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Almost 40 community members, administrators, teachers and parents were in attendance for the school board meeting held this month via Zoom. With all board members present, the earlier part of the meeting was spent reviewing the student report by high school board member Olivia Nesgoda. Olivia discussed her well-executed Google form surveys pertaining to the current mental health of her peers, their motivation levels, and the challenges in staying caught up. Nesgoda surveyed her peers and said her main goal, was to assess, “The overarching vibe of how students are feeling and coping and better ways to support them.”
The important topics Nesgoda addressed with the student body were presented during the meeting and set the tone for Thursday’s discussion of all future plans being put in place to safely move forward for the remainder of the year. With the plan to pivot the middle school back into the building on a hybrid schedule, by March 2, discussion arose to also potentially move the high school back to in-person learning, in some capacity.
Interim Superintendent Megan Myers expressed her hopes to get the students who choose to return, safely, as soon as possible based on the low transmission rates within schools and the falling case numbers within the county. Myers explained using the cafeteria on a rotation schedule and praised the ionization system being used within the building.
In reminding the community of many positive things going on within the district, Principal Mitch Dorr gave his report where he praised his staff for successful communication, check-ins and conferences that had taken place. He applauded local theater programing and gave kudos to the Nordic and Alpine ski teams and their coaches. Although there has been less room for students to have activities and school experiences this year, due to the pandemic, Dorr reminded those in attendance that check ins with seniors, planning for next year and college applications were all still in the works.
In addition, board members discussed their plans to revisit district policies in place to keep things up to date and ISD166 specific. School board member Debra White gave a Grand Portage and LIEC (Local Indian Education Committee) report and spoke about making more detailed updates/reports available in the future. Also discussed was the idea to have Grand Portage community members as part of meetings moving forward to bring about more positive cultural awareness.
The ISD 166 school board will hold their next meeting on Thursday, March 18.
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