FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT...
by Ed Hawks
October 25, 2009
NOVEMBER 2009 DISTRICT DISPATCH
November is here and with it comes the possibility of winter
weather conditions. Please start to make plans now regarding late
starts, early dismissals, or school cancellations due to hazardous
winter weather conditions. Tune in to radio or television stations
KMA (960 AM), KFAB (1110 AM), KNOD (105.3 FM), KMTV (Channel 3),
WOWT (Channel 6), or KETV (Channel 7) and make arrangements with
your spouse, friends, relatives, and/or our latch-key program
regarding where your child will go when the weather turns bad.
Please note that there will not be breakfast on days that we have a
two-hour late start. We will, however, be having “adjusted
schedule” morning and afternoon prekindergarten classes regardless
of a late start or an early dismissal. Planning now prevents
problems later. Your child’s safety is our number one priority.
Our certified enrollment is down this year. The number of resident
and open enrollment “in” students stands at 774.6. That is a
decrease of 10.5 students from the 2008-09 school year when we
served 785.1 students. Looking back, we served 797 students in
2007-08 and 751.1 students in 2006-07. (Partial weighting applies
in situations such as a homeschooled student who takes a class at
the high school or participates in extracurricular activities.) The
aforementioned numbers reflect students for whom we receive state
funding because they live within the boundaries of our school
district or they attend as a result of open enrollment. When we
include all of the prekindergarten youngsters who cannot be counted
for state funding purposes, the total number of young people who
attend the Underwood Community School District stands at 798.6.
In late August, I received a telephone call from Underwood graduate
McKenzie (Hildreth) Ring who now works as the social responsibility
coordinator for Doll Distributing in Council Bluffs. She told me
about a school assembly program they were sponsoring entitled
“Living Proof” that was going to be offered in the area during the
fall and inquired regarding our school district’s interest. I
discussed it with Mr. Curtis and Mr. Pearson and we thought it
would be a thought-provoking and powerful program for our students.
On October 6, 2009, Sarah Panzau shared her story of being “living
proof of what can happen when you make poor choices.” Our students
in grades 8-12 sat in the high school gymnasium and listened
attentively as Sarah shared her story of being a determined and
successful high school volleyball player and two-time member of the
National Junior College Athletic Association woman’s volleyball
team. But somewhere between life as a gifted high school athlete
and the early years of college, Sarah began heading down a
destructive path. She found herself hanging out with the wrong
crowd, getting more out of drugs and dangerous levels of alcohol
than hitting the books and spiking the ball. She was trapped in a
downward spiral of poor choices that would one day catch up with
her. That day was August 23, 2003. Just before 4:30 a.m. that
morning, Sarah’s car and her life spun out-of-control. With a
blood-alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit, the
21-year-old decided to drive home drunk, missed a highway exit, and
rolled her car four times. Without a seat belt on, she was ejected
through the rear window of her car, her left arm was torn from her
body, and she was thrown onto the roadway. Luckily, the second
vehicle that arrived at the accident scene was an ambulance. After
observing Sarah’s seemingly lifeless body with no pulse, members of
the emergency team prepared to pronounce her dead. Just before they
made the call, Sarah gasped for air. The trauma team stabilized her
and she was airlifted to a hospital where she underwent
eight-and-a-half hours of emergency surgery. Several months of
painful recuperation followed with over 30 surgeries, but the pain
of her severe injuries did not compare with the pain of living the
rest of her life without her left arm.
Since the crash in 2003, Sarah’s life has taken a new direction.
She has reached students at middle schools, high schools, and
colleges with her message about underage drinking, drunk driving,
making smart choices, respecting parents, and rising above
disabilities. She delivered her message to our students in a
powerful and emotional manner that kept them spellbound. She didn’t
speak from a podium. Instead, she made a lasting impression by
walking among our students in athletic apparel so her scars helped
tell the story of her poor choices. Her youth, energy, and
sincerity connected her directly with our students as she shared
the story of her tragic fall, difficult recovery, and ensuing
efforts to help others avoid the consequences of the poor choices
she made in the days leading up to August 23, 2003.
