MIDDLE SCHOOL REPORT … Board President Jeremy Hurst (left), Superintendent Jayson Selgo, and board member Karen Beck hear the middle school report. (PHOTO BY AMY WENDT, STAFF)
By: Amy Wendt
High School Principal Royal Short shared some good news with the Archbold Board of Education at their meeting on Monday, December 19, 2022 in the High School Media Center.
“We also got some good news that didn’t make the board report, but I wanted to share it with you.”
Sarah Dominique was in a workshop this summer where she learned about a STEM grant.
“We applied for that, and she was awarded $5,000 for supplies for her robotics class.”
Short continued, “STEM classes are important but they’re very expensive to maintain and keep current so we’re very excited about that.”
STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
Following the approval of the agenda, building reports were presented to the board where Middle School Principal Matt Shields recognized the Students of the Month.
Students of the month are nominated and voted on by teachers for exhibiting positive behaviors.
The middle school book fair took place over parent-teacher conferences and Mr. Shields noted that Mrs. Aeschliman puts in a lot of work to make sure everything runs smoothly and to make sure everything generated from the sale gets put back into the media center to keep books and reading material up to date.
The Middle School Student Council led a canned food drive and delivered over 2000 canned goods along with a $500 donation to Christmas Cheer.
They worked with the organization all day and it was a great experience for them.
Theresa Eicher of Counseling and Wellness Services of Archbold volunteered to come over and speak at a recent staff meeting and is currently working with Mrs. Jan Lindsey to address mental health concerns among students.
Shields went on to comment that middle school therapist and social worker Jessica Flores has a full schedule of kids and does a “really does a nice job.”
High School Principal Royal Short shared with the board that he recently took a group of 49 sophomores to Four County and some of those students submitted applications to the vocational school for the 2023-2024 school year.
Short congratulated band and choir students who were selected for district honors and noted they were “the best of the best” in the area.
The high school also received notice of the band students who were selected for the Fulton County honors band and the choir candidates are still being voted on by area choir directors.
The principal also shared with the board the mock trial competition will be held in person in Columbus this year after a couple of years of competing over Zoom teleconference.
Curriculum Director Michelle Bargrowski shared that the fall ELA reports came back for the 3rd grade with about 62 percent of students receiving a proficient or higher score which is pretty typical this time of year because they still have a large amount of the third grade to complete.
Bargrowski also noted that these are also the students who would have been in kindergarten when COVID hit, and students had to attend classes virtually.
“A lot of those really important skills are still being recovered,” Bargrowski added.
Bargrowski also noted that high school government students were tested, and the 2nd-grade classes will be taking the IOWA test in January.
Lastly, Bargrowski shared that she and Elementary Principal Mrs. Thiel have been looking into literacy programs to meet the dyslexia legislation.
A couple of teachers are going through the full certification course.
In the elementary report, Thiel commended Mrs. Jen Cobb for doing “an outstanding job with the music students,” and that the 2nd-grade musical was “fantastic.”
Thiel also noted great participation in parent-teacher conferences, the elementary collected 2,500 items for Christmas Cheer.
Coming to the elementary school in January will be the ABC for Maddie fundraiser and Barn Hill Preserve live animal presentation.
Superintendent Jayson Selgo discussed a possible professional development opportunity for the board to be trained on best practices when a levy is on the ballot.
Selgo also briefly touched on the status of Senate Bill 178 which if passed, would restructure the ODE and their State Board of Education.
Selgo added that many school organizations have taken a neutral stance on the legislation because it’s not fully vetted.
Mrs. Ziegler briefly updated the board on appropriation modifications due to grants that were reallocated and other items.
The consensus agenda as submitted was approved in its entirety and included the:
- November 21, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes.
- November 2022 Financial Reports.
- Appropriation Modification as submitted.
- Fund Transfer of $3,960.32 from General Fund to Turbine Maintenance.
- Donation from Archbold Rotary Foundation for $400 to offset cost of a camera for the High School Photography Class.
- Bid submitted by XTek of $143,184.00 for the Ohio K-12 Safety Grant Program for the installation of security cameras. This will include a total of 90 cameras for the three buildings.
The following personnel recommendations were also approved:
- Paraprofessional substitute list provided by the Northwest Ohio Educational Service Center for the 2022-2023 school year as presented.
- Volunteer indoor track coaches for the 2022-2023 school year: Rachel Kinsman, Nate Hammersmith, Pat Leupp, LaRoy Martinez, Chris Baden, Zach Belknap, Amy Sauder, and Austin Schaffner;
- One-year contract for Emily Walker as a classified sub for the 2022-2023 school year effective December 17, 2022.
- One-year contract for William Conner as a classified sub for the 2022-2023 school year, effective December 1, 2022.
- One-year contracts for the following IBS Tutors for the 2022-2023 school year: Amy DeLong, Lori Coressel, and Andrea Thiel.
As for personnel recommendations, the board approved the substitute teacher list provided by the Northwest Ohio Educational Service Center for the 2022-2023 school year as presented.
The board then entered into executive session to discuss the employment, compensation, promotion, or demotion of public employees.
Superintendent Selgo advised that no action was expected to be taken that evening.
Following the regular board meeting, a financial work session followed.
The next board meeting is scheduled for January 9, 2023.
Amy can be reached at amy@thevillagereporter.com
