Seymour High School student Micah Yee shows off his robot to the Seymour Community School Corp. board of education during their meeting Tuesday night.
Erika Malone | The Tribune
Seats were packed during the Seymour Community School Corp. board of education meeting with not just humans but also some robots in the audience.
Students ranging from elementary school to high school who participate in robotics had the opportunity to present their robots, what their main tasks are and how they are scored in competitions.
“It’s like a family,” said Amy Jo Miller Kuzel, who presented the each school’s respective team.
Robotics teams from Seymour Middle School and Seymour Intermediate School competed in a tournament in January at Immanuel Lutheran School with five teams making it to the finals.
SMS Team 3138E, Logan Garcia and Cayden Parks, placed second to earn a spot in the finals. Together with Immanuel Lutheran Team 520D, Emersyn Dailey and Daniel Neawedde, they placed first and earned the Teamwork Champion award, which earned them a spot in the Indiana Robotics State Championship on March 23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“Thank you to the program and to the parents,” board President Ken Browning said. “It is great to see friendships built, and it looks to me we are in the company of new and future programmers as well as future engineers.”
In other business, student enrollment has increased by 132 kids compared to last year, but there is expected to be a decrease coming soon due to midterm graduates.
Seymour Community Schools also will not be in session April 8 due to the solar eclipse that will put Jackson County in the path of total darkness. Schools will have an asynchronous eLearning day, and the corporation will be providing more information regarding school preparations and safety tips to families in the future.
Also during the meeting, the board approved to accept $64,765.01 from the Early Literacy Achievement Grant. The Indiana Department of Education established this grant through House Enrolled Act 1001-2023 to reward schools and teachers for improving students’ foundational reading skills as evidenced by IREAD-3 data by 2027.
These funds will be allocated among and used to provide one-time supplemental payment stipends to certain teachers, instructional coaches and other school staff who were responsible for implementation and delivery of literacy and reading instruction through Grade 3 during the 2022-23 school year. These stipends will not be issued to administration and/or central office staff.
Board members also approved permission to apply for a Dual Language Immersion Grant. This $50,000 competitive grant will fund startup costs associated with professional development, curriculum and programming, classroom supplies and material and teacher recruitment for a Dual Language Immersion program at Cortland Elementary School in the fall of 2025.
At 7 p.m. March 11 in the Cortland gymnasium, there will be a public presentation discussing what the program will consist of. The public is invited to ask questions at this meeting.
Lastly, board members accepted a $600 donation from Jackson County Co-Op Credit Union to Seymour FFA. This donation will cover costs, including refreshments, dinners and pins signifying the award attained, during the awards ceremony held each year.
In action items, board members approved two new courses that will be offered at Seymour High School.
The first one is called principles of transportation and logistics and commercial drivers operation fundamentals, where students will have the opportunity to be introduced into the CDL industry and will prepare them to get their CDL permit. This course is in partnership with Brownstown Central High School, and students will be able to take the course next semester. One SHS student is currently in the course at BCHS.
The second course is an education career pathway, making it the school’s 39th graduation pathway. This course will provide students an introduction into the field of teaching with multiple courses and eventually have the opportunity for field experience through a capstone course.
In first read items, Superintendent Brandon Harpe provided an update on various policies, Joy Stuckwisch discussed 2024 summer school programs and locations and Julie Kelly recommended an adoption of new science textbooks.