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Cloverdale school board commends recent service project
CLOVERDALE -- With no major items on its agenda, the Cloverdale Schools Board of Trustees recognized the service work of high school students and faculty during its monthly meeting Monday evening.
On Oct. 5 from noon until about 3 p.m., Cloverdale High School and community members organized the second annual Service Learning Project, which is aimed at helping clean up homes and businesses in the community.
The half-day service opportunity was made possible through partnerships between the high school and First National Bank, Soul Harvest Church, Endeavor Communications, POET Biorefining and Odd Fellows Printing & Graphics.
CHS Principal Sonny Stoltz, senior Skyla Renner and junior Joeli Hamilton attended the meeting to give feedback on the project and acknowledge the support from school officials and Cloverdale residents.
Stoltz related that despite the rain that afternoon, 335 students from grades 9-12, along with 80 school support staff and community members came out to do various cleanup projects, which included cleaning gutters and windows, raking leaves and other maintenance tasks.
With the theme “Commitment to Our Community,” the project is an opportunity for students at Cloverdale High School to get out in the town and interact with residents, and to further obtain work experience that can count toward graduation.
“It was definitely an effort to get everyone organized, but we did a lot of good for people,” Hamilton said. “It’s an honor to help the community in that way.”
School board president Vivian Whitaker commended all of the students for their service to residents, expressing that the program was an important means for engagement between the school corporation and the town at-large.
In a later conversation with the Banner Graphic, Stoltz shared those same sentiments, relating that the reception of the project has been overwhelmingly positive. He also expressed pride in the commitment that his students had for the project.
“We had students who were done cleaning gutters then go and help clean the whole neighborhood,” Stoltz related. “You can never have too many jobs, and the people we helped were so appreciative.”
Stoltz also said that student leaders like Renner and Hamilton are setting the tone for future student involvement, where it is anticipated that the initiative will be completely student-led. With this in mind, Stoltz reiterated that the service project was a community effort.
“Community members are valuable and are an asset,” he said. “And we thank our sponsors, the school board and administrators for believing in what we can do to be more engaged.”
The board also recognized the Students of the Month from each of the schools. Representing Cloverdale Elementary School was fourth-grader Gracie Lee; seventh-grader Jaidyn Helton came from Cloverdale Middle School; and Tori Combs was chosen from Cloverdale High School.
The board finally accepted the following personnel report:
Resignation:
• Adrian Martin - CES/CMS/CHS music/choir teacher.
New hires:
• Elizabeth Ornduff - CES/CMS/CHS music/choir teacher;
• Marsena Johnson - CES/CMS cafeteria staff (three-hour);
• Marcia Vaughn - CES/CMS cafeteria staff (three-hour);
• Mark Wheeler - CCSC DePauw Shakespeare sponsor/liaison;
• Amy Meek - seventh-grade girls’ basketball coach;
• Michael Glassburn - eight-grade boys’ basketball coach.
Volunteer:
•Josh Meyers - CMS/CHS volunteer wrestling coach; and
•Casey Vickers - CHS volunteer assistant boys’ basketball coach.
The next regular meeting of the school board is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Arthur C. Johnson Administration Center in Cloverdale.