Albrecht gives COVID-19 update
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Maryville Board of Education President Jason Haer shakes hands with Maryville High School senior Seth Nolte after presenting him with a district scholarship. Nolte, son of Shannon and Marty Nolte has been selected as the district’s nominee for the Missouri School Board Association Belcher scholarship.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Maryville Superintendent Becky Albrecht presented a COVID-19 update to the R-II Board of Education during its meeting last week.
In her report, she offered a look at first semester numbers saying it’s been pretty quiet on the contact tracing front.
“We haven’t had a lot of cases or contact traces since school started, so we’ve been really glad about that,” she said.
Albrecht said 82 students tested positive for COVID-19 during the first semester: MECC – 0, EFES – 9; MS – 24; and HS – 49.
The total number of students quarantined in the first semester was 922: MECC – 39; EFES – 174; MS – 435; and HS – 274.
During the semester many parents chose to home-school their children and again for second semester. During first semester 37 students were removed for home schooling and 34 for second.
With regard to Spoofhound Academy, Albrecht notes in her report that the number of registered students has dropped significantly from 161 in first semester to 77 in second semester.
High School Principal Thom Alvarez told the board that it has been great having the students back in the building five days a week after using the hybrid system.
“The energy is back in the building,” he said. “Everybody feels it, teachers too. It’s good to see them all back. They seem happy and where they should be.”
With regard to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Albrecht said school employees will be allowed to receive their first shots during the third tier.
“That’s anyone working at school so it’s not just teachers,” she said.
This includes people the district doesn’t necessarily employ, but work on the premises like bus drivers or other contractors.
The second tier opened at the beginning of last week.
“The next tier that becomes available will be for those working at school,” she told the board.
However, she did say there is no timeline for when that will become available. School nurses sent out a survey to gather the number of people who work for the district interested in receiving a shot.
“We can send our numbers on in to the health department to get the allotment for what they have and make plans on how it will be distributed,” Albrecht said.
On another COVID-19 related note, in the fall, the district received some Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds through the CARES Act. Albrecht said the district will receive another round this spring.
“Probably more than we got in the first round, so we’ll have some extra money to spend,” she said, explaining that there are specific areas the funds may be used to purchase.
Other news
- Four people have filed to run in the April election for the two open positions on the board. Elaine Wilson (14 years of service) and Frank Grispino (nine years of service) have decided to step down from the board. “Thank you for your service,” said Albrecht. “We’ll miss you when you’re gone.” Those who have filed for the positions include: James (JR) Kurz, Traci Westfall, Jill Baker and Monica McCollough. Baker attended last week’s meeting.
- The board heard the second reading of the 2021-2022 school calendar. According to Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz’s report the calendar has been adjusted slightly from the first reading after staff members contacted with feedback. The Christmas holiday break was extended by about 1.5 days. Currently the first day of school is set for Tuesday, Aug. 24. The last day is scheduled for Thursday, May 19. This will provide 169 student attendance days and 183 staff days.
- Seth Nolte received a district scholarship for being its nominee for the Missouri School Board Association Belcher scholarship. He thanked the board for supporting STEM curriculum. “To the whole school board and the administration, thanks for funding this kind of stuff, like robotics and Project Lead the Way,” he said. “It means a whole lot. I get to do what I really like and kind of figured out what I want to do. It’s really awesome. Thank you.”
Personnel
The following personnel items were approved:
Resignation
- Deborah Cooper, 2020-2021 AEL teacher, effective Jan. 13
Reassignment
- Kerry Wilmes, 2020-2021 special education teacher at middle school, reassigned to 2021-2022 fifth grade math teacher
Recommendation for Employment
- Jesus Gonzales, 2020-2021 girls soccer head coach at high school
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Seth Nolte, center, is shown with his parents Shannon and Marty Nolte after he was presented with a district scholarship for being its nominee for the Missouri School Board Association Belcher scholarship.
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Maryville High School senior Olivia Stiff leads Maryville Board of Education members on a virtual reality tour utilizing equipment the district purchased with funds through two grants. Maryville High School teacher Sandra Wood wrote the grant applications and received $8,000 from the Gladys M. Rickard Charitable Trust and $15,000 from the Bayer Fund. For more about the equipment please see the full story in today’s edition.
