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AKRON - Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation Board of Trustees heard about funding for a new middle school robotics program and recognized two employees Monday, Aug. 17.
Naomi Trojan, a sixth-grade math teacher at TVSC, spoke to the board about a $1,495.11 grant Tippecanoe Valley Middle School received from TechPoint Youth to help fund a robotics club.
"TechPoint Youth does start-up grants, and the middle school qualified for it," Trojan said.
Trojan explained the organization has funded more than 2,100 robotics teams, reaching more than 24,000 students. Trojan has coached, trained other coaches, recruited, raised money, hosted tournaments and helped build a community for robotics. She said she has helped start and support more than 30 teams in her previous school corporation.
"I am excited to help Valley to keep going with that," Trojan said. "What I would like to do for Valley is to build this program, help make it self-sustaining, and just give our students another extracurricular that they don't have access to."
The grant has helped purchase the club's first competitive robot, a new 6-foot by 8-foot field, game challenges and the fee for the first team registration.
Trojan's son, Jeff, also told the board about his competitive experiences in robotics.
"I personally think it's a great program," Jeff said. "I've seen all around, on stage and behind the scenes, how all of that works. I feel like it's very beneficial especially for code-minded kids ... it gives them great opportunities to meet new people and show them how the robotics world works."
Naomi said Jeff is looking forward to helping other students at TVMS with robotics.
In other business, TVMS teacher Bradley Williams was recognized as the TVMS Teacher of the Year. Inga Omondi, TVSC director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, read from comments TVMS Principal Kyle Wieland wrote for the Teacher of the Year video.
"Mr. Williams represents everything we hope for as an educator," Omondi said. "Every day he finds creative and meaningful ways to engage all students, making sure every learner feels included, challenged and supported."
Williams was presented with a plaque.
Emily Demopoulos was introduced as the new secondary English Learner teacher for Tippecanoe Valley High School. Demopoulos is an educator and youth development professional who has worked at Warsaw Community Schools and Live Well Kosciusko.
"We are thrilled to have her," said Omondi. "That was a role that was yet to be fulfilled. Last year, we were not able to do that, so we are really, really happy that she is with us."
Other Business
Tippecanoe Valley Superintendent Blaine Conley shared updates with the board.
During the 2018-19 school year, student transfers out of TVSC were at 118. Last year, that number was seven students.
Also last year, Dr. Michael Hicks from Ball State University conducted a study that measured the value of added performance in Indiana school corporations and took into account factors such as poverty, demographics, English language learners and people's spending. The study estimates each corporation's contribution to student learning.
"These findings provide a more equitable measure of school effectiveness by highlighting the impact of leadership and instructional practices in the educational systems on student outcomes," said Conley.
TVSC was among nine of 290 school corporations that achieved a top 20 performance in all three measured areas of the study.
Director of Communication Ashlie Schlemmer reminded parents that ParentSquare will be used for all future communication between TVSC and parents and that all parents need to sign up for it.
Student representatives Makenzie Evans and Nolan Whitaker gave a report on school events, including the return of lockers, the implementation of the no-cell phone policy and future fundraising efforts.
