MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Schools superintendent Bill Seder said the district plans to prioritize mental health during the 2021-22 school year, which begins Thursday.
Seder shared with attendees at Monday night’s school board meeting that during the work session Monday morning new and long-time staff gathered in the Field House to reflect on the past school year.
While these sessions are typically focused on celebration, Seder said the past school year during the COVID-19 pandemic led the group to focus on envisioning ways the district can improve student wellbeing for the upcoming year.
“We realized that mental health is an important factor that sometimes gets neglected,” Seder said, adding the group discussed ways to identify warning signs and implement supportive measures.
Seder also reiterated the district’s health protocols for the upcoming year, including a mask optional policy, which is the policy of all Knox County school districts.
“We all hoped that the COVID situation would have been behind us,” Seder said. “We had great hope and optimism entering the summer. It feels a little bit deja vu, like it’s kind of turning a little bit.
“We’ll continue with our social distancing and our sanitation protocols as we always have.”
Seder said the theme for the upcoming school year is unity.
“We’ve had our preseason here,” Seder said, referring to student and staff preparations during the summer months. “It’s time to get on with the business of education.”
The board approved several items Monday, most of which were staff and service contracts.
“I think this has to be a record,” board president Margie Bennett said, referring to the litany of staff contracts approved Monday. “I don’t recall that we’ve ever hired this many.”
The district hired 30 new staff and had over 50 staff changes since the 2020-21 school year, Seder said.
Also Monday, the board approved a College Credit Plus partnership agreement with Kent State University, through which Kent State will offer a collection of courses to MVCS students for the the 2021-2022 academic year.
College Credit Plus is Ohio’s dual enrollment program for students in grades 7-12. The program allows students to earn college and high school credits simultaneously by taking courses from Ohio colleges and universities.
During her student achievement liasion report, Bennett noted a program of interest in Akron where schools partner with local businesses to help address employment needs and offer students career-sampling opportunities.
The board approved a district request for qualifications for professional design services to assist with school and/or athletic facilities renovations, which is in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 153.65-73. The renovations will include window and door replacements in several buildings.
“We’re looking at some bigger projects using some of our funds that we got from COVID relief funds,” superintendent Bill Seder said.
The district has been working with Fanning Howey, a firm specializing in designing learning environments, on preliminary planning for the window and door replacements, as well as other possible facilities improvement projects.
Centerburg Local Schools recently signed a contract with Fanning Howey for facility improvements and additions, possibly including a new football stadium and outdoor learning space.
Other agreements approved included home/community school student participation in athletics; a contract with AVT Company for light and sound set-up for the district; an agreement to have police officers at district events for traffic, crowd control and security; authorizing META Solutions to advertise and receive bids on the board’s behalf for the purchase of two 77-passenger conventional school buses; among other items.
Two residents participated during Monday’s meeting, Jim Beach and Jeff Cline. Both criticized school focus on equity and inclusion, and urged MVCS to incorporate Christianity and prayer into the public school classroom.
