LIFEWISE PROPOSAL … Pastor Harris addresses the Montpelier Board of Education regarding the LifeWise Academy. (PHOTO BY ANNA WOZNIAK, STAFF)
By: Anna Wozniak
The February 14th, 2023 Montpelier Board of Education meeting began with the recognition of students for student of the month. The students nominated are as follows:
KinderKlub – Maverick Rau; First grade – Tesla Hopper; Second grade – Jaxson Cocke; Third grade- Reid Parrot; Fourth grade- Lily Moore; Fifth grade- Kimberlie Curtis; Sixth grade- Cianna Shoup; Seventh grade- Brayden Epling; Eighth Grade- Madison Brown; High School- Kaycee Humbarger.
Also recognized were spelling bee winner, Weston Brown, and runner-up, Payten Hall.
The board then moved into conversation oriented around the Gladys Porter scholarship.
This scholarship currently only allows for the amount of interest accrued on the initial $20,000 deposit of the account to be awarded to a qualified graduating senior.
This amount changes drastically based on the financial environment of the year. Due to this, the board would like to put in place a minimum amount that may be awarded by this scholarship, regardless of interest accrued.
This withdrawal could affect the principle of the scholarship funds, and while the scholarship’s future use was entrusted to the prior board, they are looking to hear the opinion of anyone who is related to Gladys Porter.
Pastor Harris and Phil Nofziger, of Defiance, presented the board with a plan to introduce LifeWise Academy, a Bible based character education program, into 1-6th grades at Montpelier Schools.
This program operates on three basic principles: it has to be independently funded; off of school grounds; and attended only after parental consent.
They have garnered over 90 signatures of approval and have gotten approval from the Montpelier Church of the Nazarene for use as a venue.
Potential volunteers will be screened by Protect My Ministry, and the school added that they would like to also process and screen applicants.
Plans for how this would be incorporated into the existing school schedule are not concrete at this time.
The board agreed to send representatives to surrounding schools that have implemented LifeWise Academy.
The board put discussing LifeWise Academy on the agenda for the March 21st meeting.
Mr. Thorp then began giving the legislative report, commenting that the recent personal development day was a success.
He noted that they are trying to further take advantage of their gifted education services starting in fourth grade.
Third graders that did not meet test scores in the Fall will be given another chance to pass. This chance is essential to successful student retention rates.
Girl Scouts of America are looking into setting up a local chapter for the first time since the COVID lockdowns. They will be visiting students during lunch period to try and evaluate student interest.
The school will be hosting a Dr. Suess spirit week starting Monday, February 27th. March 10th is an early release day.
Mrs. Thorp reported that turn-out was super low for parent teacher conferences grades 7-12. She recommends reevaluating these conferences’ existence due to a lack of participation.
The board has partnered with a professional development coach who will help them in target areas of curriculum testing.
There will be a musical coming up March 3rd-5th.
Juniors have been registered for their ACTS, and they will take those on the 28th. Afterward, they will be CPR trained.
There will be no school on the 20th, Presidents’ Day.
The treasurer’s report included details on how the personal development day for teachers and staff included training on web-security.
There are still some improvements to be made before assured approval for cyber-insurance. They have received a grant to help the school set up third-party authentication methods.
A motion was introduced to approve the board meeting minutes of the organizational meeting January 10, 2023 and from the regular monthly meeting on January 10, 2023 and the special meeting minutes on January 23, 2023 as presented. This motion was unanimously approved by the board.
A motion was made to approve all items on the financial reports, and the motion was unanimously carried by the board.
All items under consideration concerning the employment of certified staff were approved unanimously in a motion made by Mr. Rose and seconded by Mrs. Gambler.
All items concerning the employment of classified staff were approved unanimously after a motion to approve was made by Mrs. Rockey and seconded by Mr. Clinger.
A motion to approve the continuance of an agreement with the Ohio High School Athletic Association for the 2023-2024 school year was made by Mrs. Gambler and seconded by Mr. Owen.
A motion to approve the 2023 National Robotics Challenge trip to Marion, Ohio from April 13, 2023 to April 15, 2023 was made by Mr. Rose and seconded by Mr. Owen before being unanimously approved.
The board then unanimously voted to enter into executive session at 7:02 p.m.
Anna can be reached at anna@thevillagereporter.com
