TEUTOPOLIS — With the start of the 2023-24 school year next week, the Teutopolis Unit 50 school board heard updates Monday from Superintendent Matthew Sturgeon regarding the district’s progress in a number of areas, ranging from child care to technology.
They were included in the district goals adopted by the board members last year following listening sessions with parents and other community members. All board members were present at the special meeting Monday.
“You’ve made tremendous progress on really every one of those categories and really towards every one of your individually identified goals. We’re not there yet, but I think that we’ve got great momentum in a really positive direction,” said Sturgeon.
Due to Effingham County’s ongoing affordable child care shortage, the board has been working to find more child care openings for the children of district staff and recently had some success, entering into an agreement with Stevens Industries to share access to the company’s day care program, Top Mate Central.
“The most recent thing that has been accomplished is that at the last board meeting, the board approved an agreement with Stevens Industries, specifically for access to day care, and that’s something we just finalized with legal counsel and just recently extended to school district employees,” he said.
Unit 50 board member Kari Thompson said she’s excited child care will be readily available for district staff.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction to be competitive, to retain and ensure that quality people still want to come here,” Thompson said. “We’re moving in the right direction, I think.”
Also during the meeting, Sturgeon provided a status update on the district’s plan to offer an after-school program for students, saying the district is still searching for a high-quality candidate to act as the program’s director.
“We did conduct a survey here this spring for potential interest in our K-6 grades of who might be interested and needing some after-school child care programming,” Sturgeon said. “Once a director is identified, then we’ll proceed with outfitting with the additional adult staff, maybe some student workers or some college workers, to help support that program. And then we’ll be able to offer those services to our community.”
Another one of the district’s goals has been to establish a curriculum committee and a curriculum review cycle “to guide the curriculum development” of the district at each of its schools and grade levels.
“A curriculum committee had previously existed in the district under a former superintendent and under a former board,” Sturgeon said. “We did make efforts to reestablish that last year.”
Sturgeon said the establishment of the curriculum review cycle, which will help the district identify what content or subject areas will be reviewed annually, was the final step in achieving this goal.
“Admittedly, we need some more staying power and some more commitment to do so, but I can communicate tonight that we have created a curriculum review cycle with administrative teams,” he said.
Unit 50 President Courtney Tegeler said she is excited about the direction of the curriculum committee.
“That’s something that we’ve been talking about for some time as something that would be good,” Tegeler said.
Sturgeon provided an update on the district’s efforts to expand its dual-credit offerings, citing the possibility of offering a dual-credit welding class for students.
“The board also adopted a 10-point grading scale at a recent meeting, and the board also has started conversation on GPA, class ranks,” he said.
Sturgeon said that, along with the district’s partnership with Lake Land College and the Effingham Regional Career Academy, is part of the district’s efforts to better prepare its students for the “post-secondary world.”
“ERCA is specifically intended to help bridge our students from the high school environment to the post-secondary environment, and that’s something that we’re really excited to be able to offer in future years for our students,” Sturgeon said.
The district also appears to be following through with its goal to keep its technology up to date as Sturgeon told members an additional 250 Chromebooks had recently been purchased and will soon be available for students.
“We’ve also updated another lab and continue to press forward with that district technology curriculum cycle, believing that having tools and access to information is certainly going to allow our students the best opportunities,” he said.
Sturgeon also addressed the board’s goal to promote the “character education” of the district’s students by, among other things, continuing to invite guest speakers to talk to them about bullying and how to be safe when using technology.
“I’ve heard great feedback on all of those things,” Board Vice President Erin Ordner said. “My kids loved the bullying presentation. So I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Furthermore, the board discussed its efforts to increase transparency, particularly when it comes to the district’s finances.
One idea Sturgeon proposed to members includes adding tutorials to the district’s website to help residents better understand the district’s budget and other areas of its finances they might not fully understand.
Sturgeon reminded members of the district’s goal to offer competitive compensation and benefits to attract and retain quality staff by working closely with the Teutopolis Education Association “to ensure that we’re taking care of our staff and creating the best environment possible.”
Another goal Sturgeon discussed during the special meeting is taking the district’s social media presence to the “next level” by posting more content as a way to improve and increase its engagement with the local community. He noted that doesn’t just mean sharing Unit 50’s athletic achievements.
“We’ve got great kids and great staff doing unbelievable things throughout our buildings and we need to celebrate those, too,” Sturgeon said.
Additionally, he discussed the potential creation of an alumni association, which students would automatically be enrolled in following graduation.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 14.