Sturgis Journal
At an organizational meeting Monday of St. Joseph County Intermediate School District Board of Education, members were sworn into office and board officers were appointed.
Elizabeth O’Dell will remain as board president for 2021-22. She also was sworn in to a six-year term ending June 30, 2027.
Patricia Keller, trustee, was sworn in to a four-year term ending June 30, 2025.
Terry Cropper will remain as treasurer and will be sworn in to a two-year term at a future meeting of the board.
Benjamin Fries will remain as vice president of the board and Michele Bush will stay on as secretary for 2021-22.
Sturgis Journal
Sarah Hoef, a school psychologist intern, was present Monday at the meeting of the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District board. She was doing a site visit and is one of several new hires approved at the meeting.
The board also approved hiring school psychologist interns Janet Juriansz and Ye Kim. The interns will help take the place of Matt Bonynge, school psychologist, who will retire from the position in June.
There is a national shortage of school psychologists, said Teresa Belote, superintendent at ISD. The goal of bringing on interns is to grow our own.
Other newly hired ISD staff members include Emma Winter, an Early On speech and language pathologist; Lorraine Cousino, a health/disabilities specialist; Toni Suckey, an assistant teacher; and McKenzie Sheteron, a child-care provider assistant.
Sturgis Journal
A survey sent to stakeholders within St. Joseph County Intermediate School District in 2020 offered a cross-section of how ISD is supporting its staff, and where improvement could be made.
The survey, which allowed anonymity, was concluded in September and the results calculated. The ISD board meeting on Monday was the optimal opportunity for a presentation and for board members to assess those results.
Although the details from Humanex are deemed “intellectual property” and not available to those outside the board, the survey’s approach asked staff about climate and culture, how much they feel valued and supported, their relationship with their supervisor and if they feel a sense of pride in their work. Response options ranged from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”