On Monday, Aug. 11, the Monroe school board:
• Accepted resignations from Milo Whitehead, Monroe High School custodian/lawn care and Kathy Bohnert, Parkside Food Service. The board also hired Michele Mars as art teacher at Monroe Middle School.
• Approved purchasing Soar to Success reading intervention materials for struggling students in grades 1 to 5 at all three elementary schools. The program is from Houghton Mifflin and goes along with the main reading curriculum the district uses, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Thayer said. The materials will cost just under $43,000 and will be paid for by grant money intended to help struggling students, she said.
• Agreed to purchase the Stack the Deck language/writing series for grades 7 through 10. Unlike other series, Stack the Deck combines language with writing, which is beneficial, Thayer said. The $13,000 cost will come from the textbook budget.
• Learned the District Administrative Center (the third floor of the Monroe Public Library building) and the Monroe Alternative Charter School are included in Monroe's Historic Preservation Plan. As such, the district must submit any building or remodeling plans requiring a building permit to the Historic Preservation Commission for approval. District Administrator Larry Brown said he did not anticipate it would be an issue.
• Noted Thayer was recently recognized by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster. In a letter, Burmaster praised the role Thayer played as part of a team involved in the American Diploma Project and Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The two initiatives are part of a larger effort to examine and possibly revise student standards.
• Accepted resignations from Milo Whitehead, Monroe High School custodian/lawn care and Kathy Bohnert, Parkside Food Service. The board also hired Michele Mars as art teacher at Monroe Middle School.
• Approved purchasing Soar to Success reading intervention materials for struggling students in grades 1 to 5 at all three elementary schools. The program is from Houghton Mifflin and goes along with the main reading curriculum the district uses, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Thayer said. The materials will cost just under $43,000 and will be paid for by grant money intended to help struggling students, she said.
• Agreed to purchase the Stack the Deck language/writing series for grades 7 through 10. Unlike other series, Stack the Deck combines language with writing, which is beneficial, Thayer said. The $13,000 cost will come from the textbook budget.
• Learned the District Administrative Center (the third floor of the Monroe Public Library building) and the Monroe Alternative Charter School are included in Monroe's Historic Preservation Plan. As such, the district must submit any building or remodeling plans requiring a building permit to the Historic Preservation Commission for approval. District Administrator Larry Brown said he did not anticipate it would be an issue.
• Noted Thayer was recently recognized by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster. In a letter, Burmaster praised the role Thayer played as part of a team involved in the American Diploma Project and Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The two initiatives are part of a larger effort to examine and possibly revise student standards.