At the end of each regular Board of Education Meeting, board members take a moment to share some of the great things they see in the district while serving on the Board. Here are this month's points of Pride & Progress:
“At the Later Elementary, I had the opportunity to walk through the school with Mrs. DePierre. I’m always impressed with the positive energy in that building, beginning with the front office staff, Mrs. Kiesgen and Mrs. Straka. They’re always so welcoming, and that same energy is infectious throughout the building. On another note, the musical “Spamalot” was a fantastic performance by our high school students! Taking that a step further, we just wrapped up our extracurricular season of sports, performing arts, music and other activities, and I’m amazed at the number of extracurriculars taking place after school hours throughout the district. I’ll end with this; the level of energy you see in all the buildings both during and after school hours is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our students, staff and the community.” Brent McNitt
“I recently attended the Grad Bash Craft Show at Paw Paw High School. Kudos to the group that organized that event. It was well organized, and the school looked great! At the Cedar Street Campus, congratulations to Student of the Month Madeleine Smith. Also at Cedar Street, students engaged in a sled design challenge, held a race competition, participated in a frozen fish fling, chili cook-out, hot cocoa station, and took part in other art projects as part of Cedar Street’s Ice Breaker Festival. They had a great time! By incorporating art projects and design challenges, students at Cedar Street continue to learn in innovative ways.” Dale Pease
"At Paw Paw High School, I'd like to congratulate Student of the Month Yasmin Lopez. Under the Core Value of Community, the High School's Pay it Forward Class (one of my favorite classes) has established a pen pal program with a second grade classroom. They met this month for cookies and games! This sets a great example for our younger students and is a fantastic mentorship opportunity for our high school students. Kudos to Superintendent Davison for his work getting better lighting at the high school entrance on Red Arrow Highway. Thank you, Mr. Davison, for your forward-thinking leadership and dedication to the safety of our community." Ray Martin
“At Paw Paw Middle School, I was impressed to learn from Principal McDaniel that several middle school students spoke at the recent Whole Child Summit at the Van Buren ISD. I’d like to thank Mental Health Clinician Kelly Touchtone for her work preparing students to speak about the challenges they are facing. Kudos to the students and Mrs. Touchtone for the excellent job they did representing our district! Also, shout-out to the band and choir for achieving high scores in the recent festivals. I’d also like to recognize the peer-to-peer program coordinators for submitting and receiving a grant to support their program. Lastly, a big shout-out to the third grade teachers at the Later Elementary for creating a wax museum. Students authored papers, dressed up in costumes and memorized speeches as part of this project!” Lindsay Clark
“At Paw Paw Early Elementary, I’d like to congratulate Principal Barnes and her staff on the improvements in the Star assessment scores.” Nate Mitchell
“Congratulations to the Transportation Department on the purchase of a new bus, and congratulations to the Facilities Department on securing the new groundskeeping contract.” Tom Imus
“I was excited to attend the Educational Hero Awards Banquet with Superintendent Davison. Two exceptional individuals from PPPS, Later Elementary Music Teacher Sydney Brown and High School English Language Arts and Spanish Teacher Shaun Wayman, received Educational Hero Awards. We are very blessed to have these two teachers in our district. Lastly, I’d like to thank Mr. Ben Bowater for caring about our community for 17 years, driving a bus, and caring about the children. I don’t think we can thank him enough for all he’s done.” Mary Beth Sons