School Board Shout-Outs

Paw Paw Public Schools Board of Education

At the end of each regular Board of Education Meeting, the board members each take a moment to share some of the great things they see in the district while serving on the Board. Here are this month's points of: Pride & Progress.

I'd like to recognize Federico Gomez-Garcia as the HS Student of the Month. Also, it was great to see so much participation district-wide in March is Reading Month! My daughter and I were both honored to be guest readers in a kindergarten class, and it was awesome to see so many high school students read to students. They are rock stars to the elementary kids! Mr. Miller's class even wrote fairy tales and read them to the elementary students! Brent McNitt

I appreciate the Core Values being incorporated into all of the building updates and being implemented throughout the district. For March is Reading Month at the EE, the Kindergarten Team worked hard to make sure there was one guest speaker in each classroom, which was a great community connection! Also at the EE, the team is being very intentional about modeling kindness to each other and to students. Lastly, keeping safety top of mind is very important. Dale Pease

Congratulations to Jeremy Davison for building a strong partnership with the Paw Paw District Library. This ongoing collaboration is beneficial for the library and the schools. As a result of March is Reading Month, students at the LE read 118,000 minutes! Mr. Reo and I both had the opportunity to read to students. He read "The Smart Cookie" and I read "The Moose Is Loose." Lastly, I would like to thank Jeremy for always keeping me informed. Tom Baney

When I was reading the finance update, something stood out to me. We're partnering with Kalamazoo Valley HUB to bring more local fruits and vegetables to our school cafeterias, which I thought was really neat! Jon Vick

I attended the Early Childhood Literacy Night at the Cedar Street Campus, which was coordinated by BASE Coordinator Lacey Jackson. It was an amazing event! In addition to a presence from V.B.I.S.D. and the Library, there were many resources for parents. I was pleased to see Mr. Reo at this event, as well as many other events. Kudos to him for that! In my visit to the HS, I had a chance to see Tammy, Tracy and Alan in action, and I visited some classrooms. I admire how they handle student discipline with dignity. I also had a chance to visit Leah at the EE, and it's great to see her doing so well. Kudos to her for all of the great work she and her staff are doing! I've heard many comments from the staff and the community about the positive impact of her leadership. Lastly, I'd like to recognize Aspire Academy student Kylee Soto, who was recently named a top-ten finalist for her artwork in a West Michigan Art Contest.      Lindsay Clark

At the Middle School, I would like to wish our students the best of luck as they take the PSAT Test and M-STEP Assessments. Also, I'd like to wish the Science Olympiad the best of luck as they head to the 2023 State Tournament on April 22nd! Nate Mitchell

Kudos to Jeremy Davison and Corey Harbaugh for the hard work that went into working with two committees to vet the new SEL Curriculum CharacterStrong. Good Job, Alan Farnquist, on the Officiating Summit. Great idea! Maybe part of the reason he received his National Certification as an Athletic Administrator. I continue to cheer the decision to go to trimesters, which has allowed us to offer several new and unique classes. Kudos for bringing in Motivational Speaker Gabe Salazar. I enjoyed his parent-level presentation. Lastly, I spent some time at the EE with Leah Barnes, and she exudes an aura of positive leadership. Great job, Leah! Ray Martin