Hornet Hive Podcast
This article was last updated on: July 4th of 2021.
The Hornet Hive Podcast logo. Notice how it is simply the WHS athletic logo with some text on it.
"It's always fun to be able to catch up with our superintendent on everything that is happening within our district."
- Dr. Christopher Lewis during episode 19, 01/15/21.
| Article Guide | |
|---|---|
| 1. Episode One | 2. Episode Two |
| 3. Episode Three | 4. Episode Four |
| 5. Episode Five | 6. Episode Six |
| 7. Episode Seven | 8. Episode Eight |
| 9. Episode Nine | 10. Episode Ten |
| 11. Episode Eleven | 12. Episode Twelve |
| 13. Episode Thirteen | 14. Episode Fourteen |
| 15. Episode Fifteen | 16. Episode Sixteen |
| 17. Episode Seventeen | 18. Episode Eighteen |
| 19. Episode Nineteen | 20. Episode Twenty |
| 21. Episode Twenty-one | 22. Episode Twenty-two |
Lore
The Hornet Hive Podcast is a podcast available on Stitcher and Libsyn Directory hosted by Dr. Christopher Lewis and typically guest starring Dr. Adam Spina, the superintendent of WCS. The podcast provides information and insight on events happening in Williamston Community Schools, and also discusses future plans for the school district. The first episode likely aired sometime in January of 2018, and the most recent episode aired on February 4th of 2020. Episodes run for anywhere from 9 - 31 minutes. Episodes are not aired on a weekly, bi weekly, or even monthly basis. As far as we can tell, there is no pattern to when episodes are uploaded, other than they are typically uploaded sometime after important school board meetings. Despite the usual total incompetency when it comes to communicating with the students, this podcast is quite informative and can be found on the school website, however the podcast is probably not made for students. It is unclear how many people actually listen to this podcast, but there are a grand total of one public comments and no ratings, so we can assume overall viewership is low. There are currently 21 episodes of the Hornet Hive Podcast. In recent times, podcast episodes have been getting longer and have featured new staff members in each episode.
The reason why the Hornet Hive Podcast is included in the Willemstan Wiki, despite not having any real connection to Willemstan, is it provides a wealth of information regarding Williamston Community Schools. The summaries will not illude to future events, and will be written as if they were made shortly after the podcast episode aired.
It is worth noting that some of the thumbnails for each episode may seem wrong, out of order, and/or duplicated. This could be because the episodes were uploaded in the wrong order, or maybe whoever made the thumbnails just mixed them up and/or lost track of how many episodes there are. I think the later is more likely, because judging by the content of each episode, they seem to be in the correct order. In order to standardize this mess, I will be listing the episodes just like they are on the website, which is in order of appearence (publication date). I will be matching the episodes with the thumbnail that was given to the episode.
Hornet Hive Podcast Countup
It has been roughly:
since the last Hornet Hive Podcast episode was released.
Episode One - "Grants, Library Move & Restorative Justice - EP1"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"We continue to experiment with new ways to better communicate with stakeholders. Dr. Christopher Lewis and Dr. Adam Spina have produced a simple podcast with a summary of the Board of Education Meeting from 22 January. Topics include the Dart Foundation Grant, the potential Williamston CADL branch move, and the recently approved Restorative Justice policy. Click the link below to listen. Any feedback is always appreciated!"
Summary:
This episode was uploaded on August 11th of 2018 and was ~13 minutes long. It was recorded in January of 2018.
- The episode begins with Dr. Christopher Lewis introducing himself as a trustee on the Board of Education of Williamston Community Schools.
- This episode begins with Dr. Lewis refering to a board meeting on January 22nd.
- WCS recived an "almost $130,000 grant" from the Dart Foundation for the STEAM/STEM (Science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) Initiative. This is possibly how the WHS Robotics Team recived its initial funding, but that is just speculation.
- $20,000 of the funding was used to provide STEAM Lab materials for the elementary school.
- $25,000 of the funding was used to pay for additional "high end science materials", including a 3d-printer, for the middle school's STEAM Lab and science classrooms.
- $36,000 of the funding was used for the creation of two "innovation labs" for the middle school.
- Unspecified amount of the funding was used to purchase 120 chromebooks over two years and 35 "high end graphing calculators" for the high school.
- The Williamston CADL, which was located in the old high school, was described by Spina as "not being up to par with the libraries in other communities".
- Spina discussed a proposal that would move the Williamston CADL to the Media Center at Williamston Middle School. Accoring to Spina, the Media Center had been understaffed and underutilized for over a decade.
- The move would allow CADL - Williamston to expand its capacity of 10,000 items to 26,000 items because the WMS library is much larger.
- Spina hinted at the possibility that the Media Center space would be renovated should the move occur.
- If the move were to occur, the three doorways into the Media Center would be sealed, which would cut off the proposed CADl from the rest of the building.
- "Policy 8190" was proposed, a new behavior code that would encourage students to take responsibility for their actions (poor decisions) by allowing the student to talk with those they have effected with a mediator such as a school councilor. This would increase transparency and would be an alternative to suspensions.
