EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville District No. 7 held its bimonthly School Board Meeting on Monday, Aug. 26, and a new apprenticeship program and different method of honoring staff and students were key issues discussed.
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Superintendent Dr. Jason Henderson first discussed the success of the new apprenticeship program that is now up and running for Edwardsville High School students. The two-year program allows students to earn credits while training to get a headstart in the workforce.
“It is definitely exciting we had so many who wanted to take part in this program. And so far so good, we’ve had our Assistant Principal Paul Stuart headed over there last week to visit and I plan to go out there and check it out very soon as well. It’s being very well-received by the students,” said Dr. Henderson.
Dr. Henderson also spoke of new ways the schools will be honoring staff and students each month. The Star Employee of the Month and Star Student of the Month awards will soon be taking place at each of the Edwardsville District No. 7 Schools. Dr. Henderson spoke of ways both staff and students would be recognized, once they start giving the awards out at the schools.
“For the staff, what we’ve decided is it's going to be an award that is nominated by a peer," Henderson said. "We’ll have a trophy traveling around to various staff members who receive the award. We’re going to try to get some local businesses to donate gift cards. We’ll have a certificate, but each school is going to individualize it. Edwardsville High School was talking about creating a parking spot up front for that employee of the month, so everyone is going to do something a little bit different. We want it to be meaningful for the staff and somethings that's nice."
Henderson said for the students, "we’re going to follow the 'do the right thing' theme."
"We’re looking for kids who are choosing to do the right thing within their schools. It’s going to be nominated by a teacher or a staff member. And what we’re going to do is have a personal phone call with the parents, explaining why the student won the award. They’ll be recognized differently at every level. We’re going to have yard signs that will go into the yard of the student, for the month they are a student of the month if they want. We’ll have a certificate, we’re just trying to come up with ways to make it a little more meaningful. We think it'll be neat, especially at the elementary level,” said Dr. Henderson.
It was also mentioned a transportation app for parents is in the works. The app would allow parents to track school buses on their phones to be more aware of delays via GPS. After Labor Day they plan to test it out with two schools that have not yet been decided. More information on the app should be coming out to parents of students soon.
Edwardsville District No. 7 School Board meetings are held the second and fourth Monday of each month.
