By Dennis Volkert
Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education on March 17 approved adoption of science curriculum upgrades for K-2 and high school.
In February, the board received a list of requests from educators to fund educational materials, equipment improvement and laboratory elements.
During the 2023-24 academic year, teams identified and developed assessment tools to gather student achievement statistics in science. For 2024-25, teachers have begun to apply those assessments.
Superintendent Art Ebert provided to board members and administrators a brief update regarding formation of a community steering committee.
A survey was sent recently to gauge interest in membership. Forty-two responses were received, including six additional recommendations, Ebert said, calling it “an outstanding response.”
Respondents include alumni, business owners, parents, retires and students.
The district expects the committee to comprise 10 to 12 members.
The goal for the panel, according to SPS, is to make an investment that provides “an outstanding educational experience that inspires community pride, strengthens our sense of belonging and makes our community a place where people want to live, learn and thrive.”
Primary duties of committee members include:
- Actively participate in on-site community input meetings.
- Meet with the architect and construction manager throughout the process.
- Make recommendations to the board of education.
- Sturgis Public Schools has not organized a committee of this type since the early-2000s, Ebert said.
“So this is truly generational work,” he told the board.
Ebert also gave the board an overview of preliminary designs to restructure driveways and parking lot structure at Eastwood School.
The district has collaborated with the city of Sturgis regarding strategies to improve traffic flow and enhance safety for student pick-up and drop-off. Part of the vision is to alleviate congestion on Franks Avenue, shifting more of the traffic load to the west, by extending Myrtle Avenue to connect it with the school grounds.
A community discussion session was held in October to assess needs.
Repair or replacement of parking lots and driveways is included in the district’s 10-year capital improvement plan, Ebert said.
Several design strategies are under consideration.
Board president Emily Halling inquired if a separate plan at SPS, an initiative to explore reconfiguration of school facilities and student-site arrangement, might affect which strategy is preferred. Ebert said that is a possibility, and the Eastwood project is likely to be considered a redesign, instead of repair or replacement.
In other action at the meeting, BOE approved the nomination of Rebecca Wickey to membership of the Parent Advisory Committee at St. Joseph County Intermediate School District.