- Spina ends the podcast by plugging his email, phone, and the superintendents blog.
Episode Two - "Transportation, School Safety & The CADL Library Move - EP2"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"This podcast includes updates on transportation, school safety, and the pending Williamston Libary relocation initiative."
Summary:
This episode was uploaded on August 11th of 2018 and was ~13 minutes long. It was originally recorded on March 5th of 2018.
- Bridge Magazine crowned WCS as one of the "2018 Academic Champions". Spina claims this achivement was impressive because WHS grew from an already high academic score.
- Spina sheds some insight on the new Innovation Labs at the middle school. These labs are being paid for by the Dart Foundation Grant and community organizations. The two labs are being built in unused classrooms, which will be renovated and become "showcase classrooms".
- New buses were introduced to the school district in order to replace three buses with "deficiencies". WCS rented three buses from Okemos as a replacement, but now four new buses will be leased until a long term plan can be worked out sometime during the 2018-2019 school year.
- After 8 months, a new mental health plan is expected to be rolled out during the 2018-2019 school year.
- The school board decided to support the CADL move to Williamston Middle School. The City Council of Williamston, WCS School Board, and CADL Board now all support the move.
- The move was described by Spina as a lease agreement, which means WCS is getting some sort of financial benifit off of this arrangement.
- A transition plan still needs to be developed.
- The episode concludes with the Spina and Lewis plugging a few professional videos recently created that show off Williamston Community Schools.
Episode Three - "Sinking Fund And School Safety - EP3"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"The Board of Education is currently considering a proposal to allow voters to amend the District’s existing Sinking Fund. The proposal would not result in a tax increase, it would only replace and extend our current Sinking Fund so that it can also be utilized for school safety enhancements. This is a concept I proposed to the Board after receiving numerous articles of correspondence and phone calls from parents, community members, and staff over the last several weeks regarding the safety of our schools. It also comes as a result of listening to student questions and concerns and feedback from security experts who have conducted inspections of our schools. As I have mentioned many times, our existing Sinking Fund has been an invaluable financial asset. WCS has traditionally invested a much higher than typical percentage of our state foundation allowance in the classroom. This has resulted in WCS being recognized by the Department of Education as one of the best fiscally managed districts in Michigan. Over time, however, our dedication to investing in the classroom came at the expense of supporting infrastructure and facilities. The current Sinking Fund has effectively filled this void by allowing for emergency repairs as well as much needed facility upgrades to roofs, boilers, air conditioning systems, doors, and other similar items, without having to divert resources from academic programs. Learn more about what has been accomplished thus far here. When our original Sinking Fund was passed, the only legally eligible expenditures were for facilities repairs or upgrades. In 2016, the law was changed so that schools could use Sinking Fund dollars for safety enhancements. In order to do this, voters must approve via a new ballot proposal. If approved by the Board, the revised Sinking Fund proposal would be on the August 7, 2018 ballot. Read the proposed ballot language currently under consideration by the Board of Education here. Should this proposal pass, the current 1 mil Sinking Fund will become eligible to be utilized for safety enhancements throughout the District. We have partnered with a variety of law enforcement, security, and emergency managers to conduct vulnerability assessments of our buildings. The revised Sinking Fund will allow WCS to address those needs while continuing to simultaneously repair facility deficiencies. It cannot be utilized for employee salaries, benefits, or other operational costs. All Sinking Fund expenditures are audited to ensure transparency. If the proposal is not adopted or does not pass, the current Sinking Fund stays in effect, but could not be used to address security or safety vulnerabilities. I’ve been asked, as a Superintendent, what keeps me up at night. The safety of our students is the answer to that question. In order to ensure you have accurate information on how the current Sinking Fund can be amended to include safety enhancements to our schools, please do not hesitate to contact me..."
Summary:
This episode was uploaded on August 11th of 2018 and was ~12 minutes long. It was orignally recorded sometime in March-June of 2018.
- Dr. Lewis brings up the Sinking Fund and how it has been used in the past to fund new roofs and new heating systems.
- When the Sinking Fund was originally established, the law restricted its use so that it could only be used to improve existing infrastructure such as the above.
- In 2016, the legislator expanded the use of the sinking fund to include saftey enhancements to school buildings.
- The Sinking Fund was now up for renewal at the time of this podcast, which means the school board had been considering expanding the sinking fund so it can be used to enhance school safety measures. Basically the renewal now had a chance to apply the changes made in 2016 if the school board desired.
- The Sinking Fund had a budget of $1,000,000 at this point and would continue to for "many more years" according to Spina.
- Spina claims the school uses security teams to determine security vulnerabilities, and that the sinking fund could be used to patch these vunerabilies if the measure passes.
- This measure would also "reset" the Sinking Fund and allow it to last until 2029.
- Spina plugs Mr. Robert Watson's "Hornet Happenings" blog. Mr. Watson has been the principal at Williamston Middle School since the 2017 - 2018 school year.
