SCHOOLS READY FOR RETURNING STUDENTS

TIMES STAFF REPORT

Grab your pencils, grab your books, but don't give any new teachers dirty looks.

School across Jefferson and Lewis counties start Tuesday, and students throughout the districts can expect to see more than a few changes.

■ Watertown City Schools: The big summer project for the Watertown City School District was to replace the high school roof, Superintendent Terry N. Fralick said.

"That will hopefully take care of all the leak issues we've had the last couple of years," he said. The project cost an estimated $1.2 million and was finished during the last week of the summer break.

He said the renovation of Starbuck Elementary also will be completed for this school year and makes the building look like a "brand new school." That renovation cost about $4.1 million. As for enrollment, Mr. Fralick said those estimates would be available at the end of the first week of school.

■ Indian River Central School: There are many visible changes in store for students in the Indian River School District, Superintendent James Kettrick said. Several major construction projects were completed over the summer vacation and affect seven of the eight buildings in the district.

Calcium Elementary has 18 new classrooms, the intermediate school has 12 and the high school has eight, with the addition of a large group room that can accommodate 150 people. Tile replaced carpet in 50 classrooms throughout the district.

■ Carthage Central School: A rise in the number of students is keeping faculty at the Carthage Central School District busy.

"We expect our enrollment to be increasing this year as more housing on base is coming online," Superintendent Joseph M. Catanzaro said. "We planned for this by redrawing the attendance zones for each elementary school to equalize the number of students in each building."

Using a federal grant, the district will offer more advanced placement courses in the second semester and two new reading programs.

■ Thousand Islands Central School:Workers have been hitting the pavement at the Thousand Islands Central School District — but in a good way.

"We just finished up phase three of our capital project, which included the paving and lining of the parking lots of both elementary schools as well as the middle school-high school campus," Superintendent Joseph A. Menard said.

He estimated enrollment numbers were just slightly less than in previous years — 1,060 students as of Aug. 28 — but said he believes last-minute enrollments will make up the difference.

■ Alexandria Central School: Superintendent Robert B. Wagoner said enrollment figures for his district were up and still growing in the week before classes started. He estimated the school would welcome at least 25 to 30 more children.

This summer, the school replaced rugs with tile floors in 13 classrooms and poured new cement for sidewalks. Mr. Wagoner said ongoing construction projects should not disrupt students' learning.

■ LaFargeville Central School:The district built a clinic that is scheduled to open in November. The school's largest construction project, a $12.8 million new gymnasium and renovation project, will begin in October.

According to Superintendent Susan L. Whitney, enrollment on Thursday was 631 students, a figure that typically increases in the week before school starts owing to last-minute enrollments.

"This is the largest we've been," Ms. Whitney said.

■ Lyme Central School:Superintendent Karen M. Donahue said the district has purchased new desktop computers, projectors, whiteboards and document cameras for students to use in classroom activities.

"We've added a lot of new technology to the classrooms," Mrs. Donahue said, that will aid the roughly 335 students enrolled for the year. The equipment will be fully installed by the end of October.

The district also is offering a full-day prekindergarten program, instead of a half-day program, starting this year. That program is almost full with 17 children enrolled.

■ Belleville Henderson Central School: The school will have a number of new students this year, including children adopted by community members from foreign countries and five international exchange students, Superintendent Rick T. Moore said Friday.

"We have 12 kids coming this year from overseas," he said. "Being a rural school, it's fun to have kids from other countries, other cultures, and we definitely outdid ourselves this year."

The first phase of a major capital project — replacing the building's leaky roof — is nearing completion. The rest of the capital project will be submitted to the state Education Department by December and construction is expected to start next summer.

nSackets Harbor Central School: There are several new teachers at Sackets Harbor Central School. They include new art and English teachers, two elementary school teachers, a library media specialist, a reading consultant and several teacher's aides.

"For a school district our size, that was a huge turnover due to retirements," Superintendent Frederick E. Hall Jr. said.

Visitors will have to be buzzed into the building and new security cameras will allow monitoring of various sites. The school has new athletic fields and equipment, but will use the Madison Barracks polo field and parade grounds this fall while the grass seed takes root.

■ South Lewis Central School: The district's $18.7 million capital project's first phase, including roof replacement work on the bus garage and middle-high school, began in May and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

District officials expect the project's second phase — featuring a switch from heating-oil to wood-chip boilers at the middle-high school and bus garage, development of a school-based health center and various renovations and upgrades - to receive state Education Department approval over the winter, Superintendent Douglas E. Premo said.

■ Beaver River Central School: While residents in December voted down a proposed $12.5 million capital project, Board of Education members have been working since late July to create a new proposal that would be more palatable to voters. No major changes to the facility have taken place over the summer.

■ Copenhagen Central School:The district is awaiting state Education Department approval of a $4.32 million capital project that would create a wellness area and weight room and address several building deficiencies and a $7.3 million component added this summer that would replace the district's 40-year-old heating-oil-based boiler system with a geothermal system.

■ Harrisville Central School: The district began its school year Thursday.

Construction bids for the district's $2.75 million capital project should be solicited this fall. The project, expected to take about one year to complete, includes a two-classroom addition, installation of security cameras, roof work to reroute rainwater, extension of the bus garage for a new lift, replacement of gym bleachers, new auditorium seats and lockers in both locker rooms and a shared fueling station for local municipalities and emergency services.

■ Lowville Academy and Central School:The district is in the midst of its $32.8 million bicentennial project, which is to be completed by fall 2010.

The traditional bus loop off North State Street will continue for the next month or two, but a new loop being developed off Trinity Avenue likely will be put into service some time in October. Plaster ceilings throughout the high school have been removed and, in most classrooms, won't be replaced until next summer. Preparatory work on the artificial turf field behind the school will continue until winter, but the turf won't be installed next summer.

Neither General Brown Central nor South Jefferson Central schools responded to requests for comments.

Times staff writers Sarah M. Rivette, Jaegun Lee, Steve Virkler, Kara Clark and Joanna Richards and Times intern Gabrielle Hovendon contributed to this report.