Advisory Board Meets Monday, Hires New Coaches

Natalie Bruzon
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The Clearwater and Orchard Advisory Boards met on Monday in Orchard for a laid-back meeting full of housekeeping items. 

After months of searching, the Advisory Boards voted to accept Mike Odell as assistant boys basketball coach and Dana Cheatum as a part-time volunteer. Jim Schutt is the head coach.

“Mr. Schutt went and spoke to Mr. Odell, so this has been a lot of Mr. Schutt branching out and we appreciate that, to try to fill some of these positions,” said Orchard Principal Cathy Cooper. 

Although Cheatum cannot attend practices regularly, Cooper said that “Mr. Schutt was very excited about (having Cheatum come on as a volunteer) because he worked with Dana as a basketball player when he was coaching him and so he was very much in favor of him coming in to help.”

The board voted to accept both Cheatum and Odell.

Also at the meeting, Cooper read Erin Twibell’s resignation as assistant track coach. 

In her letter, Twibell said, “I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to be a part of the track-and-field program at OC . . . even though this isn’t an easy decision, it is the right time to make this decision. If coach Schumacher would be interested in having me attend some practices to help with certain things, I would be more than happy to do so as a volunteer. It would just have to work with my schedule and his.”

The board regretfully accepted Twibell’s resignation. 

The NeSA scores were also a topic of conversation at the meeting, as the writing scores were released last month. 

Clearwater-Orchard saw five perfect scores this year in writing. 

“It use to be more difficult than it is now (to get a perfect score),” said Cooper. “But I also think this is the oldest NeSA test we’ve been giving, so I think we’re better at this one, our teachers are.”

“There’s no real surprises,” agreed Clearwater Principal Mike Sanne. 

Cooper also informed the board that this was the last year students had to do NeSA writing. 

“NeSA will no longer be testing writing in this way,” Cooper explained. “It’s going to be incorporated into the NeSA Language Arts. It’s going to be a question based on what they’ve read. It’s called a text dependent analysis question.”

Orchard board member Candice Hoke posed the question of how schools should honor students with perfect scores. Both schools currently have framed pictures of students, but pictures take up room and wall space is limited. 

“I took pictures of those kids,” said Sanne about students with perfect scores. “I do 8x10s of the elementary (students) because I want to get them excited young . . . We probably need to revisit how we recognize kids past elementary age in the future.”

The board discussed possibilities, such as recognizing students at ball games. 

Cooper updated the board with information from the crisis team training in Norfolk, which five Orchard faculty and staff attended. 

“Clearwater site teachers will go next year,” aid Sanne, “because it doesn't make sense to have that many people go in one day.”

The board also discussed summer moratorium and set the dates for July 1-8, 2017. 

A highlight in the meeting was the report that Father Kramper has donated $100 to each of the two sites to be used in some way toward the food program. 

“As he said, food is near and dear to his heart,” said Cooper. “We just want to send out a huge thank you to Father Kramper because he is always very considerate of our sites.” 

The Unified Board will meet in Verdigre on Monday, November 14 at 7 p.m. 

Cooper also informed the board and public that the feasibility meeting has been set for December 5 at 7 p.m. in the Orchard gym, during which the results will be reported. 

“The Unified board members and the Ewing board members will be at the table at this time, and we would like the Advisory board members to be there,” said Cooper. “We’ll have a place for you in the bleachers so that we’re all hearing the results of the feasibility at the same time.”

That meeting is open to the public.
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The Advisory board will meet again on Wednesday, December 7, at 7 p.m. in Clearwater.