- Dr. Lewis finishes the episode by requesting ideas for a "fun name" for their podcast. All suggestions were to be emailed to Dr. Spina. At this point it was called the "Williamston Community Schools Podcast".
Episode Four - "Arts, Awards and Middle School Changes - EP4"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"In this episode of the Hornet Hive we discuss the Spring Fine Arts Fest where children from all ages were brought together to celebrate the music that we offer within our schools. Our schools have also received a number of awards including rankings from the State and what is wonderful is that all of this recognition are well-rounded. The Middle School is also going to be going through some changes. The Middle School library will become the new Capitol Area District Library for Williamston and it will be open in June. Also at the Middle School the innovation labs are still working forward. There will be two labs, one in the 6th grade wing and one in the 7th grade wing. There is a responsible learning lab that will be more conducive for learning for students that need this extra assistance. Finally, there will be a Student lounge and book room that will take books for the existing library into a space for kids to explore."
Summary:
This episode was uploaded on August 14th of 2018 and was ~9 minutes long. It was orignally recorded sometime in March-June of 2018.
- The podcast begins with Spina and Lewis describing the Fine Arts Fest. ~1,000 people attended.
- Dr. Lewis mentions that they were recording this episode in the middle school library and that it will soon "not be the middle school library in the future, it will actually be the new Williamston Capital Area District Library."
- The CADL move was finalized and will be complete by the end of June (2018).
- The two Innovation Labs were "half way done" at the time of this episode.
- A completly rennovated "Responsible Thinking Classroom" (RTC) was completed. The RTC room at the middle school used to be in the Media Center, but with CADL moving in, it had to be relocated. It would also be used for tutoring. "New carpet, new painting, the room just looks phenomenal." - Dr. Spina. Funny how the school spent so much money furnishing the RTC room of all places.
- A student lounge / book room was developed using some materials from the library.
- Computers from E42 were added to a different computer lab in the middle school.
- Dr. Spina has begun to email his Superintendent's Blog directly to parents, instead of just through the district website.
Episode Five - "CADL Library, Safety & Security, Sinking Fund & More"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"In this episode of the Hornet Hive we explore the new CADL Library, Safety & Security, Sinking Fund & More."
Summary:
This episode was uploaded on August 14th of 2018 and was ~14 minutes long. It was originally recorded on June 12th of 2018.
- Dr. Lewis begins the episode by saying "Welcome back to the Hornet Hive". This probaly means the name for the podcast had been chosen by this point.
- Dr. Lewis also says "we wanted to make sure you were up to speed with everything that is happening within our schools as you move into your summer". This likely means this episode was recorded on an earlier date and was reuploaded on August 14th. This was proven when Dr. Spina mentioned the date was June 12th.
- CADL began the transition to the media center around June 12th and began rennovating the space. Judging by this, it seems the move is on schedule. Spina expected major rennovations to take place in December-January.
- The Innovation Labs at the middle school are mentioned once again. The space was scheduled to be painted during the week of this podcast, most of the technology and furniture has arrived or was set to arrive soon.
- The new book room, rtc room, etc. are all ready to go. A new custodial office was finished as well.
- Dr. Spina mentions a new roof will be installed over the pre-school, as well as a new boiler at Explorer Elementary. This is thanks to the sinking fund and will be completed over the summer.
- An expert in loss prevention had inspected the buildings in Williamston Community School and delivered a report to the school board. Dr. Spina claims the assessment confirmed what the board already knew, but also revealed new information. There have been many assessments over the years.
- A comprehensive mental health program is still being considered and will be implemented next year.
- The Sinking Fund extension proposal was still ongoing and was on the ballot.
- Dr. Spina discusses the possibility that WCS will move towards keycard identification and id badges to increase the saftey measures at WCS.
- Dr. Lewis brings up VLAC (Virtual Learning Academy Consortium). It's a new initative released last year (2017) and provides an online curriculum. Spina claims it will be offered again for the 2018-2019 school year.
Episode Six - "Summer Changes & Momentum For an Amazing New Year"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today, Dr. Spina and Dr. Lewis talk about all of the changes that happened over the summer to prepare the district for the new school year. They also talk about new staffing, safety and security within the school district, new technology that will be available for home-bound students and more. They speak about momentum and the positive strides the district has accomplished within the last year and the positive momentum that the district is on for the upcoming year!"
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on August 26th of 2018 and was ~18 minutes long.
- At the elementary schools, the roof repair over the PreK and Discovery was completed over the summer and "will save the district a lot of money" because it is energy efficient.
- The new boiler at Explorer was also installed over the summer, and was described as another long term money saver by Spina.
- The Innovation Lab opening ceremony was conducted recently.
- Many security upgrades were put in place at the middle school over the summer. This was because the Sinking Fund was sucessfully revised and renewed, and as a result for the next 10 years the district can spend sinking fund money on security and school safety.
- These upgrades included five new security cameras and an upgradable keycard reader. The later was mentioned in the last episode.
- The "vestibule-style entrance" at the middle school was also completed. This will be implemented in other buildings in the future according to Spina.
