STEM Vantage ‘All Boards’ Dinner focus

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Vantage Career Center held its 37th annual All Boards Dinner Thursday to honor board members and administrators in Vantage’s 11 member school districts and four educational partners.

The focus for this All Boards Dinner was on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education, and Vantage communications person MaryJo Wilhelm gave a presentation on the various STEM programs found in Vantage partner school districts, while also underlining the importance of STEM education to the future of local students.

Area STEM programs include Van Wert City Schools’ Robotics program that recently won the state First Tech Robotics competition, Project Lead the Way engineering and biomedical programs in the high school and STEM programs in Van Wert Middle School; Antwerp Local School District’s Engineer Your Future (EYF) program, in partnership with the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering; Crestview Local Schools’ eighth-grade STEM classes; Delphos Jefferson’s Math Through Modeling course, which was developed in conjunction with Rhodes State College; Fort Jennings High school’s STEM program that encompasses mostly science and math departments K-12 focusing on green energy and an outdoor science lab and classroom; and Kalida Local Schools’ Project Lead the Way biomedical sciences program and VEX Robotics competition.

In a meeting held prior to the All Boards Dinner, the Vantage Board of Education approved a number of employee contracts.

Contracts approved include the following: Peter Van Tilburg, Medical Office Management, continuing contract; Robin Burns, Culinary Arts/Food Services, continuing contract; Leigh Carey, Health Technologies, two-year contract; Jeff Duncan, Auto Technology, four-year contract; Rachael Harpel, Science, four-year contract; Michelle Knippen, Special Education, two-year contract; Rose Krietemeyer, Paulding-Family and Consumer Science, continuing contract; Darrell Miller, attendance discipline officer, one-year contract; Robert Schnippel, Paulding ag instructor, one-year contract; Larry Regedanz, Network Systems, two-year contract; Jerry Robinson, Carpentry instructor, four-year contract; and Sarah Wurth, social studies instructor, one-year contract.

Schnippel and Vantage Ag instructor Mike Miller also received a stipend to do summer ag student projects.

The board also employed three Adult Education instructors, Donald Swander, Kent Taylor and Pam Knodel.

In other action, the board:

• Voted to non-renew the position of Building & Grounds educational aide held by Brenda Wurst, effective the end of the 2013-2014 school year (position determined annually by program enrollment).
• Approved overnight travel to Haiti for Student Interact Club business from April 20-28.
• Authorized overnight travel to Indianapolis, Ind., for the National Business Professionals of America leadership from April 30-May 4.
• Approved a Community Reinvestment Area agreement between Glen and Connie Grunden of 268 Prairie Lane in Van Wert.
• Accepted the following donations: a 2001 Ford Mustang valued at $3,717 from Alan Lautzenheiser of Van Wert for the Auto Technology program; two three-quarter horsepower three-phase electric motors, valued at $800, from Al Brown of Van Wert for the Electricity program; $2,500 from the Van Wert Rotary Foundation for the Vantage Interact Club; $258 from the Resource and Opportunity Center in St. Marys to assist students in the GED program at Vantage Career Center; and acknowledgement of the services donated by StateWide Ford and Straightline Body & Paint to the Vantage Auto Technology class.
• Went into executive session on two occasions to discuss personnel items.

The next meeting of the Vantage Board of Education will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the district conference room.