February 2, 2018 at 4:02 p.m.
NCES celebrates National School Choice Week
NCES celebrates National School Choice Week
By Kayla Thomason-
The goal of National School Choice Week is to "raise public awareness of the different K-12 education options available to children and families, while spotlighting the benefits of school choice," according to schoolchoiceweek.com.
All grades at NCES participated in the event and each student received a soft yellow scarf to show school unity.
"School Choice (means) all students have a choice to come here," said Alex Bontz, principal and fifth grade teacher. "As long as they live in the School District of Rhinelander they can get bused out here."
Those who live outside the district can also attend as long as they can get transportation, he added.
Bontz said he has heard positive things from his fifth-grade students about the school.
"I like our small community and our small class sizes," said Anthony Barnett, a fifth grader. "Our school garden is a very nice thing to have at the school along with our greenhouse that our school can learn from."
Barnett also said he enjoys connecting with nature on the school's nature trail and having a say in how he learns about certain topics.
Of the celebration, he said "it is a cool event celebrating our ability to choose our school and (have a) voice in our projects," he said. "It's a very good school and there a lot of nice kids and teachers here."
Evelyn Simonsen, another fifth grader, also likes NCES.
"I think it's really cool because everyone is really nice and the teachers are very helpful," she said. "The teachers are unique and teach in their own way."
Simonsen said she enjoys the project-based learning, using her hands, working in the project shed with tools, and the number of choices she has in regard to her studies.
Simonsen also likes that the school is available to students in 4K through fifth grade.
"I love this school because I get to be with my little brother who is in first grade," she said.
"It was fun to celebrate with dancing and our success on being respectful," she said of the celebration.
Bontz would like to dispel some false information that have been spreading about the future of NCES.
"We wanted to stop some of the rumors that we're not going to be here next year so we want to let people know that we are going to be here next year," he said, adding that planning for the next term is well underway.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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