Superintendent’s message: Together, we are better

Each time I walk through a District 90 school, I am reminded of the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Our halls and classrooms are alive with parent volunteers, retired volunteers and community partners who wish to serve and enhance a child’s educational experience. Many of our materials are donations from individuals or businesses who want to make an impact. As the proverb reminds us, an entire community contributes to raising a healthy child.

District 90 has many community partners in our mission. One of which is our local police department. We are grateful for our partnership with the O’Fallon Public Safety Department. There are many ways in which they improve our school community. O’Fallon Police Officers regularly visit each of our seven schools. Often you will find a uniformed officer in the schools, providing consistent, friendly and professional support and interactions. The officers randomly check the schools for potential areas of concern and help the school administration immediately address any areas of need.

The O’Fallon Public Safety Department offers formal or informal training and expertise to help us keep students and staff safe. For example, the department recently supported District 90 to provide CPR training. EMS personnel assist our nurses in mandated CPR training. The Public Safety telecommunicators also provide 911 education presentations to our second-grade students.

The O’Fallon Police Department provides service in investigations. While incidents are not frequent, we have found the department’s response to be timely and investigations to be thorough. Their expertise and skills are valued and respected.

Laced into all of these efforts are the relationships the officers build with our students and staff. Their presence in the schools offer an opportunity to build relationships that serve us all well in the community as students see officers as someone to respect and trust. The department hosts an annual Breakfast with Santa event for the community’s youth. In the near future, the OPD will hold a youth police academy for our junior high students. We look forward to seeing this program unfold.

Speaking of community partners, District 90 is fortunate to have generous support of local businesses. This year, the Board of Education took the initiative to recognize one teacher and one support staff member each month. The principals nominate one person per category, and the board selects the finalists. Local restaurants have donated gift cards to our finalists so they may enjoy an evening with their families, as a way to celebrate their award. Our generous sponsors of these awards include: 1818 Chophouse, Bella Milano, Hop House, and Peel.

The “Peel Wood-Fired Pizza D90 Teacher of the Month” is Mr. Bryan Welser. In his nomination, Principal Hays stated, “Mr. Welser is an amazing Language Arts teacher. He is not afraid to try something new and is always willing to share his successes and challenges with his colleagues. His love of literature and writing is evident as he plans lessons that truly inspire students to develop an appreciation for literature. His innovative approach to teaching allows for student choice and engagement. He uses a variety of strategies and lesson ideas. Mr. Welser is the Scholar Bowl coach whose team made it to the Sectional tournament last year. In collaboration with FCA, Mr. Welser organizes efforts of the Scholar Bowl Team to raise money for the Special Olympics.”

The “Peel District 90 Support Staff Member of the Month” is Mrs. Julia Scoggins. In the nomination, Principal Keller stated, “Nurse Julia fills the roll of school nurse at Evans School in many exceptional ways. She provides care for the health and well-being of every student and she extends this care to all staff members in the building. She is always willing to provide suggestions and help make connections for parents who seek additional outside services. Nurse Julia serves a vital role on our building and district wide crisis plan/response teams. She is willing to take a lead role when necessary and she provides suggestions to improve the safety and security of our school community. In addition, Nurse Julia is always willing to provide support to other buildings when the need arises, which includes assisting with vision/hearing screenings and in some circumstances, filling in at other buildings. We are fortunate to have a caring Nurse like Julia Scoggins serving our building and district.”

District 90 thanks our friends at Peel for generously supporting our April award winners! We encourage our families to let Peel know how much you appreciate their support to District 90.

This story was originally published April 28, 2017 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Superintendent’s message: Together, we are better."