- These upgrades will serve as prototypes and if things go well they will be implemented in other buildings.
- The CADL completed their move in June. The library was shut down for a few weeks until the move was completed.
- CADL - Williamston was still planning to renovate the space come the winter as discussed last episode.
- The exterior signs were updated at Williamston High School to match the other buildings.
- A "single-user shower facility" was installed in the high school and replaced the family changing room at the pool. According to Dr. Spina, this was highly requested by the community.
- Dr. Lewis thanked everyone for going out to vote to renew and amend the sinking fund.
- Dr. Spina describes how the school "agressivly marketed" the district's academic success in order to resolve WCS' financial issues that were caused by an enrolment decline that lasted during much of the decade. Spina credits this and smart financial management and claims that the district will reach a 5%+ fund balance shortly. For reference, a "fund balance" is the money a school district has leftover after all expenses from a school year. This is very important because of the placement of count days. Note, this is not exactly a budget surplus. You see, WCS has two count days spaced throughout the year that account for the vast majority of the school district's funding. Due to the fact that the first count day is not on the first day of school, the school district has to take out loans to keep the schools running until the first count day hits. The greater the fund balance, the better, because this is "extra" money the school has at the start of the year, and thus less money they have to take in the form of a loan, which then means the school is paying less interest over time.
- Enrolment has "exploded" this year according to Dr. Lewis, which has lead to new staff. 21 new people were hired. (New bus drivers, new custodians, new instructional staff, etc.) A school phycologist, and two speech and language pathologists were hired for the first time in the school's history.
- "The theme of this year is momentum". This refers to the grownth in academic success, renovations, and the hiring of good staff that has occured since last year (2017).
- Dr. Spina discusses how MSU has brough what is essentially a robotic student to the table. This is a robot that can be operated at home so a student who is absent for an extended period of time can use the robot in order to continue learning at school. One of these robots is being provided to the district at no cost. "The robot is just really really cool." - Dr. Spina.
Episode Seven - "Enrollment Growth, Fund Balance, Restorative Justice & the Be Nice Program -"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"This week we speak about enrollment growth, the district fund balance, restorative justice and the Be Nice program. All-in-all we have some amazing programs that everyone should try."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on October 5th of 2018 and was ~13 minutes long.
- This video was recorded a week after the first count day.
- Using data from the count day, the administration projects that 1890 students attend Williamston Community Schools. This was good news because the board's original projections estimated 1809 students. This means enrollment was higher than expected.
- Spina claims this was the second year in a row that the district has seen increased enrollment. He claims this grownth is assocated with the marketing plan discussed last episode, and so the district intends to continue that strategy.
- Dr. Lewis and Dr. Spina bring up the fund balance and the 5% goal discussed last episode. Spina brings up the 2011 - 2012 economic recession, and that it impacted Williamston Community Schools because the enrollment declined, thanks to the population declined in mid-Michigan.
- Spina further explains that the school board spent nearly all of the fund balance to maintain the existing class sizes and staff, rather than increase class sizes and decrease staff in order to save money. Spina claims the fund balance had dropped to almost 1% because of this, "which put us at the very bottom of the state in terms of having that savings account there".
- Once the worst of the recession passed over, the school board had set a goal to raise the fund balance to 5% over three years. However, current projections (as discussed last episode) show that WCS is on track to complete this goal in only two years. Spina says the current projections are at least 5.2% by June of 2019. "Everything's looking really good at this point regarding the fund balance." - Dr. Spina.
- Dr. Lewis brings up the restorative justice program at the middle school. This was the initiative started "last spring" and was discussed in previous episodes. It basically builds upon the "responsible thinking process" (RTC system) and gives "a student the opportunity to talk face to face who they wronged" when possible.
- Dr. Spina talks about "Be Nice", which is a comprehensive mental health program paid by federal grant. Spina plans for it to be lead by one of the district's social workers, and have it implemented in Williamston High School first. However, he mentions that one of the strengths is that it can become a program lead by students to help other students.
- The overall M-Step results from last spring (Spring 2018) are under analysis by the school board, but Dr. Spina has some initial results to share.
- The first is that 72% of third grade students at WCS were proficient in English Language Arts, ranking the district in second place in the county.
- Secondly is that 82% of third grade students at WCS were proficient in math, "way ahead of all other districts".
- Third, Williamston Community Schools placed in the top three for every grade level.
- Dr. Lewis announces that the podcast is finally available on itunes and sticher.com. It is probable that this move took place in early August, as that was when the earlier episodes were reuploaded.
Episode Eight - "Sports, Arts, Grants, Safety and more"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive podcast, Dr. Adam Spina, Superintendent of the Williamston Community Schools and Dr. Christopher Lewis a Trustee on the WCS Board of education talk about fall sports, arts, new grants with the district that will help enhance school safety and a bit more."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on November 13th of 2018 and was ~12 minutes long.
- Dr. Spina and Dr. Lewis talk brefily about the various sports teams in Williamston Community Schools, mentioning the success of the girls swim and dive team, the football team, and more.
