In an effort to maintain regular communication with our school family about the happenings in our district and Board of Education meetings, here are a few recent highlights.
Safety Grant:
DESE awarded our school district with the Safety Grant, which is valued at $50,000. After the bidding process in April, Dittronics received the project and will install surveillance cameras on our campus and in our buses. The bus cameras have already been installed and are being utilized. The building surveillance has been ordered and we are anxiously awaiting its arrival. We are looking forward to adding an additional layer of safety for our Falcons!
Therapy Dog
Meet Fozzie, Kelso C-7’s therapy dog in training! With the support of a generous community member, Mrs. Lands is now the proud owner of Fozzie, and she’s working with him to become a certified therapy dog. Fozzie will be with us on his training days, as Mrs. Lands takes him to “dog school” immediately after each school day ends. Upon graduation from his training in October, Fozzie will be regularly attending our school to provide comfort and joy to our Falcons through the various needs they face. We wish him well in his therapy dog training and are excited for him to be roaming the halls at Kelso C-7 very soon. It’s PAW-some!
Athletic Cooperative Change
The past several years we have cooperated with Scott City School District for our Middle School Athletics cooperative agreement. We are very grateful for their partnership and to them for being a great neighbor to our district.
During talks with area schools, the Board of Education voted to move the cooperative athletic agreement to Kelly School District for the upcoming school year. Kelly School offered our students additional programs to participate in for the upcoming school year. Football, track and field, and cross country will continue to be offered, as well as boys’ baseball and wrestling as an opportunity for our middle school students.
This will also change the transportation routes for our district. Kelso C-7 will be transporting students to Kelly High School next year in conjunction with the athletic programs.
We are excited for the opportunity and additional programs for our students!
Preschool
The Board of Education has been extensively working through the future of the district’s preschool program.
The classrooms that are currently being added to the district in Phase III were designed for a music/art classroom and a class size reduction/small group academic program. These small groups are often most utilized for one-on-one or small group settings with a teacher and students. The District Leadership Team and Board of Education identified in the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan that the need for reduced instructional settings was a priority. The music and art classroom addition was intended to protect the classrooms around the music/art classes. The music, art, and small group programs are currently being held in common areas of our school (in the areas where the glass garage doors are.)
St. Lawrence Church offered the district an idea to house the preschool in Fr. Shibley Hall. The Board took action on April 10, 2024, to pursue Fr. Shibley Hall as the next home for preschool. Twenty students at $32 per day were needed to make the program financially stable at Fr. Shibley Hall.
Between Board meetings, district employees called the families on a long, extensive preschool waiting list. Ten families had committed to the program, however, and that number fell short of the needed twenty to make the program financially viable.
The Board met to discuss the options for the preschool program for the upcoming school year. The primary decision was to choose between housing the preschool program or the district’s academic small group initiative.
The Board heard from community members, some faculty and staff, and then opted to table the discussion to allow more voices to be heard and to explore other options. After exploring additional options, a compromise was reached through the cooperation of the faculty, staff, and administration with approval of the Board of Education. For the 2024-25 school year, temporary spaces will be created in the District’s library to house the academic small groups, there will be modifications to enlarge an office space for academic small groups, and the preschool will now return to the main school campus.
Preschool enrollment is currently open for 3 and 4 year old students who are potty trained. The enrollment period was extended and now closed. Anyone interested in enrolling for upcoming school years, please contact the office at 573.545.3357 or the preschool teacher, Mrs. Crystal Bentley at cbentley@kelsoc-7.k12.mo.us.
Bond and Board of Education Elections
During the April 2 municipal election, Kelso C-7 held two ballot measures: one for the Prop KIDS bond issue and the other for regular Board of Education elections. Unfortunately, the Prop Kids Bond issue narrowly failed. It received the majority of the vote, but not the 4/7 majority legally required to pass. The District plans to try the issue again in the near future. Dustin Benson and Kristina Vetter wer
Dustin Benson and Michael Glastetter were elected to the Board of Education and formally took the oath of office during the regular April Board meeting. During the same meeting, the Board of Education elected the following officers for the upcoming school year:
President: Elizabeth Glastetter
Vice-President: Major Burger
Treasurer: Julie Heisserer
Secretary: Kristina Pobst
End of the Year
Our District academic calendar is winding down with only a few days left to go. Our Falcons have a lot of fun packed into those days though awards, field trips, play days, graduation and more! We are grateful for the support our community has given us throughout the year. Please keep up to date with us on our school Facebook page, website and/or app as well as following our Kelso C-7 PTO Booster Club on Facebook. While we are dismissing classes soon, our work never ends for our Falcons, faculty and families.