It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Jamestown Public Schools website. Our school system has become a leader in the age of technology. Our community has supported through three different referendums over the past ten years a total renovation of our facilities totaling about $134 million dollars. Our most recent referendum was passed in October, 2005 and totaled $59 million dollars.
Presently, this referendum has allowed our District many advances for our school children. Our administrative offices were moved from the Alltel Building at 201 E. Fourth Street to 197 Martin Road on the site of Jefferson Middle School. This was a strategy developed some years ago in which the old Administration Building on 4th Street was remodeled into the Technical Academy and now serves as an annex to Jamestown High School. Central Administration was housed in the Alltel building for about six years while final studies were completed and decisions made for a permanent location for Central Office Administration.
At the same time, remodeling is being completed at Jefferson Middle School. In the fall of 2007, 16 new classrooms with state of the art technology for voice, data, video and security capabilities will be complete. This complements previous projects in which each school has been wired with fiber optic and copper cable to operate these new systems. Our partnership with the Board of Public Utilities has allowed a fiber-optic ring to connect all school buildings together to give us an excellent communication system. Each classroom has a ceiling mounted projector for large screen viewing. Each classroom has access to the internet and our teachers all have their own lap top computer with e-mail capabilities.
Also, in the fall of 2007 the entire school system will be operating under a new security system. Each building will possess:
• Digital video recorders operating 24/7 to record all movements inside and outside our school buildings
• All staff will require a personal identification badge for entrance into our buildings (proximity card)
• All doors will be locked after student arrival and any open doors will be displayed on a monitor
• Each front office will have 3-4 flat panel screen monitors to view all security cameras and the schematic displaying open doors.
• Any guest of the school will have to access doors equipped with a camera, intercom and will have to be “buzzed” into our schools.
• All cameras operate with infrared technology for low light or night time vision and video capture.
As a complement to this increased security system the District will be using its Global Connect system. This system has the capability to call each parent or guardian within 10-15 minutes with any emergency messages. The District plans to use this new call system when canceling school for emergency days such as snow days, or use in cases of 1 or 2 hour delay notices. Principals will use the system within their buildings to call parents for important happenings such as Open Houses, Reminders for half-day dismissals and cancellations of after school programs, etc. The District feels this enhanced security system will be to the benefit of our students and community.
Additional construction work is presently taking place at Jefferson Middle School. There is a new auditorium, and a new cafeteria being constructed to replace a 1970’s cafetorium in this school. Also, three new gymnasiums will be constructed with all-purpose floors to be used not only for Jefferson Middle School but also to alleviate long practice schedules during winter months.
The District is also completing renovations to Strider Field that included a new, all weather track and new bleachers with seat–backs and handicap accessible areas. The bleachers have a new press box, timer’s booth, and new state of the art scoreboard for our community’s pleasure. These athletic upgrades complement our existing baseball, softball and soccer fields that were built a few years ago. Truly, the Strider Field area is considered the premiere athletic facility in western New York by many.
Jefferson Middle School has also seen the opening of 16 new classrooms in the fall of 2007. Prior to that completion new, renovated, existing space for art, Home and Careers, Technology and 2 Science Rooms and laboratory were completed in April 2007.
Jamestown Public Schools are on the move. With the recent renovations and our previous renovations commencing in 1999, our school facilities are excellent places to learn and work. We are proud of our educational changes that have been instituted. We are truly in an exciting time of our Renaissance Plan for Improvement.
Please feel free to consult other areas of our website to learn more about our excellent opportunities for academics.
Raymond J. Fashano
Superintendent of Schools
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