BEA art teacher Sara Albright updates the School Board.
The Blue Earth Area School Board heard from two art teachers at their meeting on Monday, May 13. And, one of the art teachers brought a special guest.
High school art teacher Sara Albright gave an update on all of the art activities at the school.
“We took 13 students’ works to the Section art competition at Cedar Mountain School, and we received 13 awards,” Albright reported.
She also gave an update on the BEA Art Club that she started a few years ago.
“We meet one to two times a week from October to May,” Albright said. “We have had 20 to 50 students in the club each year. Many of those students are not in sports or other activities.”
Both Albright and elementary art teacher Morgan Franklin showed slides of students and their art work to the School Board members.
Franklin said she has posted 3,900 art works on an art website and has had as many as 400 clay projects in the kiln at one session.
Franklin said some of the artwork created by the elementary students is very impressive and showed photos to the board members.
Both teachers said art is done in an open atmosphere and students are free to express themselves.
“They feel comfortable to be themselves,” Albright explained.
Albright also gave an update on Frankie, a certified therapy dog, who has been attending school for two years now.
Albright showed photos of how Frankie has fit in with all the kids and staff and attends some classrooms as well as school activities and events.
Frankie was in attendance at the board meeting.
In other business at the meeting on Monday, the board:
• Heard a report on a work session that had been held on May 1 which concerned the development of a proposal to construct a new K-6 school building,
Later in the meeting the board passed a resolution authorizing the preparation and submission of a proposal to the Commissioner of Education for review and comment on a proposed project.
This is a necessary step in order to eventually have a question on the November ballot about financing a proposed new school project.
• Approved a Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Ten-Year Plan.
• Accepted a donation from the BEA Tennis Association to be used for tennis uniforms. Also approved Bucc-y Bag (weekend meal program) donations from several businesses and groups.
• Approved a long list of personnel changes. Those included new hires of elementary teachers Keri Murphy, Dani Morris, Emma McLees and Jameson Johnson, paraprofessional Samantha Holmseth and high school math teacher Carissa Maday; retirements of part time bus driver Charlotte Osborn (46 years) and bus driver/mechanic Dexter Preschel (24 years); resignations from Title I teacher Gianni Alm, elementary teacher Danielle Johannsen, SPED para Lexi Rivera, elementary teacher Brittany Stindtman and paraprofessional Andrea Nienaber.