Bluffton teachers are preparing students for new assessments that will take place this spring, according to Greg Denecker, Bluffton superintendent.

The announcement was made in the winter school newsletter distributed to residents of the school district late last week.

A COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER IS IN AN ATTACHMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY.

"Over four years ago we were approved as a Race-to-the-Top Grant School, which meant our district received $25,000 per year over a four-year period in order to phase in the new standards and incorporate technology into our teaching," said Deneckeer.

"As a result, we have been sending staff members for professional development opportunities and conducting in-house training sessions in order to efficiently transition staff and students to these new standards and its assessments, which will be taken officially for the first time this spring.

"The new state assessments will be more challenging and will demand increased critical thinking skills among students," he said.

Denecker added that Bluffton was a pilot school last spring for some of these new assessments; fortunately, this gave us some initial insight into what to expect. We know these tests will be challenging and we will continue to prepare our students for those challenges.

The newsletter also includes reports from building principals and an update on next year's kindergarten program that was previously announced on The Icon.