Tippy Valley Sees Increase In Number Of Students Eligible For Homelessness Resources
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
MENTONE - The McKinney-Vento Act provides rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness.
That includes those who are sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason; staying in motels, trailer parks or camp grounds due to the lack of an adequate alternative; staying in shelters or transitional housing; or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing or similar settings, according to information provided via email by Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation Superintendent Blaine Conley after Monday’s School Board meeting.
The number of students who are eligible for McKinney-Vento services within TVSC has doubled in the past 10 years, he said.
“We work to meet the needs of our families through a collaborative process by utilizing various community resources,” Conley stated.
On Monday, the Tippecanoe Valley School Board approved the revised version of the “7.36 Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento” policy. Conley said the revision includes putting the complaint procedure into the policy and updating the policy as per the legal guidelines.
More information on the McKinney-Vento Act and services can be found online at https://schoolhouseconnection.org.
The School Board also approved the textbook and supplemental material adoption process.
Inga Omondi, Valley’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, was unable to attend Monday’s meeting, but Conley read off the information on the adoption process she provided to him. Conley said nothing as changed from previous years on the process.
“But, she would like to say, ‘TVSC is reviewing its curriculum resources for the content areas of science, health and computer science. The detailed plan presented today is the same process that was used to adopt the math curriculum last year. Currently, we have established a teacher and administrator team and are looking to add parents and community members to this team in January. These parents and community members are a vital part of the process in selecting a curriculum that both meets the needs of the state standards, as well as the needs of the community,’” Conley said.
Omondi is working with textbook vendors to have some samples of the curriculum at the adoption meeting Jan. 11, Conley said. From there, members of the committee will attend a textbook caravan at Swan Lake in Plymouth on Jan. 24.
The committee also will learn about the Open Education Resource option, which supports teachers in choosing materials for teaching or learning that are either in the public domain or have been released under license that allows them to be freely used, changed or shared with others, Conley continued.
“(We’ve) been using that process the last couple years,” he said.
Board member David Lash said he was glad the process included parent and community member involvement. The Board approved the process 4-0.
In other business, the TVSB:
• Approved three resolutions regarding Valley’s building project. Those included a resolution determining the need for the project, a resolution approving the form of the amendment to lease and a resolution approving the building corporation.
The scope of the project includes the highest prioritized addition/renovation and upgraded areas of Tippecanoe Valley High School. The construction project will include a new auditorium including student collaboration areas, pool renovation, exterior facade improvement, expanded agriculture classroom/labs, new and renovated locker rooms, new weight room and a multi-purpose room (multi-purpose/wrestling).
• Approved the Title I complaint resolution procedures.
• Approved a $475 donation to Cathy Olson at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School from Donors Choose for sensory materials to allow students to take a mini break during the day and relieve stress; a $500 donation from an anonymous donor to Akron Elementary School to honor the entire Akron staff with a holiday luncheon; a $500 donation from Builders Association North Central Indiana to the Mentone Elementary School Nurse Fund to buy coats for students who are in need; a $500 donation to Burket Educational Center from an anonymous donor for students in need; $500 to the TVHS theater program from TAAG Inc. in Logansport; and Revelation Wellness fitness classes, valued at $100, at Akron on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the cafeteria.
• Approved the consent agenda, which included the hiring of Nicki Lewis as a TVHS instructional assistant and Robert Shidler as maintenance specialist for the school corporation.
Under extracurricular assignments, Lisa Miller was approved as the seventh- and eighth-grade girls basketball assistant coach at TVMS, and Whitney Beck as the volunteer cheer coach at TVMS.
Resignations approved included Lisa Demske, secretary, Mentone Elementary; Keaton Bell, assistant wrestling coach, TVHS; Judy McNeilly, cook, Akron; Nicole Hines, Valley Early Learning Academy coordinator, TVSC, and Layla Eherenman, instructional assistant, VELA.
The overnight trip for the wrestling team to semi-state and state tournament was approved, as was the overnight trip for the boys basketball team to LaPorte.
The consent agenda also included the corporate resolution with First Federal Savings Bank; the administrator and extracurricular salaries for fiscal year 2022-23; and the reappointment of Kylene Crabb, Kacie Zolman and Tiffany Waldo to the Bell Memorial Public Library Board.
• Announced upcoming board meetings will be Jan. 12, reorganization meeting, board of finance meeting, public work session, Jeff Shriver Viking Room, 6 p.m.; Jan. 16, regular meeting, Burket Educational Center, 6 p.m.; Feb. 16, public work session, Jeff Shriver Viking Room, 6 p.m.; Feb. 20, regular meeting, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School, 6 p.m.; March 16, public work session, Jeff Shriver Viking Room, 6 p.m.; and March 20, regular meeting, Tippecanoe Valley High School, 6 p.m.
