Two weeks ago, give or take, Governor Mike DeWine ordered all schools closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This action left many districts scrambling to get digital/ online classes and hard copy educational plans ready for their students. Windham Exempted Village School was no different in getting that set up. Administration and teachers armed with Chromebooks and lesson plans began the task of converting them to a digital format. They also had to get them in hard copy form as well for those students who don’t have internet access or computers. They moved quickly and got a basic plan in place. Those students who didn’t have access to computers were able to sign out a Chromebook. They district also had a few hot spots available to loan out to students as well. The hotspots will work for their schoolwork but are not powerful enough for downloading movies, Superintendent Aireane Curtis stated. So far all was going well. Teachers communicating with parents and students as they adjust to the system.
This was just one of the hot topics at the March Board of Education (BOE) meeting that met recently with all members in attendance.
Meeting the educational needs of the district was just one aspect of the shutdown that would affect the lives of many in the district. Another issue is helping meet the nutritional needs of their students. Many of their students receive government funded free/reduced priced breakfasts and lunches. These reduced /free meals help stretch their family’s food dollars and without these subsidies the children could go hungry. The district was concerned about making sure their students were not going hungry. Using the government standards, they set up a program that will meet those needs. The district had families register if they needed help. They set up a group of volunteers that help assemble the breakfast and lunches and they distribute them to those who need it. Right now, they are serving 55 people and they expect once the word gets out the program will grow. The breakfasts and lunches are not hot, but they meet the government nutritional standards. By meeting the standards, the school will be reimbursed for their cost. The meals are assembled into 2-day meal kits. Each meal kit contains two well-balanced breakfasts and two well-balanced lunches for each student. Once the meals are assembled, they are delivered to the family in need. Delivery is every other day during the week. If you know of a student in need or your family is in need please contact the school district.
Another hot topic at the BOE meeting was what to do about the Disney trip they had planned for June of this year. The trip was already approved by the BOE. Due to the government expecting everyone to be social distancing with no more than 10 in a group, they had to cancel their two big remaining fundraisers for the trip. The trip is up in the air and probably won’t happen this year. The district is working on a plan to refund deposits/payments. Note, any fundraising funds that kids have earned are property of the boosters. Any deposits/ payments folks have made are refundable. Currently, they are working on a refund protocol and will notify those affected students as soon as they have it planned out. Band director Andrew Stamp and Superintendent Aireane Curtis will work out the details and will announce them once they are in place. Many of questions around the trip are not answered yet. Curtis said they are trying to work out something and possibly get the trip rescheduled when things settle down. Curtis said she has to check with legal counsel on whether they can include graduated seniors. Again, nothing is settled and they are working on it.
In other BOE news, earlier in the month at a special meeting Treasurer Samantha Pochedly resigned and took a position in another district. This left Windham without a treasurer. The district has received 12 resumes for the position and will be reviewed over the next month. In the meantime, the board hired Jason Norris from SPARCC to fill in as interim treasurer. Norris is very familiar with the system that Windham uses as he helped set it up. So, for now, Norris will fill-in as Treasurer at a rate to not exceed $375/day until further notice.
There are a lot of changes being made day to day as Governor DeWine adds more restrictions. The school is also cleaning and sanitizing rooms and common areas while school is closed. The building will be closed from March 20, 2020 thru at least March 30, 2020 to get it “aired” out. No one will be permitted inside the buildings during this time. Note: phones will be answered as they are forwarded to the appropriate person.
Some other discussions that were held were, what about the students who receive occupational therapy at school? Students who received occupational therapy in school have had exercises sent home for them to work on while school is not in session. There are a lot of things still up in the air that they are working on it. AP classes and testing options, graduations requirements etc., some of these issues that need to be worked out are actually on hold as the district waits on the state to see what the changes and new mandates they will add or change to keep everyone safe and to ensure the students are getting a quality education during this trying time. So, for now it’s a wait and see.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
