“Why do I have to go to school? He gets to play with his (Nintendo) DS,” Galvan said.
Schnell, on Student Street south of the high school, has been a year-round school since 1973 when Schnell, former school principal and district superintendent, decided to keep the school open all year to offset school overcrowding.
“You had to come up with a way to accommodate the kids,” Principal Barb Gardecki said.
The district no longer has to keep Schnell open year-round to manage enrollment growth. Today district students and parents receive annual letters offering the “calendar choice option” exclusive to first to fifth graders attending Schnell.
While other schools follow traditional calendars, Schnell kids generally attend school 45 days, followed by 15-day breaks.
“It promotes achievement,” said Gardecki, the school’s principal since 1990. “It promotes flexibility for scheduling for families.”
“We believe we participate in more days of new learning. We spend less time in review.”
The school stresses 40 developmental assets, including peaceful conflict resolution and family boundaries. Last week, heart-shaped ornaments on a tree in the office featured teams formed to emphasize building relationships with actions that value others, or BRAVO.
Galvan said he enjoyed striving toward “learning targets” set for each student and monitored by teachers and learning coaches.
“You kind of have a goal to shoot at,” he said. “I know I’m going to miss this school.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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