At their Tuesday night meeting, the Rossville Consolidated School District (RCSD) Board of Education began the new year by recognizing the Rossville FFA Chapter for its outstanding performance.
The FFA Forestry team, consisting of Kolton Davis, Emersyn Hill, Kandence Emenhiser, and Makayla Spray, were crowned State Forestry champions. Kandence Emenhiser was third overall out of 204 contestants.
The FFA also had a national qualifying horse judging team. The horse judging team of Hannah Newbauer, Natalee Richey, Allie Newbauer, Bailey Schluttenhofer, and coach Bessie Newbauer captured the bronze team medal. Bailey Schluttenhofer placed gold, Hannah and Allie Newbauer placed silver, and Natalee Richey placed bronze.
Phil Carter coached the FFA Crops team, which placed fourth overall in the state. The team was comprised of Blake Fearnow, Madison Skiles, Leif Eller, and Natalee Richey. Natalee Richey placed seventh overall out of 172 participants.
Lewis Miller, Aiden Root, Ryan Wolf, and Zach Hubler competed in the State Forestry 4-H Division. Aiden Root placed second overall, and Lewis Miller was sixth in their division with 37 competitors.
The Board began its regular business with the election of officers. Joe Hufford was elected to continue his service as President, Nathan Root will serve as the Vice President, and Nathan McCullough will continue as Secretary. The Board appointed Mr. Root as the ISBA Delegate, Mr. McCullough as the Athletic Council Representative, and Jentry Pendleton as the Scholarship Committee Representative.
The personnel items consisted of consideration of an additional instructional assistant (IA) position for the elementary special education program, the resignation of Amanda Padgett as an IA, and Aubree Buck as the Rossville Middle/Senior High School assistant principal. Personnel appointments included Elizabeth Welty as the IA for the preschool, Christi Ummel as an IA, Nicholas Warford as the Technology Assistant, Dora Salinas as a cafeteria staff member, Cory Dunn as an Administrative Assistant for the middle/senior high school for the remainder of the school year, and Marshall Crawford as a physical education teacher for the remainder of the school year.
One of the Board of Education’s main functions is to develop policies to guide the district and provide direction for student achievement. The Board has been working with the Indiana School Boards Association (ISBA) as part of its comprehensive policy program to ensure policies are up to date. Several policies were reviewed on a first reading, and several more were approved for adoption. Additionally, RCSD Police are developing policies for the school’s police force. These policies will help the school’s police department to establish specific operational guidelines and standard operating procedures.
The Board was informed of the receipt of an Early Literacy Grant. This grant was provided to help improve students’ foundation in reading skills. The Board expressed appreciation for the school’s effort to improve continually, focusing on student achievement.