Shannon Swanson explains Peer Helping and other programs to the BEA Board.

The Blue Earth Area School Board heard a couple of updates from staff which covered some different types of programs at the school during their recent regular monthly meeting.

Shannon Swanson told the board members about Peer Helping and related programs, while teacher Karen Dressler gave an update about the first year of Begindergarten at BEA.

Swanson told the board about the resurgence in the long-standing Peer Helping program, which was having its best year in some time, after taking a hit during the COVID years.

“This past year we were at around 75 to 80 students,” Swanson said. “It is for students in grades 10 to 12, and anyone can be in it. There was a one day training session back in October.”

That one day of training was held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blue Earth, and it featured guest speaker BEA teacher Colby Swanson.

“The kids do all sorts of activities, including falling backwards as someone catches them,” Swanson said. “It has to do with being inclusive, and building trust.”

Swanson also gave the board updates on other programs, including Youth Frontiers with its Kindness, Respect and Courage Retreats, Project Trust, Peer Tutoring and the D.A.R.E. program for sixth graders.

School Board member Stacy Beyer was impressed with Swanson’s presentation and the quality of these special programs.

“How do we let kids and parents know about these?” she asked. “We need to let parents know about them, put them on our website and advertise them.”

Dressler explained how Begindergarten has been going very well during its first year at BEA.

“We have nine students in Begindergarten,” she explained. “It is for students who are not quite ready for Kindergarten and need additional time to get ready.”

She went over the many activities that she does with the students to ensure that this next year they will be ready for Kindergarten.

“We are on the same daily schedule as the Kindergarten classes,” she said. “I worked with both the pre-school staff and the Kindergarten staff when I developed this curriculum.”

In other business at the meeting held this past Monday night, the BEA Board:

• Discussed the ongoing issue of building a new tennis court complex in conjunction with the city of Blue Earth.

Board members once again discussed the latest proposal from the city, of funding $330,000 of the cost of the new courts, which would be located at the school.

The School Board discussed some other possible options, especially how to finance the project, but eventually sent the matter back to the Facilities and Finance Committee to study the other possible options further.

School Board members wondered what an annual payment would be, from the school to the city, to pay the school’s portion. The answer was an estimated $50,000 to $70,000 over 15 years.

• Approved the purchase of a new science curriculum for grades six, seven and eight for next school year.

The curriculum is called “Amplify” and comes at a cost of $41,168.

Curriculum/Instruction director Allison Schmidt said they will be looking at a new science curriculum for the high school for the following year.

School Board member Mark Franta asked several questions about the new science curriculum, and when it came time to vote on it he voted nay.

• Approved the hiring of Hannah Brower as a middle school English teacher; a leave of absence for one year for physical education teacher Carol Weerts; resignations of first grade teacher Erika Hertel and high school agricultural science teacher Holly Covington; and the retirement of activities director Robert Norman effective June 30.

• Approved the acceptance of several Bucc-y Bag donations.

• Approved a Maintenance Agreement with the Blue Earth Area Diamonds softball team and Jeremy Coxworth for doing maintenance on several softball fields.