BY PAT FARNELLI
Times-Shamrock
Correspondent

The Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center will be offering its first LPN to RN Licensed Practical Nurse bridge program, in cooperation with Luzerne County Community College, with classes starting in December.

Director Alice Davis told the school board Wednesday that this program, which has been in the works for several years, will be a hybrid program with a combination of online, clinical and on-site instruction, geared to fit the needs of working LPNs.

Several classes of licensed practical nurses have graduated from the SCCTC, and this will provide an opportunity for these LPNs to continue their training toward a Registered Nurse degree while working in the medical field as LPNs.

Davis reported that the total enrollment for Career Center this year is currently 627, counting the short-term adult course participants. Some 451 high school students from seven Wyoming and Susquehanna County schools are included in the total enrollment figure. 143 adult students are also enrolled in the career center courses.

A revised 2015-16 school calendar was approved with the inclusion of teacher in-service days for the first Wednesdays of October, November, March and April, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

This was part of the revised collective bargaining agreement, which includes 186 days for teachers and staff.

Correspondence was received from Claverack Rural Electric Company thanking the SCCTC students and staff for their help hosting the company’s annual meeting and serving dinner to members and employees.

During the Elk Lake School Board meeting, a revised 2015-16 school calendar was approved which included teacher in-service dates of the first Wednesday of October, November, March and April.

The board approved the hiring of Jennifer Ward for the partial hospitalization program teacher position, at step one at a salary of $40,000, retroactive to the first day of school.

A substitute and NEIU guest teacher list were approved for the 2015-16 school year.