GC school board hears results of graduation survey
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GLENWOOD CITY — After an initial perusal of the proposed 2022-2023 school calendar at the January 24 meeting, some board members had questions about holding graduation on a Friday evening during Memorial Day weekend.
That lead Glenwood City Superintendent of Schools Tim Johnson to send out a graduation survey, the results of which he reported on at the February 7 meeting of the board of education.
Johnson told members that he had emailed surveys to current ninth, tenth and 11th grade parents to inquiry about their preferences for about the day and weekend for the district’s 2023 graduation ceremony.
Johnson noted that 30 of the respondents did not want the ceremony held on Memorial Day weekend. He noted that a large majority of the respondents (74) wanted to keep graduation on Saturday morning with about 46 respondents preferring to hold the ceremony the weekend prior to the Memorial Day holiday.
Johnson told members that the calendar has not yet been finalized and that it would be brought before the board once again before it is approved.
In what has become a part of each recent school board meeting, a different staff department has given members a presentation.
This past Monday evening high school/middle school English Language Arts (ELA) department, consisting of David Popko, Amy Postle, Kim Unser and Justin Young, made the presentation to board members.
The quartet explained the data that has been collected over the past three years and how it will be used in targeted interventions to address the needs of students that are struggling in ELA, provide positive reinforcement to those students that have shown improvement and to better teaching practices and assessments.
In the administrative reports, Dr. Robert Vanderloop, Director of Pupil Services and Special Education, presented board members with a handout that highlighted the comprehensive Safety and Security Assessment the district did this past fall. Dr. Vanderloop noted the items that had been completed, those still being worked on and ones that will receive future consideration.
Dr. Vanderloop also stated that a second training session for Trauma Sensitive Schools was held earlier this month with another one scheduled for March.
Elementary principal Betsy Haltinner joined Dr. Vanderloop for an update on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) enrichment projects that are currently underway throughout district schools.
High school/middle school principal Marcy Burch noted the accomplishments of the music department and athletic teams and gave updates on the honor roll and Career and Technical Education (CTE).
During the consent agenda portion of its meeting, the board approved the hiring of retired Glenwood City educator Diane Nelson as a substitute teacher and an increase in the price for an adult lunch and breakfast which will go from $3.80 to $4.25 and $2.30 to $2.50, respectively. Superintendent Johnson noted that the Department of Public Instruction notified the district of a mandatory increase in the price of the adult meals which became effective on February 1.
In the committee meeting that preceded the regular session, the board discussed its distance education policy that consists of on-line and virtual courses and the social and emotional learning program which is a process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.
The board’s next committee meeting and regular session is slated for Monday, February 21.
