(PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
BACKPACK … Wauseon Primary School Principal Blake Young, Director of Student Services Jennifer Grime, and Family Support Educator April Beck speak with members of the Wauseon Board of Education regarding the success of the Little Indian’s Backpack Program.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
The Wauseon Board of Education held a public meeting on Friday, April 11th. The meeting began at 1:00 p.m. at the Primary School, with members first observing the Pledge of Allegiance. The current agenda was then approved before moving on to hear from visitors.
First up was Wauseon Primary School Principal Blake Young, Director of Student Services Jennifer Grime, and Family Support Educator April Beck.
The group gave a presentation to the board about the Little Indians Backpack Program, and a look into how the program has been doing thus far.
During the presentation it was stated that Wauseon is the only school district they know of that is going into the homes of children as young as six months old, to offer support and knowledge to the families.
Operating under the umbrella of early intervention is the best course of action, this became a top reason for the program, which has paid off.
Another reason stated for the program’s existence is the increasingly low preparedness percentage of students entering school for the first time.
According to the group, more and more students are entering their first year of school with a lack of communication skills, emotional regulation, fine motor skills and more. More and more students are also coming in with issues such as anxiety, among others.
For contrast, Young explained that this issue is not something that persists throughout the first year, stating around 70% of kindergarten students come in off track but end the school year with over 80% on track.
This is where the backpack program comes in. Beginning with a donation made to both the library and the school, the program was able to be created, and the supplies purchased.
Cards and informational material are available at numerous places around the area, including the Fulton County Health Center and Health Department just to name a couple.
Parents are able to scan a QR code that is on the card, which will take them to a google form to fill out. From there, the parents will be contacted by the school to arrange a visit.
Those involved in the program then go for the home visit with the backpack, and items included in the backpack, while also answering any questions the parents might have.
This has taken place both in Wauseon and other areas in the county, including other towns where the parents are thinking of having their children attend Wauseon.
Since October, a total of seventy backpacks, out of the available three hundred, have been given out to families. This has had several different positive impacts, from parents now reaching out with questions about school, available programs and signup procedures. Several success stories were also shared by the group.
This backpack program has also had a positive impact on the Bamboo Babies program, with several people signing up following a visit.
The success all around has even caused a need to find additional items to put in the backpack for kids older than 1 year old.
After the backpack presentation had concluded, board members heard from David Conley, President of Rockmill Financial Services, LLC.
Conley gave a presentation to the board about the creation of a taxation policy. He indicated to the board that this topic of discussion is something that has been becoming more and more of an issue, and that there are few governments in Ohio that have one written down.
However, with discussions about taxation and the like being discussed down in Columbus right now, a lot of things may come to pass that have an impact on schools which would make something like this more important to have.
The taxation policy would basically put in writing the views of the board members on how and when to tax, while also stating what would take place when and if a specific surplus threshold was reached.
Conley presented the board with a great deal of information, including the school’s current position on district affordability, performance index scores, and the district’s current tax rates.
He also spoke about some of the districts he represents locally, including Swanton, Archbold, Delta, and Patrick Henry. If the board decides to continue on with Conley, future meetings and discussions will take place.
The board then moved on to discuss items included in the treasurer’s consent agenda. These items included the monthly financial items, a list of donations, and a list of amended FY 2025 permanent appropriations.
Also included in the consent agenda was a quote for Playground Boss to the building of a new primary school playground, membership in the National Purchasing Cooperative for BuyBoard, a request for Bricker Graydon to serve as Bone Counsel, and a bond resolution an amount not exceeding $7,805,000. Each of these items were approved.
The board then moved on to the superintendent’s consent agenda, with the following items also being approved. A list of personnel items, an overnight trip request for FFA students to attend a convention in Columbus from May 1st to May 2nd, and a list of NEOLA policy revisions.
Following approval, the board moved to enter into executive session at 2:19 p.m. Following exit from executive session, the board moved to adjourn.