Edison board hears student ideas, program updates

Educational programming dominated discussion at the Nov. 19 meeting of the Edison Local Board of Education, held at the Edison High School Fieldhouse in Richmond.

High school student representatives Brenna Liggett, Leila Sudvary and Casher Dopp shared updates and ideas from their buildings.

Liggett, a junior, highlighted concerns about lunch periods for upperclassmen, extra bathroom time and use of bookbags. She requested a suggestion box outside the cafeteria for meal choices and asked officials to consider adding a salad bar to expand options and reduce waste from pre-made salads. She also proposed creating a club fair during school hours early in the year to increase involvement and recruitment.

“I think this is a great opportunity for the students to get involved and for the clubs that put in a lot of effort to show themselves off and see if they can get people interested,” she said.

Liggett added that she hoped to work with school counselor Collette Honsowetz on a peer-mentoring program modeled after Big Brothers Big Sisters to build connections and empathy.

Sudvary, a sophomore, told the board she completed a 4-H project book on mental health, drug prevention and suicide prevention and wanted to share it at school.

“Sometimes the student struggling with these issues can connect with a peer or feel like they understand better,” she said. She suggested a You Matter bulletin board with QR codes for resources and space for gratitude cards.

Dopp, a seventh-grader at Edison Jr. High, raised concerns about bathroom conditions in the annex and asked the board to consider busing EJHS students to away football and basketball games.

“We could bus students to away football games and basketball games to give them safe, fun things to do on Friday nights,” he said.

Board members praised the students, and President Aaron Richardson said the representative program has grown significantly.

EHS Principal Matt Morrison updated the board on Maymester courses planned for May 4–23. The high school will operate on four 94-minute blocks, while the junior high will have three 47-minute blocks and one 94-minute period. Teachers developed courses based on personal interests within certification limits. Examples include Art Around the World, Greenhouse Management, Clean Energy and Watt Works, Living the Constitutional Convention, World Lit Iconic Films and Finance for the Future. Junior high courses include From Sea to Shining Sea and Echoes of Equality: Civil Rights.

“It’s a creative way to meet the interests of teachers and engage students with a more hands-on approach,” Superintendent Bill Beattie said.

Honsowetz also detailed a comprehensive counseling program in the second year of a four-year plan developed with The Ohio State University. Its mission is to provide research-based interventions and data-informed programming that address academic, career and personal and social development. EHS has three counselors: Honsowetz for social-emotional needs, Leah Eft for careers and Karen Crawford for academics.

“Some of the things it does is we identify the knowledge and skills students need. We really use data to direct where we’re going,” she said. Counselors spend 80% of their time on direct and indirect services and 20% on data analysis and gap identification. Annual goals include a 3% increase in the graduation rate and a 3% decrease in chronic absenteeism.

“We were able to reach the goal this year,” she said, adding she plans to update the board in the spring.

In other business, Jefferson County Educational Service Center Intervention Specialist Patty Ferrell presented three $700 Best Practice Grants to teachers Nathanael Kline, Miguel Brun and Stephanie Kuca. Kline said his project involved paper-based interventions for executive function and PBIS.

Assistant Superintendent Julie Kireta met with Eft and FFA Advisor Kelli Pridemore to discuss career-tech opportunities, including an ag business work-release program, a public service pathway, capstones, pre-apprenticeships and a Sources of Strength peer-mentoring program.

The board accepted the resignations of junior high wrestling coach Ethan Waggoner, varsity wrestling coach Luke Spencer, EHS school nurse Jenna Still and Stanton Elementary teacher Nancy Davis, who will retire in July. New hires include registered behavior technician Olivia Shaw and paraprofessionals Melinda Weaver and Jeanette Mase at John Gregg Elementary.

Officials appointed Ron Smyth as the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School Board representative for a three-year term ending in December 2028.

The next regular meeting was set for Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. at EHS.