WBESC board hears grant program update

Van Wert independent staff

The Western Buckeye Educational Service Center Governing Board heard an update on the success — and challenges — of the organization’s 21st Century Grant program during its November meeting this week.

Superintendent Brian Gerber commended Ashley Shepherd, the 21st Century Grant program coordinator, for the outstanding work she and her staff have done to provide services to WBESC schools.

The 21st Century programs at Wright Trace Junior-Senior High School, Paulding Elementary, Oakwood Elementary, and Lincolnview Elementary, are successfully licensed through the Ohio Department of Education and full staffed with certified teachers.

“We are near, or exceeding, capacity at all of our sites,” Gerber told the board. “Two of our elementary sites have waiting lists.”

The superintendent said the WBESC is currently exploring the possibility of partnering with Defiance College to have students majoring in education volunteer and earn practicum hours by assisting WBESC staff with small group tutoring and homework assistance.

Gerber also noted that, although a large portion of the WBESC’s after-school program is focused on providing academic support for students, staff members also build in opportunities for college and career readiness and youth development activities.

“The program is very beneficial to the students in our area,” he noted. “It takes dedicated, hard working staff members to make this program successful (and) we certainly have those high-quality staff members in place to serve our students via the 21st Century Grant.”

In other action, the WBESC board:

• Extended a one-year limited contract to Warren Fauver for the position of 21st Century Grant program evaluator for a period running from October 1 through June 30, 2016.
• Approved Sue Wettig as a volunteer at Thomas Edison Preschool.

The next meeting of the WBESC Governing Board will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 16, at the Paulding ESC office.