- Dr. Spina talks about the Curtains musical at the high school, the marching band, and mentions his appreciation for the arts staff.
- "We continue to throw our name in the ring everytime we can find a grant." - Dr. Spina.
- They mention that the District recived a grant of over $110,000 to be used on safety enhancements. This was a part of the "Michigan State Police Competitive School Safety Grant".
- Spina says that the Sinking Fund wont "come online" until July 1st (of 2019), so the District will use the new grant to get some safety improvements done in the meantime.
- The Williamston Community Schools District is now a "MI HEARTSafe School", a program that helps prepare schools for a cardiac emergency.
- Dr. Spina mentions a new school safety initiative where the school district moves away from the traditonal "shelter in place" practice, instead adopting "Run, Hide, Fight".
- Dr. Lewis mentions the STEAM/STEM initiative which had been going on for "a year or a year and a half now", and mentions "First Robotics".
- Spina elaborates by describing two new grants which will allow the establishment of a F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Program, an international high school robotics competition.
- The district was looking for a coach for the team as of this episode.
- Spina also mentions Mr. Johnathan Gere, who teaches many of the STEM classes at the middle school.
Episode Nine - "Be Nice, District Improvements, Safety and more"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on The Hornet Hive Podcast we have Dr. Michele Cook, Director of Curriculum and Special Education of the Williamston Community Schools and Dr. Adam Spina joining us. This week we talk about the new Be Nice program that kicks off on January 30 from 6:30 pm -7:30 pm with a program at the McGoff Auditorium. We hope all will come. We also talk about a number of improvements that happened over the holidays across the district as well as some new safety improvements that are planned in the future at the high school."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on January 15th of 2019 and was ~11 minutes long.
- The intro music changed once again. This is like the third time the music for the Hornet Hive Podcast has changed.
- Dr. Michele Cook makes a guest appearance, the first guest on the HHP. She was the Director of Curriculum and Special Education.
- Dr. Cook describes the new "Be Nice" program, and that it will be kicked off on January 30th at the high school.
- The "Nice" part of "Be Nice" stands for "Notice, Invite, Challenge, Empower".
- Dr. Spina mentions that the custodians resurfaced floors and repainted some surfaces over the winter break.
- The IT Men installed LanSchool over the break as well. "This will allow teachers to have positive control over all of the devices used in their classrooms." - Dr. Spina.
- The District and a private school security consultant set up a system that allows a remote activation of the High School PA. This would allow staff to initiate pre-programmed emergency announcements.
- A new playstructure was installed at the elementary school.
- The administration has been considering a plan to "reconfigure the main entrance to the high school". Once the sinking fund dollars become available in the summer, this improvement is at the top of the list according to Spina.
- 8 minutes in there seems to be an editing error, causing two conversations to overlap for a few seconds.
- Spina elaborates further on the imagined F.I.R.S.T. robotics team. He claims the two grants the school recived will be enough to fund a FIRST robotics team for the next two years.
- Mr. Cody Reeve was hired as the coach, and a team was assembled at the time of this episode. WCS now has an offical "Williamston Community Schools FIRST Robotics Team".
- Spina and Lewis mention the possibility of developing a robotics team for the middle school and elementary school.
Episode Ten - "Robotics Competitions, Arts Awards, A New High School Entrance & More"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"In today's podcast we explore a new high school entrance, the new robotics team competing in their first competition, many arts awards and more!"
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on March 5th of 2019 and was ~11 minutes long.
- The WCS district was looking at new buses at the time of this episode because some of the current busses were getting older. The board approved the leasing of two new busses, and two more busses near the summer.
- Dr. Spina says that the first improvement that will be made using the new sinking fund (which will become active on July 1st 2019 as previously discussed) will be revising the main entrance. It would still be the main entrance for students, it would just be more secure.
- Dr. Lewis brings up the new robotics team and the STEAM/STEM Initiative.
- Dr. Spina attended the first robotics competition for the new team, which was held in Kettering University in Flint. "The things these students are able to get these robots to do is just incredible." - Dr. Spina.
- The team was ranked 6th at the end of the first day, and finished 30th overall. There were 46 teams that season.
- Dr. Spina mentions that the high school band preformed for the festival recently and recived "all 1s" for their preformance.
- Dr. Lewis mentions an upcoming 5th - 6th grade play at the high school auditorium, as well as the infamous lasagna dinner event.
Episode Eleven - "New Buses, Arts Fest & Improvements, Spring Sports & More"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"In this episode of the Hornet Hive we explore the new buses that the district now has and how this enhances our school safety. We celebrate the success of the recent Arts Fest and other Arts improvements within the district as well as moving up in sports athlete rankings within the state. We talk about an upcoming fundraiser for the Williamston Schools Foundation and more."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on April 23rd of 2019 and was ~13 minutes long.
- For some reason the microphone quality in this episode wasn't as great as previous episodes. There was a fair bit of background static and the voices of Dr. Lewis and Dr. Spina weren't as loud.
