By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg students will return to school Tuesday to find new teachers and new technology in the classrooms.

Ogdensburg School Superintendent Timothy Vernsey says the district will continue to work on implementation of the Common Core curriculum with adjustments. Curriculum Director Kevin K. Kendall says this year students will be mandated to take all state evaluations on computers. He said the district has already been practicing for this upcoming change.

Vernesy says kindergarten and elementary teachers will also be implementing The Reading and Writing Units of Study developed by the Teachers College at Columbia University. The organization developed them for teaching reading and writing, aimed at using performance assessments to accelerate student’s progress, and for literacy-rich instruction.

In secondary classrooms teachers will be implementing Google Classroom, which is software that allows teachers to create classes, distribute assignments, and send feedback all in one program. It also allows teachers to track progress of students over the course of their schooling.

Vernsey says the district is also hoping to bring wireless to all classrooms at Ogdensburg Free Academy. He said the district is currently waiting for the “Smart Schools Bond” to be approved, which will fund the project.

With the district’s major overhaul of the auditorium completed last October, sights are now turned to the Golden Dome. Recently the board approved new lighting and temperature control systems there for a project estimated around $800,000. Vernsey said the district will recoup much of the expense through savings in electric costs.

At its most recent meeting, the school board appointed several new instructors. Those included art teacher Kylee Disotelle, Heather LeClair who will teach elementary, Sarah Hill who will teach music and special education teacher Chelsea Cota.

As for enrollment rates Vernsey says the school is remaining steady at around 1,600 students district-wide. About 680 of those students attend secondary school at Ogdensburg Free Academy. While the remainder attend the district’s two elementary schools Madill and Kennedy.