School board recognizes school counselors at Monday’s meeting

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Sandy Thomson, counselor at Washington Elementary School, received flowers this week in observance of National School Counseling Week, which is Feb. 4-8. It was all a part of an effort to recognize the work school counselors do.

At the meeting of the Charles City Community School District Board of Education on Monday, the board recognized the work of Thomson and other CCSD school counselors Scotti Hagensick, Brooke Hottlle and Chealsey Moen with a proclamation.

The proclamation of Feb. 4-8 as National School Counseling Week in the school district noted that school counselors:

• Help students reach their full potential.

• Are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities, strengths, interests, and talents as these traits relate to career awareness and development.

• Help parents focus on ways to further the educational, personal and social growth of their children.

• Work with teachers and other educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves.

• Help students become productive members of society; and comprehensive developmental school counseling programs are considered an integral part of the educational process that enables all students to achieve success in school.

In other business Monday, district Superintendent Mike Fisher provided a brief update to the board on the athletic complex and its progress. He reminded the board that on Feb. 23 there will be a sports complex banquet fundraiser at the Youth Enrichment Center at the Floyd County Fairgrounds.

There will be no school board meeting on Feb. 11, as originally scheduled. The next school board meeting will be 6:15 p.m. Feb. 25.

In other business on Monday, the board:

• Approved an agreement with the Floyd County Emergency Management Commission for the temporary use of a district facility as a public shelter during a natural disaster.

• Approved the amendment of a contract with the Floyd, Mitchell, Chickasaw Early Childhood Iowa board and the area provider, Learning Connections. The amendment will increase the budget in the contract by $811, bringing the total budget amount to $16,311.

• Approved the senior leadership team terms and conditions of employment, which have been combined into the senior leadership team handbook.

• Approved the resignation of Rick Gabel, middle school principal, effective June 30. The board thanked Gabel for his years of hard work and service to the district.

• Approved the appointment of Patricia Kilby, bus driver/custodian, at the wage of $16.52 bus/$16.09 custodian, as of Jan. 29.

• Approved the classified employee transfer of Jesusita Smith, from instructional assistant special education and native language interpreter to native language interpreter.

• Approved the classified employee transfer of Sarah Vanderwerf, from administrative support specialist 1 (campus clerical focus) to administrative support specialist 2 (clerical and special education focus K-12).