Crane R-III District Updates

Bond Issue Update: Just as we are gearing up to begin construction, Mother Nature has decided to bless us with some rain! Our track contractor finished site calibration to the plans at the end of October and is scheduled to be on-site any day now. We know how eagerly everyone has been anticipating this project, and we’re just as excited to finally see progress underway. Stay tuned for an official groundbreaking ceremony coming soon! While construction will take some time, we are confident that we’ll have a beautiful, brand-new track ready in time for the start of the next school year. Thank you for your patience and continued support as we bring this exciting project to life!

Crane Football: We’re thrilled to announce that Crane will be launching a Jr. High Football team next fall! This exciting development is the result of the hard work and dedication of Crane Youth Sports and many generous community members who have worked tirelessly to raise funds for the program. The best part? Thanks to their efforts, the District will not be spending any taxpayer money on football! The plan is to start with Jr. High Football for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, followed by JV High School Football in 2027 and 2028. Then, in 2029, we expect to field our very first Varsity High School Football team. While we anticipate playing away games during these initial years, we will assess our facilities and make adjustments as needed to host home games when the time is right. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our community as we take this exciting step forward, and we look forward to the growth and success of Crane Football in the years to come! Thank you for being a part of this journey!

Crane High School Golf: We are also anticipating the addition of High School Golf to the list of sports Crane students can participate in. Assuming the current afterschool Golf Club raises the necessary funds to pay for the fees, they will begin competing this coming Spring.

Attendance: We appreciate your continued support in making attendance a priority for your children! The state expects us to have 90% of our students here 90% or more of the time. We currently have 84.4% of our elementary students here more than 90% of the time and 86.2% of our junior high and high school students here more than 90% of the time! To further encourage good attendance, each school building is offering incentives for students with high attendance rates. Let’s continue to work together to support our students and help them achieve success! Thank you for your partnership in making school attendance a priority!

AMI Days: Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) Days provide a way for us to make up school hours lost due to exceptional circumstances, such as inclement weather or emergencies. If an AMI day is needed, we will notify you of the specific assignments your student should complete from their packet. AMI packets were distributed to elementary families during Parent-Teacher Conferences, and junior high and high school students received theirs this week. Please make sure to keep these packets in a safe place so they can be easily accessed if we need to cancel school. Any assigned AMI work will be due on the first day students return to school in order to be counted present for that day. Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us stay on track, no matter the weather!

Free or Reduced Meal Applications: Please help our district by filling out a Free or Reduced Meal application. Remember, you can re-submit these forms any time your income changes. Watch the video found here to see how filling these forms out can help our school district!

"Home Ec" is Back!- Priority 1.7 Student Learning and Educational Programs for All 4.5: We are excited to announce that our new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Family and Consumer Science (FACS) Program has been officially approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)! Led by Mrs. Jordan Tapia, our dedicated FACS teacher, this program is already making great strides in offering hands-on learning experiences for students. Some of the dynamic courses available through the program include World Foods, Intro to Foods, Child Development I & II, Design Fundamentals, Creative Sewing, Adulting 101, Interpersonal Relationships, Advanced Foods, and Discovering FACS. These classes provide students with practical skills and knowledge they can use in both their personal and professional lives. For example, students in Child Development I will get to experience parenting firsthand with the RealCare Baby, a realistic baby simulator that mimics the sounds and needs of a newborn. This hands-on tool is designed to give students a deeper understanding of the commitment and responsibility required for infant care. In our World Foods class, students have had the opportunity to explore cuisines from across the globe, preparing dishes from countries like Mexico, Brazil, and various regions of Africa. Meanwhile, Intro to Foods students are gaining valuable skills in cooking basic food groups like grains, dairy, and eggs. This new CTE program is a key part of our commitment to achieving one of our CSIP goals, Student Learning 1.7, which focuses on expanding Career and Technical Education offerings for Crane High School students. We are proud to offer these engaging learning opportunities, and look forward to watching the program grow and succeed!

Reading Success Plans- Student Learning 1.10 and 1.11: All of our elementary reading teachers have been or are currently going through LETRS training which trains them on the science of reading. The cost of this training has been covered by a grant through DESE. Our teachers are using research-based strategies to teach our students how to read. As students are assessed, those who are struggling are having Reading Success Plans created with a plan of how to help each student based on their individual needs.

Full DayThree-Year-Old Preschool -Student Learning 1.6 and Educational Programs for All 4.1:Our full-day three-year-old preschool class is now up and running, welcoming our youngest Pirates! The progress these students are making is truly remarkable, and we’re excited to see the lasting impact this early educational experience will have on their future success. This full-day program was made possible through a Preschool Start-Up Grant from DESE, and we’re thrilled to provide this valuable opportunity for our little learners. We look forward to watching them grow and thrive as they begin their educational journey!