1/10/2008 12:03:00 AM
Mengerink, Morrow join VWCS board of ed
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| Changes to Van Wert City Schools District school calendar: | There will be a two-hour delay on Monday, Jan. 28 for all teaching staff and all grade levels (K-12). The district's teachers will be involved in staff development during that two-hour delay time frame.
All district K-12 students will not be in school on Friday, Feb. 15. The district has been granted a waiver from the Ohio Department of Education for staff development. The district's teaching staff will be involved in on-going staff development to support and improve learning for all students.
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VAN WERT - Two new Van Wert City Schools Board of Education members, Ken Mengerink and Mike Morrow, were in attendance for their first board meeting Wednesday evening, as was re-elected board member Marylou Smith.
In addition to the regular monthly board meeting, an organizational meeting and a tax budget hearing FY09 were held.
For the 2008 calendar year, Ken Markward was elected as board president and Linda Owens was elected as the board vice president. Regular meetings for 2008 were set for 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of every month in the First Federal Lecture Hall at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.
Assistant Superintendent Peg Schilb reported that there will be no school for all district K-12 students on Friday, Feb. 15. The district has been granted a waiver from the Ohio Department of Education for staff development.
Superintendent Ken Amstutz reported that there have been significant donations made for the athletic complex located on the Ohio 118 grounds. Towards the end of last year, the Van Wert County Foundation donated a total of $170,000 to be paid in five payments over a two-year period. More recently, Eaton has pledged $50,000 and the Van Wert Rotary Club has pledged approximately $30,000, Amstutz said.
"We are very appreciative of those funds and they will be used accordingly," Amstutz commented. "We are certainly thankful for what these organizations have done for us."
The latter two donations will be presented at the Van Wert vs. Shawnee boys basketball game on Friday, Feb. 8.
Amstutz also reported that January is "Board of Education Recognition Month" and presented certificates to board members from the state recognizing their contributions. Amstutz also expressed his gratitude to the board members for the job they do.
"It's a little bit strange that it is in January when some of you haven't served on the board, but I guess they are thanking you in advance for the thankless job you will have for the next few years," Amstutz said. "But from the bottom of my heart, I certainly appreciate people in public service...they are jobs that are necessary and it's certainly a job that not everyone can do."
One last item Amstutz reported was that the district is on track to receive an award from ODOT's "Safe Routes to School" grant program. The funds will be used to construct a walkway/bike path from the city to the middle school/high school complex. The award has not yet been finalized with ODOT, but the district is working with the Van Wert Soil and Water Conservation District to do so.
"What that funding will do and how far it will go for us, we'll just have to see. It's a step in the right direction," said Amstutz.
Two VWCS teachers, Jennifer Arend and Donna Clark, gave an educational impact presentation to the board about "Reading Recovery," a short-term tutoring intervention program intended to serve the lowest achieving (bottom 20 percent) first-grade students.
"Two years ago, the district looked at what we could do to make a difference for kids who were struggling to read," said Schilb. "Looking at the research, it became apparent that Reading Recovery was a model that we were interested in implementing."
Arend and Clark reported the district has had "good success rates" since implementing the program. During the first year of implementation in VWCS, about 65 percent of students successfully completed and exited the program.
It was also reported that research shows for every $3 dollars invested in the program, $5 dollars is saved by not having to have students remain in or be placed in other special education programs or other special services.
In a supplemental agenda, the board accepted the resignation, due to retirement, of Beth Lininger. Lininger has 35 years in education, all at Washington Elementary.
"It was my privilege to be Beth Lininger's principal at Washington Elementary and I would just like to say on behalf of myself and many children and staff that she worked with that we appreciate and respect her dedication for 35 years with Van Wert City Schools. She was - is - a phenomenal teacher," said Schilb.
Lininger's last day of teaching with VWCS will be Feb. 29.
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