Highland County Public School Announces Open House

Highland County Public School extended an invitation via email for an open house for students in all grades on Thursday, August 22. The preschool class will meet from 5 to 6 p.m. and the building is open for students in kindergarten through 12th grades from 6 to 7:30 p.m. 

Students entering 6th grade have an orientation meeting at 6 p.m. and those who wish to complete driver’s education in the 2024-25 school year must attend at 6 p.m. to go over rules and expectations. 

This open house gives parents and students the ability to meet their teachers, see their friends, and check out new classrooms. This session is especially important for those in elementary school since they will have the opportunity to meet the new school administrator, who was announced at the last school board meeting.

Parents with questions prior to open house are encouraged to call either the elementary or high school offices, depending on student age. 

Also within the announcement email, the school gave information on school supplies for the 2024-25 school year. As a welcome gift to all elementary students, Highland Elementary School will be providing all school supplies. Students do need to provide a backpack, headphones, water bottle, and paint shirt. Donations of tissues are also appreciated. 

Middle and high school student lists can be found organized by class on the website under the tabs Documents, Parents & Students, then Supply Lists. 

A few days after the last school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Drew Maerz responded to AMR’s request for information about the playground and school resource officer via email. The response regarding the school resource officer read, “At this time, the School Resource Officer is not appropriated in the Sheriff’s budget and is not currently in discussion for the coming school year.”

AMR also asked after the last school board meeting, “Since the playground policy was up for review and approval tonight, and I appreciate the mention you gave on some of the improvements, I think parents are looking for that, when was the last time the playground was reviewed? What are the guidelines they are reviewing for safety, like cushioning material depth, etc.?”

For reference, the newly approved playground policy reads, “When any playground equipment is installed on School Board property, the Board assumes ownership of that equipment unless specifically stated otherwise by agreement. For this reason the maintenance of the playground equipment installed by a school or community group is the responsibility of the School Board.

Once equipment is installed on School Board property, the principal of the school has the

responsibility to inspect the equipment on a regular basis and the superintendent has the

authority to order its repair or removal from the school property. The principal or superintendent

may also restrict or deny the use of such equipment until such time as, in the principal’s or

superintendent’s opinion, it is restored to safe a condition.”

Marez responded with, “We are in the process of adding the merry-go-round to the playground and fixing the accessible swing. We will be adding additional benches for student/class use.  We have also started exploring the replacement of the large component of the playground.  Due to the expense, we will need to collect bids for this project.”

There was no mention in his email about the initial questions of safety that parents have brought up, or a timeline for repairs to be done. As of this time, it is unclear whether the playground will be open to children at the start of school or be closed off until repairs/replacements are complete. 

Allegheny Mountain Radio News will continue to update this story as the requested information is received.