The District 205 Administrators are looking to add as many as 16 non-teaching staff to assist teachers with social-emotional needs that students have.
In a part of the ongoing discussion over why students are missing class, one of the main needs not being addressed is how students handle and deal with emotional issues outside of school.
Administrators plan to add several counselors, deans, an outreach worker, and another mental health counselor to help students navigate these emotions and achieve better results at school because of it.
Board President Tianna Cervantez spoke in favor of the plan, saying that while District 205 has been criticized in the past for the number of administrators, these new positions are in response to the needs of teachers.
“That this is in response to our teachers saying they need help,” Cervantez told the gallery in attendance. “This is in response to some of the changes the state has made in the ways in which we are supposed to be supporting our students through disciplinary measures in our schools.”
Superintendent Dr. John Asplund told board members that the jobs would be posted.
District 205 also approved several bids related to curriculum and teacher training at their Monday night meeting.
Approved was the i-Ready Math curriculum that was being piloted in classrooms already that have shown promise to administrators but it came at a hefty price of $284,052.
The board also approved spending nearly $223,888.23 on a teacher training program. The program is called LETRS and would help teachers fee “masterful” about teaching literacy.
