Area foundation accepting scholarship applications

The Inland Northwest Community Foundation (INWCF) is now accepting scholarship applications for awards of up to $2,000. Applicants must be high school seniors or college students seeking academic scholarships for higher education goals during the 2014-2015 school year. Most applications are due March 1. Most awards will be announced at the end of May.

Awards are typically between $500 and $2,000 and support students in North Idaho and eastern Washington.

In 2013, 94 scholarships totaling more than $147,000 were given out.

INWCF has awarded more than $45 million in grants and scholarships since its startup in 1974.

Scholarship application details are available on the INWCF website under Receive at www.inwcf.org.

For additional information: Andrea Estes at 509-624-2606 or [email protected]

SCHOOLS

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Before entering the school, parents and visitors will be required to push an intercom button, identify themselves and state the purpose of their visit.

"For people who visit our schools regularly, who volunteer, or parents who come to pick up their kids, it might take a little extra time," Handelman said. "It's also going to be a big change for people inside the schools."

School office staff members will be trained to make visual and verbal determinations before granting anyone entry into their buildings. Visitors who are not recognized will be asked to show photo identification.

Another major change is the installation of an enhanced video surveillance and communication system on each of the district's 66 school buses.

There will now be three video cameras rolling on all school buses whenever students are being transported. Previously, the district had a limited amount of school bus surveillance equipment, leaving some buses without video monitoring.

The hope is that the video surveillance will cut down on bullying and other types of behaviors that are distracting to bus drivers.

The cameras on buses are also a big change for students, Handelman said.

Before coming to Coeur d'Alene, Handelman was a principal in Spokane.

"The first time I pulled a small group of kids in to show them video of themselves on the bus, they were wide-eyed. They didn't realize they were being caught on video," he said.

In addition to the entry access system and the video cameras on the buses, students at Lake City and Coeur d'Alene high schools will return to find some structural changes to their schools' front offices.

The renovations will provide a direct line-of-sight from the school offices to the front doors of the buildings, something that was previously lacking. It adds another layer of security surveillance.

Most of the new equipment, hardware and infrastructure is being paid for with $1.4 million from a property tax levy approved by voters last March. School officials sought the funds for the security enhancements following the December 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.