Carver, teachers are recognized at District One board meeting

G.W. Carver Elementary School students brought the spirit of their sensory garden to the District One governing board meeting Monday evening.

The school was Superintendent Jamie Sheldahl’s “school showcase” choice of the month, an agenda item that highlights the programs going on at individual campuses.

Carver School has recently been accepted as an Eco School, said Board President Karen Griffin, after Principal Deb Drysdale applied for the program. The program is available in communities where General Motors, one of the programs sponsors, has fa- cilities.

Eco Schools work in conjunction with the National Wildlife Federation to help schools choose “green” pathways to help students learn to care about and nurture the environment, according to the NWS website.

Jennifer Dowd, the national K-12 education manager who is piloting the GM Eco-Green/ NWF Partnership, was on hand to explain how the program works to board members and audience. An Arizona Wildlife Federation Region Four board member Valerie Morrill was also on hand to support the partnership. Morrill was also representing the Yuma’s Master Gardener Association and The Native Plants Society of Yuma.

Dowd, who flew in from Michigan, has been to Yuma several times to start up Eco Schools. Other schools in the program include Amerischools Academy South and Desert View Middle & High School.

One way students are participating in the program is through their sensory garden, Griffin said. GM Proving Ground engineer Brian Richards is helping on the campus along with parent volunteers. Students made a trip to Yuma Nursery to pick out plants that engage the five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch.

“It was just a great presentation,” Griffin said.

No items were pulled from the consent agenda to be voted on separately, Griffin said, and CFO Denis Ponder gave enrollment and budget reports at the meeting.

“We’re doing good. We’re where we should be,” in terms of budget and enrollment, Griffin said.

Next month, Ponder plans to give an in-depth presentation on enrollment and “where we are pertaining to current-year funding, because that will take effect” next school year, Griffin said.

In the monthly “High Five” employee recognition, five workers were recognized including: Jennifer Adair, instructional coach – Learning Services; Suzzette Whelchel, Assistant Principal at Price/Gila Vista school; Lisa Gresham, teacher — OC Johnson School; Kim Isely, paraprofessional — Palmcroft School; and Sarah Connell, teacher — Woodard.

The governing board also honored its Teacher of the Year nominees.