- The first two of the newly leased busses arrived as planned.
- Dr. Spina claims that 1/3 of the bus fleet has been replaced with newer buses so far.
- Dr. Lewis brings up the changes to the school calendar and snow days. A half day on June 10th was added to the school year for the middle and high school students, and two days (June 10th and 11th) were added at the end of the year for the elementary students. This is because the school had to make up snow days due to the 2019 Polar Vortex, and the elementary students had to make up an additonal day due to the mold infestation.
- The high school auditorium was upgraded. The surface was refloored, some areas were repainted, and the curtains were replaced for the first time.
- The school district moved up to rank #21 from #35 for student athlete experiences. This is out of ~600 school districts.
- Dr. Spina and Dr. Lewis remind the viewers about the school of choice window. School of choice allows students who live outside of the Williamston Community Schools School District to attend WCS.
Episode Twelve - "Ending the School Year, Summer Projects and More!"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast we talk to Dr. Adam Spina about the end of the school year as well as the successes from throughout the school year. We talk through all of the summer projects that will be happening within the school district, graduation and more."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on June 3rd of 2019 and was ~13 minutes long.
- Dr. Spina mentions how proud he is of the senior class of 2019. "Their contributions to the school are just remarkable." - Dr. Spina.
- Dr. Spina mentions that thanks to last minute state legislation, the changes to the school calendar are void. What happened behind the scenes here was that new state legislation was passed in May that forgave all snow days made during a state of emergency. Since the majority of the snow days occurred during the polar vortex, which was during a state of emergency, WCS had almost all of their snow days forgiven. Of the 10 snow days that year, six of them were thanks to the vortex. Due to the fact that WCS allows for six snow days, this left WCS with two unused snow days at the end of the 2018 - 2019 school year. As a result, makeup days were no longer required and thus the school calendar was amended once again to the normal school year.
- Dr. Spina mentions that as per usual, lots of renovations (thanks to the sinking fund) are planned for the summer. Work was set to begin on June 10th for the 2019 summer.
- The planned renovations include: new front entrance for the high school, new furniture and paint for the high school commons, finally repainting the middle school gym (which had the most paint chipping in the entire building), repaving the transportation garage parking lot, and upgrading the security in the school buildings.
- Security upgrades include adding shatter-resistant safety film, key-card system, new doors, new classroom doors, and replacing wooden doors with steel doors.
- The money made from the CADL lease was actually used to pay for the repainting of the middle school gym according to Spina.
- You can find more information regarding these updates by viewing the "Sinking Fund Propaganda" sections of the Williamston Community Schools' building articles. (Such as Williamston High School and Williamston Middle School).
- Dr. Spina explains that the district holds a lottery to determine which students who applied for school of choice get in.
- Dr. Lewis and Dr. Spina conclude the episode by talking about the things they're most proud of WCS for.
Episode Thirteen - "Start of the School Year, Construction Projects & Social / Emotional Learning"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast I talk to Dr. Adam Spina about the start of a new year as well as construction projects over the summer and things to look forward to when it comes to the social and emotional learning that all of our students experience as a part of the Williamston Community Schools. "
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on August 16th of 2019 and was ~11 minutes long.
- Dr. Spina recaps on the improvements that were completed over the summer and mentioned in the previous episode. "All of the things we talked about were accomplished." - Dr. Spina.
- Williamston Middle School recived an automated emergency alert system over the summer as well, identicle to the one the high school got a year before.
- Dr. Lewis mentioned the cafeteria (commons) upgrades, which mainly consisted of new furniture (tables and chairs). This was a significant overhaul because it was possibily the first time the seating was replaced since 1995. (See Mr. Weber's Spanish II Project.)
- Dr. Lewis and Dr. Spina talk about the mental health programs at WCS. Dr. Spina claims this will continue to be a main focus, and that there are programs to educate the staff at WCS, and the four school social workers are available. "Be Nice" and the "Second Step" program are initatives at Williamston Community Schools meant to help with mental health issues.
- As always, the episode ends with Dr. Lewis plugging the school district website and Dr. Spina's blog.
Episode Fourteen - "Enrollment Numbers, SAT Scores, Building Security and More"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast Dr. Adam Spina and Dr. Christopher Lewis talk about the enrollment numbers in the district, the 2020-2021 academic calendar, SAT Scores and building security among other great things. "
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on October 24th of 2019 and was ~12 minutes long.
- Dr. Spina talks about the 2020 - 2021 school year calander, which was recently released. There are a few changes planned for that school year. For one, the school start time was changed to be 10 minutes later for all buildings. This means the high school start time for example will be moved from 8:05am to 8:15am, which was closer to the desired 8:30am. "We'll be monitoring its impact... in future years we'll consider additional adjustments." - Dr. Spina.
- According to Spina, this change would make Williamston High School have the latest start time compared to all other mid-Michigan high schools.
- There was an ongoing proposal to move the spring break for the 2020 - 2021 school year up a week. The main benifit to this change is that it would give students an extra week to study for the SAT, instead of having it a day or two after spring break.
