Leadership initiative in motion at Cloverdale Schools

CLOVERDALE — Administrators and students at Cloverdale Schools are now working on a new initiative to enhance the culture and leadership within the school community.

Cloverdale High School Principal Sonny Stoltz spoke on this new initiative being based on a model called Leader in Me during the Cloverdale School Board’s regular meeting Monday evening.

Leader in Me is a model aimed at encouraging students to build leadership and life skills, as well as building a school culture predicated on trust. The model is based on See-Do-Get, in which change leads to results.

There are more than 5,000 Leader in Me-accredited schools across the country and the world. However, Stoltz said there are only three such high schools included in this.

He provided that he and school leaders are still finding out more about the program and Cloverdale Schools’ long-term goals. In this, he said it would take three-to-five years for it to come to its full potential.

As such, a “lighthouse” team is being developed in which both adults and students would work together to implement changes. Stoltz noted that the students, a group of 11, have different backgrounds as well as different personalities.

Stoltz related that the hope is that the school buildings will have a “common” language and attitude about leadership and success. In essence, the goal will be to make Cloverdale Schools more of a family dynamic.

“We’re going to have a small family of learners, and I think we’re going to change the culture of how we look after each other,” Stoltz said about implementing the program.

Students who have been involved up to this point are anticipated to present more information to the board about Leader in Me at its regular meeting next month.

In other business:

• Adviser Chris Kaufman and members Andrea Nees and Max Kaufman informed the board about the Cloverdale FFA’s activities and attendance during the school year so far.

• The board reapproved Cloverdale Schools’ re-entry plan established at the beginning of the school year. Superintendent Greg Linton said that minor adjustments had been made to the plan and that it would still be posted on the school corporation’s website.

• The board approved awarding stipends for administrators out of teacher appreciation grant (TAG) money from the state. TAG is currently aimed toward rewarding teachers rated Highly Effective or Effective, but administrators are excluded.

• The board approved for the school corporation’s deputy treasurer position to be a full-time one. Linton said the reasoning was because of the position’s needs, as well as it being considered a long-term one. The position is filled by Lynn Lotz.

The board also recognized Cloverdale Schools’ Students of the Month: Austin Vermillion (Cloverdale Elementary School); Meghan Halloran (Cloverdale Middle School); and Chris Benitez (Cloverdale High School).

The board also approved the following personnel report:

• Employment: Alysia York - CES instructional assistant;

• Resignation: Billy Boyette - CHS football coach;

• Hire: Tyler Lotz - CHS head varsity football coach;

• Volunteer: Jerry Wallace - CHS volunteer boys’ basketball assistant coach.

While Lotz joined Linton and the rest of the board for the meeting, Board Secretary Donna Fidler was absent.

The next regular meeting of the Cloverdale School Board is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Arthur L. Johnson Administration Office near Cloverdale High School.