Principal: School committed to leadership class

CRESWELL – Despite concern in the community that the Creswell Middle School class was disappearing, Principal Shirley Burrus said that the class is still available to students and is in no danger of disappearing. A decision was made, she said, to move the class from a regular 48-minute period to the 35-minute Guided Study time slot.
“It is a sufficient amount of time for the middle school leadership class,” Burrus said.
The leadership class was always dependent on the schedule of Kara Freske, the program’s advisor and a math teacher. The length of the class has fluctuated over the past few years, and Burrus said moving to the 35-minute class is “really important.” Kara Freske, and although last year it was brought back as a
In fact, Burrus said the class wasn’t better when it was stretched to 45 minutes last year.
“There was some time wasted, and we want them to be really productive,” she said.
Burrus said that moving leadership class into the Guided Study slot frees up students to take another elective, such as cooking and jazz band. There are times during the year when Freske’s math responsibilities conflict with the leadership class; Burrus said that’s an opportunity for students to put their leadership skills into action.
“This way, (students) get an elective class and can be leaders in the school,” Burrus said. “It’s a win-win.“
There are nearly 25 students from grades 6-8(?) in the leadership class, and Burrus emphasized the school is committed to leadership training.
“We want kids to be leaders,” she said, “and we want to grow leaders.”