Board of Ed: Inclusion Celebrated at Heritage, Educator Remembered

The following report is from Tuesday's Saline Board of Education meeting.

Heritage School Showcased

At Heritage, students celebrated Inclusion Week before spring break.

“It was baked into our March is Reading Month, and it fit really nicely,” Heritage Principal Megan DeGrand said.

Activities included:

• An anti-bullying bulletin board that students contributed to.
• A unity chain.
• Ability stations that teachers signed up for with fun facts celebrating the diverse abilities of students.
• A game between Saline’s and Dexter's unified basketball team.
• Wearing blue for anti-bullying.
• Rock Your Socks for Down Syndrome Awareness.

“One of the things we were most proud of was just the collaboration that went into all this,” DeGrand said.

When students made posters for the unified basketball game, they even made posters for the Dexter students.

Other activities, like the Uno Club, we highlighted. One student said he met his best friend in the club and that they spent recesses playing Uno. A student named Sophia said the Uno Club has helped her learn English as a second language and meet new friends. A student named Regina said she was new to the school and she’s made new friends in the Uno Club. Now she and Sophia, for example, “are besties.”

Kathy Schamberger, EL Specialist at Heritage, is known as the Uno Queen at the school. She started playing Uno with students to have fun with them. 5th-grade teacher Ryan Burnham is also part of the Uno Club.

“I joined because I love Uno and being very competitive with the students,” Burnham said.

Schamberger said the old-fashioned fun has advantages.

“It’s a good opportunity to put down their screens, interact with each other, play with each other,” she said.

“It’s been a great place just to be a part of the community,” Burnham said.

Superintendent Report

Superintendent Rachel Kowalski noted the district suffered the loss of educator Steve Garlick.

"Steve served the Saline Area Schools community in a number of roles, including the SWWC," Kowalski said. "He was a familiar and loved presence in our school community. He was often at school events supporting many students. We continue to hold his family in our hearts and thoughts."

• Kowalski said the district officially launched updated programming information for Saline Area Schools' early childhood programs. The information is available on the district website. Kowalski noted that early childhood learning "can build all of the skills needed to have a foundation for kindergarten."
• Kowalski praised music students at Saline High School who participated in the MSBOA state and ensemble festival.
• On May 5, from 4-7 p.m., the district will join partners at the Saline Area Senior Center for a ribbon-cutting and grand opening of their expanded and remodeled center.
• On April 24 the district's STEAM Center will host the Design for Learning Summit. "The entire day is focused on how we design learning spaces and experiences and really just showing off our Steam Center to colleagues," Kowalski said.
• Before spring break, Saline Singularity hosted a big robotics competition.
• Kowalski attended the year-end celebration of the Saline Middle School Science Olympiad season. "It was good to hear about the challenges they overcame and the resilience they showed," Kowalski said. "It was good to meet the parents and see the great work happening there."
• Kowalski said she had a nice opportunity to connect with local leaders at the Saline Area Chamber of Commerce County Legislative Lunch." She also noted that Tim Austin, President of the Board of Education, was named by the chamber as Citizen of the Year.

Board Member Remarks

President Tim Austin noted the Saline Area Chamber of Commerce was holding its Circle of Excellence reception at 5:30 p.m., April 23, at Travis Poine. The chamber is holding a Women in Business spring event at the EHM Professional Building.

Austin noted the board has been invited to tour the bond work being done at Saline Middle School, from the senior center to the cosmetology building, to space for Science Olympia, Robotics and Girls That Code.

Trustee Jason Tizides noted it is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Trustee Nate Hanson noted the district had and the Board Athletic Committee Meeting with himself, Jennifer Steben, Kowalski, Assistant Superintendent for Finance Mirana Owsley, Athletic Director Ashley Mantha and Assistant AD Jeff Pike.  The Athletic Department showed revisions to the student handbook. Updates on Athletics/Community Ed work were given. There was an overarching discussion about how things were going. There was also a discussion about facility maintenance and long-term planning.

Trustee Michael McVey noted he spoke at the Saline Area Senior Center about AI in K-12 schools. "Attendees wanted to recognize and appreciate that our teachers are doing an admirable job of meeting the challenges of this new technology," McVey said, "I just want to echo their comments that we were doing a remarkable job."

He said he attended SHS Principal Theresa Stager's doctoral defense.

"She did a remarkable job. Her work on communities of practice and professional learning communities will really provide some guidance to schools everywhere to improve their professional development strategy," McVey said, congratulating Dr. Stager.

McVey teased a discussion about MDE Bulletin 1014, and said the board will consider language for the CARES Millage renewal at its next meeting, and said that numbers from student county day and schools of choice looked "rosy."

Trustee Darcy Berwick said the Strategic Planning Committee has met for the first time.

Berwick noted the Saline Middle School robotics team visited DTW to see what technology looks like.

Berwick sent well-wishes to the people at the high school who worked with Steve Garlick.

"I had the opportunity to work with him at the high school for a few months, and he was a riot every time I saw him," she said, "I know he was a ray of sunshine for the high school staff and that he will be missed."

Vice-President Jennifer Steben said she attended the FSAS meeting and the Athletic Meeting with Hanson. Steben said the FSAS is getting ready for Executive Director Stacy Rumpsa's last day. The foundation will also have two new trustees. Steben also said she attended the DEIAC meeting and noted the group had guests from the Saline Youth Council. The SYC wants to know if the Board of Education will participate in a May 9 cook-off. The DEIAC will participate.

CARES Grants

The board approved the following CARES Grant applications, which were first approved by the CARES Advisory Council:

• $15,000 for Saline Additive Manufacturing Education Lab, by Saline STEM Boosters
• $6128 for Pole Vault Pit/Mats, by Saline Middle School track and field.
• $3068 for Robotics Advances Community Education, by Saline Heritage First Lego League.
• $2666 for Family Friday Food, by Saline Alternative High School.
• $1739 for Little Free Library, by City of Saline and Girl Scout Troop 40180.

More News from Saline

• Saline Police: Woman Injured in Scuffle, Gun Discharged at Linden Square Nobody was injured by the gunfire, but a woman did suffer injuries during an altercation at Linden Square.
• Reported Shooting at Linden Square Assisted Living Social media was abuzz with a reported shooting at Linden Square Assisted Living late Thursday night and early Friday morning.