The Greater Jasper Consolidated School Board held their monthly meeting Monday night, and for school parents, it was a little different.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, school officials decided to broadcast the meeting on Facebook live.
Board members began the meeting by talking about the school’s learning plan. The school was ordered to submit a plan to the Indiana Department of Education about how they plan on addressing learning gaps at each grade level once they are able to have in-person classes.
High School Advanced Placement classes were next on the meeting agenda. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to make a policy change. This means that students are no longer required to take the AP tests to get class credit for the semester. Instead, students are encouraged to take the AP exam outside of high school to earn college credit for their AP classes.
The next item up for discussion was physical education. Board members approved a policy to allow high school physical education credit for eighth-grade physical education. This was requested for the 2019-20 academic year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The school corporation is unable to provide physical education classes online during summer school because the IDOC is ordering all summer school courses to be conducted online.
Superintendent Dr. Tracy Lorey then gave a heartfelt update about the school’s e-learning progress.
According to the superintendent, the feedback has been positive. Lorey also says she is so proud of the students, parents, and staff, for taking the challenges head-on to keep school in session.
Board members then heard an update on bus routes for the next academic year. Because these updated routes will be shorter, students can hop on the bus a little later in the morning and get off earlier in the afternoon.
The Jasper Elementary School construction has a few delays from COVID-19, but officials say it is still on track.
Board members also approved the 2021 budget timeline. This process is expected to start in July.
The Fifth Street Elementary summer feeding program was also given the green light and board members approved bids for supplies for the program.
The board also heard about a significant donation of PPE to the Dubois County Health Department to help with the fight of COVID-19.
Towards the end of the meeting, the board approved a few changes on the staff performance evaluating system for the 2020-21 academic year.
This affects the teacher and administration performance evaluations and is based on Governor Holcomb’s executive order.
Lastly, the school board learned that the high school staff is looking for ways to celebrate this year’s graduates.
No plans have been set at this time.
The next monthly meeting is scheduled for 7 pm on Monday, May 18th at the high school. It will be broadcasted on Facebook Live.
