Highlands Elementary School Opens State-of-the-Art Media Center

Last month Highlands Elementary School (HES) opened their new, state-of-the-art media center to students, thanks to the passion and vision of their principal, Rosemary Schutz, who joined the school last year. The new media center provides students with access to new books, twice as many computers and a reading nook (where they students can sit on the rug or in a “cozy corner”) in addition to more individualized instruction with a media specialist and after-school technology programs.

When Mrs. Schutz came on board, her first priority was to redesign and revamp the existing media center to create a newer, more modern, technology-focused media center for her students.

“Literacy is critical to learning and has been close to my heart for as long as I can remember”, said Mrs Schutz, who has 36 years experience in education with 31 years as a reading specialist. “Having the opportunity to renovate the media center here at Highlands Elementary has been my goal for the past year and I’m excited to share the final result with the students; they will enjoy an environment that fosters a love of reading and learning that will stay with them forever.”

She and Dan Loughran, Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction, even instituted a Backpack Reading program over the summer months, so students would be encouraged to read after the school year ended.

To launch the new media center, Mrs. Schutz brought her entire school together and held an assembly to thank the Board of Education, Dr. Compton and the community for all their hard work and collaboration to bring her dream to fruition. Student representatives from each grade were then brought into the new media center for a ribbon cutting ceremony and to be the first to experience the new space. Cynthia Fair, Board of Education member, said, “We are so excited for the students and teachers to have such an amazing media center! We all worked together beautifully and that’s what makes Highlands such an amazing community; we raise our children and grandchildren here and everyone is invested in making our school system excel. To see such joy from the students when they come into their new media center and truly want to spend time here and learn, makes us all so proud.”

This year, Highlands Elementary School welcomes its highest enrollment rates since Superstorm Sandy with 192 students.

Dr Compton, Superintendent of Tri-District Schools, stated, “It was important that we created a space where students can focus on project-based learning and utilize technology. It really is a media center for the 21st Century and Highlands Elementary is a school on the move!”