dec. 28, 2005

The calendar creators intentionally left this dead week between Christmas and New Year&8217;s so everyone could debrief on the past year and plan for the coming one.

By week&8217;s end we&8217;ll all be sick to death of the year in review flashbacks that are already dominating TV news. Newspapers do it too, usually on a more local scale.

Time magazine picked its Persons of the Year last week; Natchez picked its equivalent the week before that.

In the spirit of national year-in-review week and in honor of broken New Year&8217;s resolutions, here are a few gifts for Miss-Lou educators and students that probably weren&8217;t under their Christmas tree Sunday:

To the Concordia Parish school bus drivers &8212; a lifetime supply of gasoline or diesel.

To everyone working in a school and to all parents &8212; the Cliff&8217;s Notes version of the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind Act.

To Concordia Parish teachers &8212; a match and a fire pit for the new comprehensive curriculum.

To Robert Lewis Middle School and Ferriday Junior High &8212; a school tailor equipped with sewing machine and materials needed to keep the pants of teenage boys at the waist, not below.

To Morgantown Elementary School Principal Fred Marsalis &8212; a sweater just like the one Mr. Rodgers had on the children&8217;s TV show, and an official name change of the school to &8220;Mr. Marsalis&8217; Neighborhood.&8221;

To Concordia Parish Schools Superintendent Kerry Laster &8212; a kitchen timer set to control the lengths of executive sessions at board meetings.

To Vidalia High School Principal Rick Brown &8212; a smile.

To McLaurin Elementary School Principal Karen Tutor &8212; a frown.

To Ferriday Lower, Upper and Junior High schools &8212; the deletion of the words &8220;school improvement&8221; from the English language.

To Trinity, ACCS and Cathedral &8212; all the students they lost when IP closed.

To all kids &8212; extended recess.

To all teachers &8212; extended planning periods.

To all students, teachers, principals and superintendents &8212; marked improvement across the board on the state tests and federal dollars to pay for the extra Katrina students.

To Mrs. Tuccio and Ms. Bell &8212; silence.

And to Mrs. Tuccio&8217;s class &8212; No more substitutes, extra pizza at lunch, Gameboys at school, a Christmas party every day, a winning streak at their favorite PE game, Halloween candy and a free pass to the fifth-grade.

Afraid it&8217;s not that easy, kids. While the year is wrapping up for the rest of the world, students are only halfway done. And this last semester is when the rubber meets the road.

The fourth-grade foundation &8212; the most important part &8212; was laid last semester. This semester, we&8217;ll see what they learned.

The students in Mrs. Tuccio&8217;s class already making As and Bs have probably learned what they need to know. When skills get a little harder in the coming months, they won&8217;t be lost.

The ones making Cs and below will only have to fight harder to stay above water.

The all-important state tests come in the spring, and despite a major distraction from Hurricane Katrina, all principals are pushing for higher scores. It&8217;s ultimately up to the students to deliver.

I&8217;ve seen Mrs. Tuccio&8217;s kids grow up a little over the five months I&8217;ve know them. I&8217;m expecting to see even more growth in the next five months.

When the year is over for them, they&8217;ll be leaving McLaurin and heading for a school with older kids. They won&8217;t be the oldest, they&8217;ll be the babies, but acting like one will only spell trouble.

While the rest of the world starts a new year, they&8217;ve got a second chance at the same year, and I know they&8217;ll make the most of it.

Julie Finley is the education reporter for The Natchez Democrat. She writes a weekly column based on experiences with Marty Tuccio&8217;s homeroom class at McLaurin Elementary. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or

julie.finley@natchezdemocrat.com

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