- Dr. Spina talks about enrolment and recaps about the decline thanks to the recession. He claims during this episode that the 2019 - 2020 school year enrollment was 1,908.3 students. (Core enrollment was 1,876.73). This was the largest enrollment since the 2011-2012 recession, maybe even 2009. As previously mentioned in other episodes, this is what the school district has been aiming for. "This is really where the district should be." - Dr. Spina.
- Dr. Lewis brings up spring 2019 SAT scores. The high school saw a 28 point increase overall, with a 19 point increase for math. The mean SAT score was 1081.
- The data from the last school year for the PSAT also came in. According to Spina, last year was the first year the school used the PSAT instead of the M-Step. In the initial assessment, the middle school ranked #53rd. Ranked #1 in math for mid-Michigan schools and #2 for evidence-based reading.
- The conversion to the electric key-card system was completed a week before this episode.
- "For all of you, thanks for listening because we love to be able to share all of the great things that are happening at our district". - Dr. Lewis.
Episode Fifteen - "District Budget, School Bond Loan Fund, Spring Break and Mental Health Programming"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast Dr. Adam Spina and Dr. Christopher Lewis talk about the budget within the Williamston Community Schools as well as the School Bond Loan Fund, the Spring Break Dates starting in 2021 as well as a special program about mental health for our community on December 4th that ties into the Be Nice Program. "
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on November 27th of 2019 and was ~17 minutes long.
- Dr. Lewis begins the episode by promising great news about the school budget.
- Dr. Spina recaps about the fund balance: "For many years our fund balance was in a very precarious standpoint. Our fund balance in the district is much like a savings account, and your household budget. And.. for many years the district was really struggling financially, mostly due to a loss of enrollment that occurred during the heart of the recession years in mid-Michigan. So during that period of time... uh decisions were made to take money from our fund balance/savings account to maintain the types of academic programming that our community expects from the school district. The downside to that of course was that at some point we need to put money back into that savings account... The way we chose to do that was kind of uh... a bit of a gamble, but we choose to aggressively market... the traditions of success that we have in the district with the hope that by boosting our enrollment, seeking alternate funding sources, uh different programing options, uh different collaborations.. we could turn that around. And uh over the last several years we've been successful at doing that." - Dr. Spina.
- In short, Williamston Community Schools chose to ramp up the propaganda and grant searching on order to keep the fund balance afloat rather than cut budgets, staff, and programs. All of this has been talked about in previous episodes featuring the fund balance so I recommend you read the summaries for those too.
- As previously mentioned, the lowest point of the fund balance was during the 2014 - 2015 school year, which was when the balance was ~174k, which was ~1% of revenue. This lead to a lot of borrowing and interest.
- The good news is that at the end of the 2018 - 2019 school year, the fund balance made it to ~6.8% which was about 1.3 million dollars. At the end of this year, Dr. Spina estimates an 8% fund balance, which is about 1.6 million dollars.
- As also previously mentioned, the good thing about having a high fund balance is that the school has to borrow less money from the start of school - the first count-day. According to Spina, the district purchased ~1,000,00 dollars less of loans during 2018 - 2019 because of the increased fund balance, which means the school has to pay less interest. The less interest the school district has to pay, the better.
- Dr. Spina claims a 15% fund balance absolves the need for loans. No schools in Michigan have anything close to that.
- Dr. Spina talked about the school bond-loan debt. The debt was expected to be payed off fully by 2030.
- The spring break for the 2021 - 2022 school year will officially move to one week earlier. This was previously discussed, but the change was now approved as of this episode.
- Dr. Lewis brings up Be Nice, which has been discussed many times in previous episodes. "I have seen great things happening within this program." - Dr. Lewis.
Episode Sixteen - "District Accolades, Student Accomplishments, Sinking Fund & More"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast Dr. Adam Spina and Dr. Christopher Lewis talk about a number of district accolades that have recently been announced as well as some amazing things that students within the Williamston Community Schools have accomplished. We walk you through some of the recent Sinking Fund Projects and more!"
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on February 4th of 2020 and was ~12 minutes long.
- Williamston High School recived the highest state scorecard index rating over any other high school in the mid-Michigan area for the third year in a row.
- Williamston Middle School recived second place.
- Williamston Community Schools recived the Computer Science Female Diversity award.
- WCS added two code.org classes to Williamston Middle School.
- Dr. Spina mentions the high school robotics team, as well as the middle school robotics team, the later was founded during the 2019 - 2020 school year.
- Dr. Spina also mentions the WHS Invent Team and that they will be traveling to MIT to showcase their invention.
- The Be Nice program was brought up once again.
- Dr. Spina describes what the sinking fund was spent on over the winter break. The most significant was the instalation of two new heating units for Explorer Elementary.
- For the summer, two major roofing projects were planned. The first is to replace the roof above the middle school gym. The second is a roof replacement for the gym, office, and roundabout in Explorer. This would cost ~$500,000 of sinking funds.
