effort of coming up with the plan if it is not going to go through.

“This is not a done deal,” says Darnell, “We want what you want.”

At this point in time, there are no more meetings scheduled to discuss the proposal, but a vote on the configuration could be on the agenda for the school board meeting Dec. 7.

Story by Kayla Crance; Video, photos by Viv Sade

What do you think of the school’s reconfiguration plan? Email Kayla or Viv at editor@buscovoice.com or post your comments to this story below.

From our Whitley News Network partner, Talk of the Town

the "old" Columbia City High School, built in 1905, is just one of several schools located on the site that was chosen by Whitley County Consolidated Schools as the site of the New Tech high school. Below, West Ward School, was also located on this site.

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (Nov. 2009) — A site that has been linked with learning for the past 140 years will be part of the educational landscape for Whitley County’s youth in the future.
On Tuesday night, Nov. 17, after much discussion and weighing their options, the Whitley County Consolidated School Corporation board selected the Marshall Memorial building as the site of the New Tech high school project.
According to the records held by the Columbia City High School Alumni Association, the current Marshall Memorial site has been linked to education and transformation since the first local students began attending school in the West Ward building which was erected in 1869.
In 1880, the first two Columbia City High School students, Nathalie Mason Mullen and David Swan Linvill, began attending high school classes in the first West Ward building, which was located on the site one half block north of Van Buren Street between Elm and Walnut Streets in Columbia City. The first West Ward school building was erected in 1869. The first two students graduated from Columbia City High School in 1881. The original West Ward building, adjacent to the new West Ward school, was razed for the construction of a new high school facility.
In 1905, the first Columbia City High School was built and continued to house students until the “new” Columbia City High School was built at the present day location in the 1950s.
Later, the West Ward and “old” Columbia City High School buildings were razed and it was the site of Marshall Memorial School. The site continued to be used for elementary and middle school students.
As part of the consolidation process of Whitley Consolidated Schools, Marshall Memorial was no longer used as a school building, but became the home of the WCCS administrative offices and held the offices of Passages Inc. and CANI Headstart.
As part of the process to convert the building to a New Tech high school facility, the administrative offices will likely be relocated and all other organizations utilizing space in the facility will move elsewhere.
As we reported earlier this month, the New Tech high school project is expected to cost under $6 million and will involve renovations at the Marshall Memorial site. A target date of 2011 has been set to open the school.
A $1.9 million loan has been secured for the site and some expenses are expected to be offset by grant funding.