By Sam Thomas
BLOOMINGTON – The District 87 school board held its regular meeting Wednesday night at Oakland Elementary School in Bloomington.
In what was otherwise a light agenda, the board first recognized Irving Elementary School teacher Maureen Svob.
Svob is the founder and coordinator of Irving’s SHINE club, an after-school program for high-need fourth and fifth-grade female students. She was honored for her efforts recently as a nominee for the ATHENA Leadership Award.
Svob addressed the board Wednesday and said SHINE encourages female empowerment and anti-bullying initiatives through a variety of programs.
“We have female speakers from the community come and speak to the girls on what their position is in the community and how kindness has affected their lives,” she said. “This is our third year and things have just really started taking off.”
Julie McCoy, the Food Service Director at District 87, was also tapped to address the board Wednesday but was absent due to illness. She was also an ATHENA nominee in addition to being named a “Twenty Under Forty” award winner.
Wednesday’s meeting was located at Oakland Elementary to allow faculty and students a chance to demonstrate projects they’ve been working on this school year.
Oakland Principal David LaFrance explained to the board that the school has partnered with a Bloomington-based organization that encourages students to share their life stories through writing exercises and other mediums.
Oakland students shared their unique stories in front of members of the board and parents in attendance.
LaFrance said the program helps students empathize with each other.
“We had a chance to partner with a group, Life As We Know It, located right here in [Bloomington,]” he said. “We’re able to talk about the importance of getting to know other people’s stories and knowing that every one of our 500 kids that walk into Oakland Elementary School each day has a story.”
Students shared tales about everything from lost pets to moving to a new country.
Also giving a presentation Wednesday was Oakland Elementary School teacher Kim Carthans.
Carthans was able to visit Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Ga. as part of an education development program over the summer. She says the school and its unique approach to education have left a lasting impression on her.
“I decided that no educator should be unaware of this inspiring opportunity,” she told the board. “It not only changed my life as a teacher, but as a mother and as a wife. The principals that Ron Clark Academy instills in its teachers and its community are timeless.”
Educator Ron Clark opened the model school that seeks to make education fun and engaging in 2007. The academy’s website says the school blends education with moral values.
Carthans took the board and parents on a tour of her classroom that was modeled in a style similar to that seen at Ron Clark Academy.
Sam Thomas can be reached at sam@WJBC.com
