Dayton School Counselors present plans to School Board

DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on May 22, 2024. School board members Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Aneesha Dieu, Grant Griffin, and Superintendent Rich Stewart were present.

The board approved the Consent Agenda, which included administrative items and the approval of Polla Laib’s retirement at the end of this school year. Laib has been a teacher for 43 years, the last 38 years at Dayton Elementary.

Much of the board meeting consisted of two insightful presentations. The first, a collaborative effort by school K-12 counselors Sasha Squires and Caitlin Patterson, shed light on their weekly interactions with approximately 50 students. Their close collaboration with the district’s substance abuse counselor, academic advisor, the Gear Up coordinator, and the school psychologist ensures a robust support system for students. Their plans include the development of a comprehensive curriculum and the provision of classroom guidance lessons.

The next speaker, Rick Maloney, a board director from the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA), presented a policy governance model for school boards. This model places boards as representatives of the district’s stakeholders in the governance layer rather than the highest level of management. In this model, boards take care of the owners while the staff takes care of the customers or students. The board will probably discuss this in their June meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. and the next meeting was scheduled for June 5, 2024.