Proud Home of the Bruins
Welcome to the Blackford County Schools website. We serve K–12 students of the rural farming communities of Hartford City, Montpelier, Dunkirk, and Shamrock Lakes. Please explore our website, and learn more about our proud tradition of educational excellence as we make a difference and change the world, one student at a time.
A Message from Our Superintendent
Blackford County Schools Community,
In February of 2017, the Blackford County School Board approved a consolidation project to reconfigure the high school into a junior-senior high school. Additionally, new construction is to occur at Blackford Junior High School to accommodate all students in grades K-6 in the Hartford City attendance area. After discussions throughout the fall and winter, we discussed the following updates and changes to the original consolidation plan at the March board meeting:
- Construction is to begin in the fall of 2018 at Blackford High School to facilitate a junior-senior high school to serve grades 7-12. This will include adding a gym to facilitate the junior high physical education classes, as well as additional practice space, and junior high athletics events. This space will include public restrooms and locker rooms. It will also include remodeling of the current JROTC space to house additional career and technical education programming while moving the JROTC program into the current weight room and auxiliary gym. This project is not to exceed $5,000,000.
- BJHS students will move into the junior-senior high building at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. In order for the students to move into the building, we need to allow for this one-year delay in the construction. This will allow enough time for completion of the construction.
- The timeline is not yet determined but will start no later than the start of school in 2020-2021.
- Blackford Junior High School becomes an upper elementary building, serving students from grades 3-6 in the Hartford City attendance area. This change will allow for better utilization of classroom space without requiring new or additional construction. Modifications to the bathrooms will happen and a playground added to facilitate upper elementary students.
- Northside Elementary becomes a primary elementary building, serving students from grades K-2 in the Hartford City attendance area. This will also allow for future preschool programming in that facility. This change allows us to keep one of our best facilities serving students.
- We will vacate Southside Elementary.
- Central office consolidation location determined at a later time.
The changes in this project will allow Blackford Schools to fully utilize the facilities at the current junior high and Northside to serve the needs of our students. As we continue in the design phase through the coming months, we will provide updates at monthly board meetings and through the school’s website.
Chad Yencer
Superintendent of Schools