By Julie Johansen
The Emery School Board met on Wednesday evening at Emery High School. The meeting began with work session during which Emery Educators Association (EEA) President Tiffani Cowley and Vice President Ty Horrocks gave a presentation to the board about collaboration intentions and desires for the association.
They also stated the goal for EEA for the coming year is to have a positive relationship within the district. They were concerned about information for the staff and the need to know the vision of the district board.
The middle school desire for travel and extracurricular events was again discussed by the board and the administration of the both San Rafael and Canyon View middle schools. After discussion about the purpose of extracurricular events, sports in the school, and travel and school attendance, it was purposed that a collaboration discussion with the Emery County Recreation District would be advantageous.
The Grow Your Own Program was next on the agenda for discussion. This program is grant funding for higher education costs through Utah State University. It is available to paraprofessionals trying to get certified or licensed and also for educators reaching higher degrees. There is $45,000 for educators and $15,000 for paraprofessionals available. The funds are regulated and can be changed. There is also a three-year service required after using this program.
The next item was the hiring policy requirements. Staff hiring had been reviewed as well as non-educational experiences for hiring. All hiring depends on district needs and board approval.
A second meeting for “What Counts” is being planned. This will be a community meeting with a new format. It was suggested that a state school board representative could help with the discussions. This meeting is planned for late February.
As the regular session began, Trent Huntsman updated the board virtually with construction news. The roof and drywall construction are nearing completion with an anticipated completion date of Jan. 14. The roofing is almost complete and canopies over the school entrance and commons area are needed. The interior framing and drywall is slated to be finished by end of January.
New hires for the district were also approved. They include Cassie Phillips, Child Nutrition Personnel (CNP) for Castle Dale Elementary; Debbie Bennett, CNP for Huntington Elementary; Marilyn Bonner CNP Manager for Ferron Elementary; Kacie Hadden and Jessica Greenhalgh, special education aides at Emery High School; Cassie Melton, pre-kindergarten aide Ferron Elementary; Taylor Wilson, special education aide at Cottonwood Elementary; Britanna Waite, kindergarten aide at Huntington Elementary; Chazell Allen, kindergarten aide at Ferron Elementary; and Brandy Powell, head custodian at San Rafael Middle School.
The five students on the Emery High auto mechanics team, along with instructor Chandler Peacock, requested out-of-state travel permission. They will be attending competitions in New Mexico and Idaho. This was approved unanimously.
Steven Gordon, principal at Emery High, reported that they have been involved in getting their accreditation report. They have not received the results but were feeling very good about it after their site visit.
The goals for Emery High this year are literacy across the curriculum, ACT scores and student/teacher relationships. The student council then addressed the school board. They also spoke about their goals this year: student inclusion, new activities to involve all students, “Proud to Be A Spartan” and community involvement.
