BATESVILLE, Ind. — The Batesville Bulldogs are back in class on Tuesday and students are finding new additions to each building this year including the innovation center, a new staff daycare and outdoor learning spaces.
The Innovation Center
Batesville High School sophomores no longer have to leave campus to learn the highly desired welding trade.
The Innovation Center was just completed days before the start of classes.
Inside, students will find a state-of-the-art welding lab and several classroom areas for instruction.
The class is led by first-year teacher Mark Struewing.
Struewing learned to weld as a teenager and remembers the program when he was in school.
He worked many years as a welder spending 14 years at Wood-Mizer in Batesville and then running his own welding business for 5 years.
Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd be back at his alma mater teaching welding.
“It’s crazy that all this is at my disposal, all the new equipment and everything that the school and community has provided for this is unbelievable," Struewing said.
But Struewing is a familiar face in Batesville and he'll still be behind the wheel of his bus.
Struewing explained he's excited to transfer his knowledge to the students.
"I want to open up their minds, their imaginations, you can do anything," Struewing said.
The Innovation Center is an addition to the high school building.
The High School Principal, Andy Allen, explained that students interested in welding previously had to go to the career tech center in Versailles which is about 35 minutes away. Now, students just walk down the hall.
The ultimate goal as students approach their senior year, is to give students the opportunity to go to school part-time, work part time and prepare to transition into the field full-time after graduation.
Batesville is a manufacturing town with businesses like Batesville Tool and Die, Wood-Mizer and Batesville Casket.
"We want to be able to do things that support all facets of manufacturing: construction, masonry is on the list, electrical, construction, supply chain and logistics," Principal Allen said.
He said the emphasis is on teaching kids trades that can support the industry in the area.
Staff Daycare
One goal of the Batesville Community School Corporation is to recruit and retain incredible teachers.
Retaining teachers became a challenge last year when several approached Superintendent Paul Ketcham with a problem.
Many teachers are parents first and said they simply couldn't find affordable, quality daycare and they'd have to quit their teaching job to stay home and raise kids.
Superintendent Ketcham wasn't going to let the talent go so fast.
“If it’s a barrier for teachers, ultimately it will impact our students because if teachers can’t find quality daycare, they’re stressed or they can’t come to work, so I thought let’s just start our own staff daycare,” Ketcham said.
The new two-room daycare is in the Intermediate School. Ketcham found space that was under-utilized and ready to be outfitted for a daycare.
The response was overwhelming. Twenty-five kids fill the two rooms and Ketcham might have to start turning kids away or find a way to expand in the future.
Third-grade teacher Morgan Hooten, also a Batesville graduate, jumped at the opportunity to have her three boys, Jason, Jaxon and Jett in the daycare.
“We are super excited, the boys love to come to mommy’s school, I think that will make mornings much easier," Hooten said.
"We have been super lucky that it’s affordable because I know that is not the case for many people, so not only to have a quality daycare but to have an affordable daycare is extremely awesome."
The daycare is only open to staff member children and runs $150 a week with discounts for additional children.
Superintendent Ketcham said he's already considering ways to expand the daycare with the added interest.
Outdoor Learning
Students are looking forward to getting inside their new classrooms, but there is a new emphasis on getting kids outside at Batesville Primary School.
What was once just a grassy courtyard area cut off from students has been transformed into an outdoor learning space for students.
The new area is large enough for four different classes.
Batesville Community Education Foundation Executive Director Anne Wilson explained the original goal was to create a STEM lab inside the Primary School.
But there isn't enough room inside.
Wilson said they are not easily deterred so they looked at the outdoor space instead. And it just seemed to click.
The $200,000 project was paid for almost entirely by grants and private donors. The school corporation helped with things like sidewalks and ceiling fans.
Wilson is excited to see students' reactions on the first day.
“I hope they’re going to come out and say, oh my goodness I can’t wait to learn here," she said.
"Our whole idea was to get kids outdoors and unplugged but also in a learning environment where they were excited to found out about new things and learn about new ideas.”
Each of the four classroom spaces is outfitted with student-sized furniture, picnic tables and ways the kids can stretch their legs while learning.
With this project completed, the Batesville Community Education Foundation is already preparing its next project to help improve mental health in the district.
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