Dayton School Board update

DAYTON—The Dayton School District Board of Directors met Wednesday, December 2, for a regularly scheduled board workshop session.

During the session, Superintendent Guy Strot gave a brief update on the Dayton-Waitsburg Athletic Combine mascot. After speaking with Superintendent Mark Pickel, Principal Kristina Brown, and Principal Stephanie Wooderchak, Superintendent Strot said that the schools would keep their individual mascots. Dayton School District will still be represented as the Dayton Bulldogs, and Waitsburg School District will keep their Cardinal mascot. The Combine mascot would be used for sporting events only. Updates will be provided after the school districts hold their monthly meetings.

Principal Kristina Brown reported that the ASB would be waiting until January to vote on the new mascot. A screen printer in Dayton and an artist in Waitsburg have been speaking with students to develop mockups of potential mascots and designs.

Dayton School District moved to a virtual learning model recently due to rising COVID-19 cases in Columbia County. Superintendent Strot said that a recent shipment of Chromebooks have arrived and have been distributed to students, as well as additional learning materials.

He also reported that younger grades, like kindergarten and first grade, are receiving learning videos and other alternative methods of instruction.

Principal Brown noted that they had lots of student engagement since the switch to virtual learning. She added that many of the teachers have been preparing for a switch to a virtual model for the last fourteen weeks and have already integrated Google Classroom into their plans. Both Brown and Strot reported that they have not received any feedback, negative or positive, from parents since the switch.

Superintendent Strot also gave a brief update on the COVID-19 pandemic situation. At the time of the meeting, there were no active cases associated with the school and a total of fourteen active cases in the county. It was decided that the board would go off Superintendent Strot’s recommendation, with board member Fred White expressing that he was confident Strot would make an educated recommendation.

Board member Katie Leid asked about a rumor that a student’s sibling had tested positive, but the student was still being sent to school instead of quarantining. Superintendent Strot acknowledged that he had heard the same rumor, but that was not the case within the Dayton School District, and school-associated cases were adhering to the recommended isolation and quarantine procedures.

On December 4th, the school district announced that they would remain in the virtual learning model until further notice. The full announcement can be read on the district’s website, http://www.daytonsd.org. Parents with concerns or questions are encouraged to call or text Superintendent Strot at (509) 530-9373 or to email at guys@daytonsd.org.