RASD School Board holds busy March meeting
RIDGWAY- The Ridgway Area School District held their monthly board meeting on Tuesday night, and began with the announcement of the Students of the Month and Extraordinary Elkers.
Hailey Krolik and Jaxon Silver, both Kindergarteners, were honored for their exemplary qualities of being helpful and supportive of their peers while being excellent students themselves.
Not in attendance were the Extraordinary Elkers of the Month from the middle and high school, Owen Steger and Rachel Wickett. Steger was nominated as the middle school Extraordinary Elker by RASD faculty member Kaite Grubbs, and Grubbs described Steger as “a student who is very helpful and is always supportive of his classmates.”
Wickett was the high school student to receive this month’s Extraordinary Elker honor, and was not in attendance due to being away at the RHS regional mock trial competition. Wickett was nominated by RASD faculty member Rachel Chamberlain, and her advice to her fellow students was to “spend time doing the things you love to do.”
Following the presentation of those honors, Paula Fritz-Eddy of the Elk County Community Foundation (ECCF) presented to the board a potential future partnership to establish an RASD endowment fund with the ECCF.
Fritz-Eddy shared with the board a background of how the ECCF got started, and suggested that RASD establish an agency endowment fund, which is specifically designed for non-profits. FritzEddy explained to the board some benefits of this type of endowment fund, such as having
a larger pool of assets, which can lead to greater growth, greater income, and lower investment fees.
Additionally, the organization that has this type of endowment fund with the ECCF receives exposure in the ECCF's annual report, which could reach more donors than it has on its current list.
The board expressed excitement and optimism of a potential future partnership with the ECCF in this regard,
and explained to Fritz-Eddy that they would have to convene as a group to discuss the goals of what an established agency fund with the ECCF could be.
Middle-High School Principal Noel Petrosky shared with the board that 100% of the RHS seniors have achieved a pathway to graduation. Petrosky noted that this does not mean they are ready to graduate, as senior projects and other course obligations still need to be fulfilled.
Petrosky went on
to recognize the accomplishments of the RHS mock trial team for making it to the regional playoffs, and the RHS DECA team for displaying a strong showing at the state competition.
FSG Elementary Principal Pam Yeager shared the 4th grade teachers coordinated with Amy Goode from the Career Education Center to host a career day for students on March 2. Students rotated through three career-related stations. One was with the Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group, Penn State DuBois, and with Goode herself to complete a color-coordinated career interest survey.
Yeager went on to thank the hard work of Jason Phipps and the 2nd grade teachers for their hard work in putting on the 2nd grade play, “On with the Snow.” Yeager called the performance “spectacular.”
Superintendent Heather McMahonVargas shared in her report that they will be facilitating principal interviews next week to fill the vacancy of outgoing FSG Elementary Principal Pam Yeager.
The first step of this interview process will involve a faculty committee composed of elementary staff, and the second will involve those on the administrative staff. This will be taking place next Monday and Tuesday.
McMahon-Vargas went on to share that the construction on the gym floor is moving quickly, and the RASD superintendent has requested for construction to be completed by the end of May so that the fall sports teams can use it.
Policy and personnel items included the retirements of music teacher Theresa Palmer, Paraprofessional Dale Fox, Special Education Teacher Heather Holstine, and Elementary Teacher Joleen Friedl. This will go into effect at the end of the 2022-2023 school year on June 2.
The next RASD school board meeting will be held on April 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the FSG elementary school cafeteria.