The monthly District 158 Board of Education Meeting took place on Thursday, March 17. The meeting was started with the Pledge of Allegiance given by five children from Chesak Elementary School.

Announcements were then made about the College and Career Pathway Endorsements that will go on high school transcripts through the Medical, Engineering, Global, and Fine Arts Academy. 

Amanda Henk, one of the PLTW Engineering Academy teachers, talked about how the students are learning through the Engineering Academy to help them prepare for the future. She also answered questions about the ability of students to change programs or academies mid-way through their high school careers.

“Some of it is time-dependent when they choose to make that leap, we hope it just reminds our students that there are a lot of opportunities out there,” Henk said.

Another board member talked about how he thought the courses and academies were a good step for improvement in the school.

“What really stuck out the most is the confidence it can instill in the kids to really own something and be engaged at a new level,” said Kevin Gentry, Vice President of the D158 Board of Education.

Next, the meeting shifted to parent concerns within the district. Three representatives from the D158 Parent Union gave a statement.

“I’ve seen a huge difference in my children in the past month not being masked at school. They are happy and more well-behaved all around,” said Corrine Burns, a member of the District 158 Parent Union.

The Parent Union was previously focused on the mask mandate, but with the recent legal decisions, the focus has shifted to other issues within the school. The union is upset about the drugs, alcohol, and violence within the schools and specifically at HHS.

“These kids are enabled, they know the discipline policy is not being enforced and that encourages them to just keep going,” a member of the Parent Union, Jill Cataldo said, reading a direct message the union received.

“We aren’t going away. While all of this focus was on the masks, we are still focused on wanting all the things fixed, so we can be proud to send our kids to D158 again,” said Carrie Cross, another member of the union.

Then the meeting shifted to more announcements about the school and education system. Information was presented about the schools shifting away from Haiku/Powerschool Learning.

“After doing a short but intensive review of several systems, we have decided to stick with Powerschool and go with the upgrade to Schoology,” said Erika Schlicter, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum.

They hope the decision will make the transition as smooth as possible for teachers and students. Especially since the formatting will change from how teachers had previously organized work. The prices will remain the same so it will not cause a large cost shift for the district.

The meeting finished with information about the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System. 84% of students took the BESS survey to give feedback about behavioral and emotional problems and successes within the district.

Despite all the information and announcements from this meeting, the board will be meeting together again on April 21, as the next Board of Education Committee of the Whole Meeting, following Spring Break, was canceled.