The Mahomet-Seymour School Board approved funds for phase two and three of smart board purchases at Sangamon Elementary in 2014.
In years past, the Mahomet-Seymour Foundation and the Mahomet-Seymour PTO have supplied money for these fixed assets. The school board approved the use of $30,000 in Champaign County sales tax dollars, which can be used for school construction or improvement projects and fixed assets.
Using the sales tax money to purchase the smart boards will allow the district to use PTO and Foundation funds for equipment, such as cameras or tablets, needed in the classroom to enhance the smart board implementation for instruction.
Phase one required teachers to submit applications and undergo professional development before they received the classroom tool.
By the end of phase three, every Sangamon classroom will have a smart board. Lincoln Trail classrooms are already equipped with smart boards, but LCD projectors and obsolete bulbs need replaced.
Superintendent Rick Johnston introduced the idea of outsourcing mowing services when the district takes control of the 77-acre property along IL-150.
Although the proposed MSHS auditorium renovation will not be presented to the school board until 2015, Johnston would like to look into the possibility of seeing a rendering of the auditorium, which would include additional seating.
He also said the new early childhood center is on pace for early occupancy. Drywall is up in section A and B of the building, and painting is expected to begin in the Administration Center in January.
The board also heard a proposal from MSHS Principal Shannon Cheek and English teacher Jamie Colburt on the benefits of adding the option for honors-level English classes.
The board listened to MSHS Principal Shannon Cheek and English teacher Jamie Colburt talk about the gaps high school students experience in their English education during their freshmen and sophomore years. Colburt and Cheek suggested the addition of honors sections in the freshmen and sophomore curriculum will reach the needs of all students.
Students are currently group together, despite their reading level or learning style. The first time MSHS students have the opportunity to take Honors English is during their junior year. Freshmen and sophomores have the option of honors math as a freshmen and sophomore.
Colburt said juniors in honors English are caught off-guard by the course workload and expectations. She said the freshmen and sophomore honors courses would be driven by the Common Core curriculum, and reflect the same coursework as regular English courses, except in pace, depth and honors students would involve extension activities.
They believe the addition of the honors courses would increase the number of students in AP English Literature. Over 80 percent of math Honors students end up taking the AP Calculus exam.
The Honors English program will require extra money or additional staff.
School board member Vicki Niswander said she is not a fan of tracking. She feels remedial kids become less interested in their studies. Niswander doesn’t want to see a line drawn where only certain students can be accepted into the program.
Colburt and Cheek assured board members the freshmen and sophomore honors courses would be fluid and would not track students year to year. They also said they are not interested in going to a three-tier system like Morton, Dunlap, Chatham or Prairie Central.
School board member Cheryl Melchi spoke as a parent with two children in the Honors math program. She said her children were granted the opportunity to move up and down through the honors program without missing out on what they needed to know.
