Dayton School Board heard from teachers and students at year's end

DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met on May 17, 2023, in the High School library: School Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, and members Grant Griffen, Aneesha Dieu, and Zac Fabian, and Superintendent Rich Stewart were present. Board member Korinda Wallace was not present.

Several student and teacher groups gave presentations at the beginning of the meeting. Cole Kenney, a Title 1 Para, gave a presentation on Title Small Groups which offers individualized instruction in reading and math in grades K-5. The program uses “Read Well” to track the students’ progress. A fifth grader, Sam, gave a brief testimonial on how the program helped him improve his understanding and grades.

A Title 1 Para, Carolyn Laib, spoke about the Accelerated Reading (AR) program. The AR program lets students pick from about 180,000 book titles to read independently, at their own pace, and reading level. Each title has an online quiz on reading comprehension for the students to take after reading the book. The book’s difficulty determines the number of points students earn after passing a quiz. Students earn rewards for points, including Liberty Theater tickets and other prizes.

Jami Rushing, an Elementary Title 1 teacher, and sixth-grade students, Ian Rushing and Ellie Sabin, spoke about Family Engagement Nights. These events are held to reinforce ties between families and schools. The two sixth-grade students are designated student leaders for the events.

A fourth and fifth-grade teacher, Wendy Richards, gave a talk on the Bluewood ski program. Kristine Warren followed to speak about “Character Strong.”

At the end of the presentations, the board approved the Senior Trip to Triple Play Amusement Park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Next, the board approved the Consent Agenda, which included administrative items, approval of two GEAR UP overnight trips, and athletic summer camps for football, volleyball, and girls and boys basketball.

The agenda included accepting a donation from Schuyler Rebekah Lodge for student lunch debt and a surplus sale of two-way radios. The board approved hiring Danica Porter as a High School Science Teacher, Jamie Trump as CTE Family Consumer Science and Business Teacher, and the resignations of Owen Lanning as the High School Assistant Basketball Coach and Jennifer Crane as an Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor. Finally, the possible High School girls’ overnight to Yakima for the State tournament was approved.

Pastor Jeff Milsten was the only speaker during public comment. He said he had not heard back from the board on suggestions and two specific requests he has made in past meetings. He said he would continue on “to add more information.”

Mislsten said teachers had told him they bring up religion only when it is brought up in the textbook.

“The problem with that is most textbooks limit the amount of religion talk in them. Some of them have almost none.”

He went on to say, “From the Reformation time period, when the Bible was first put in print, and a lot of people found out stuff that they had never known was in the Bible.”

He said it was not true that the Renaissance thinkers thought up stuff like equality, civil rights, and democratic government. “No, that came from the Christians. It was in the Bible and is in the Bible.” He said the Bible lays the foundation for many human rights, such as liberty, trial by jury, due process, taking care of children, and no slavery. “I just ask that we do teach these things.”

Elementary Principal Amy Cox’s report included news about a field trip for kindergartners to a fromagerie. The second graders walked to the county courthouse to make sketches and then returned to the school to finish the sketches with watercolor.

Following the High School Principal and Maintenance reports, Stewart gave an analysis of how he thought the school performed during the lockdown last week. He said there were areas that need improvement and others that performed well.

Dieu responded to Stewart’s discussion on the effectiveness of the district’s communications, saying she thought the school newsletters were doing a good job of pointing out positives but neglecting to address concerns families might have. She didn’t want school communications to look like the district was trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Stewart favored focusing on goals instead, saying they might show what the district is trying to improve.

The meeting adjourned after 8:00 p.m.