- "Dr. Spina does a great job at keeping people informed." - Dr. Christopher Lewis.
Episode Seventeen - "Fall Plans, Summer Projects and New Staff"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast Interim Superintendent Kelly Campbell and Dr. Christopher Lewis talk about the plans for fall education amid COVID-19. There also were a number of summer projects that we will discuss as well as introduce you to new administrators within our district."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on August 20th of 2020 and was ~20 minutes long.
- This is the first episode of the podcast without Dr. Adam Spina. Instead, the Interim Superintendent Kelly Campbell was present.
- Mrs. Kelly Campbell broke down the remote learning plan for the 2020 - 2021 school year, begining with the elementary plan.
- She broke down how the asynchronous time for elementary students was going to work, bringing up short 4 minute instructional videos, paper and pencil work, and small group instruction.
- Dr. Lewis brought up the summer renovations. Kelly explains that the roof of Explorer recived some repairs thanks to the Sinking Fund, particularly the roundabout section.
- A section of the middle school roof was upgraded and repaired as well.
- The keycard security system was expanded, the parking lot and pool lights were replaced with LED lights, and some landscaping was done.
- Campbell explains that the administration was experiencing changes since the school closure back in March of 2020.
- This included Mrs. Cassie Pfander, the new principal for Discovery and new to WCS. Mrs. Debra LaFleur who became the new principal of WMS, and Mr. Chris Armour who took the position of Vice/Assistant Principal at WHS.
- Mrs. Campbell brings up the gap in administrative leadership at Explorer due to her filling in for Spina, and mentioned that Ms. Pam Daniells filled in as Acting Principal of Explorer.
- Dr. Lewis confirmed that Dr. Adam Spina was on national guard leave at the time of this episode, and that he made an appearance during an August board meeting.
- Despite the fact that "times are up in the air" (in Lewis's words) for WCS, he still said that there were a lot of great things happening at the school district during this episode.
- "We all know that the best place for kids is in person, and in person learning. In front of their teachers, and with their teachers. However, it needs to be in a safe environment for all people concerned... We are committed to making sure that the safety of all is of paramount concern." - Dr. Christopher Lewis.
Episode Eighteen - "District Awards, Athletics, COVID-19 and More"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast Interim Superintendent Dr. Adam Spina and Dr. Christopher Lewis talk about some recent awards that the district has received, a fall full of athletics, understanding COVID-19 planning and exploring all of the things that we are thankful for. "
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on November 20th of 2020 and was ~14 minutes long.
- This is the first episode featuring Dr. Spina since his leave in March of 2020.
- Dr. Spina said he was keeping in touch with the school and the Interm Superintendent while he was on leave.
- He extends his gratitude towards the parents, staff, and even the students.
- "Even through the challenging times, Williamston continues to shine with the awards that continue to be brought to the district." - Dr. Christopher Lewis.
- Dr. Spina mentioned that the school has received the College Success Award for the third time, and that niche.com ranked WCS 28th out of 555 schools in Michigan.
- They mentioned that the school website has a COVID dashboard, and how the school sends emails to parents regarding COVID cases in the district.
- Dr. Spina said that the hybrid plan for elementary students is on pause from November 30th - December 8th.
- On December 9th, the school plans to send K-5 back to hybrid and middle/high school students back as needed, but only when the new instructional equipment is installed.
Episode Nineteen - "Meet the new Williamston Athletic Director & Updates on the District with Dr. Adam Spina"
You can watch this episode yourself by clicking this link.
Podcast Description:
"Today on the Hornet Hive Podcast we speak with Athletic Director of the Williamston Community Schools, Paige Paulsen, and get updates on the District with Superintendent Dr. Adam Spina."
Summary:
This episode was recorded and uploaded on January 15th of 2021 and was ~20 minutes long.
- This is the first episode featuring Paige Paulsen, and the first episode of the 2021 year.
- This is the first episode to feature two guests at the same time, Dr. Adam Spina and Mr. Paige Paulsen.
- Paulsen introduces himself. He played college basketball in northern Illinois, transfered to a university in Wisconsin, and even went to Spain for a time. He eventually suffered an injury, and decided to get his masters and become a basketball coach as a result. Paulsen returned to Michigan after that, coached for a few years, and than joined the Williamston district.
- "I wish the job was just sports. That's definitely the fun part." - Paulsen on his job as Athletic Director.
- Paulsen thanks the coaches at Williamston for putting in the work to get the athletic season going.
- Paulsen describes the sanitary and safety protocols at the pool for the pandemic.
- Lewis lets Paulsen go and introduces Dr. Adam Spina.
- Spina provides an update on the remote-learning and in-person learning structures.
- "It has definitely been a journey this year." - Spina on the district's COVID response plans.
- Lewis shouts out the school board, teachers, and maintenance staff of the district.
- Dr. Spina describes minor repairs that have occurred across the district, such as fresh coats of paint and floor repairs. Plans are underway to add more water fountains to the elementary buildings.
- Spina complements the Board of Education, and reveals that he had been listening to the meetings during his absence.