[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6061706,"mediaKeyId","3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9","parentId",3281116,"title","Mt Vernon teacher honored for starting esports program that could expand to unified teams","audioSeconds",380,"startMs",388000,"endMs",768000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9&start=388&end=768","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9/thumbnail_388000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6061706/Indiana/Mt-Vernon-teacher-honored-for-starting-esports-program-that-could-expand-to-unified-teams","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6061706-06340ba2aee610c398ab12799ffc4409/orig.mp4?Expires=1775708062&Signature=RkPazJcoP65ewKvMfDVZhECI3s8uACr7gaiFgsn13EQjb3VkbxQPtHi~fNBqE1T0iEG4s2DdObYCooTbLvJOoxLRnCv9aVkSPTjOC1KDuE9Cd3k3owuaqXsEPldFlVcmQVxAugdP~A8dkOJxbFHQF4Egb07H8UGIRU92RnwFZ4JCg3U3pfF2BNhDSTAz2xniM8qQ7EvNhWDYJOkk5qRP2lwl2~WaYpkTlREJvK3vA~ByCeXnvUZSqzFVxEwE6DMqLGJcpKjV9xFhFTXmwo4Bb6be2-OnSPrNixOSV64vKF9qhcxo4j-NwjX-aenkDT2MKP9o62r47nCahCIt9wMZMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Mt Vernon Community School Corp","date","2025-05-13T11:48:54Z","article","The Mt Vernon Community School Corp honored a teacher Tuesday night with a new Ripple Award for starting an esports program that district staff said was seeded by a grant from the Mount Vernon Education Foundation and 9 Star Community Trust.

The award recognized the teacher’s work launching a club-level esports team at the middle school that began with four Madden teams and expanded into Rocket League. The teacher, identified as Mr. Kern, described the effort as a trial year that will move to varsity next year and said he hopes to add a unified team for students with disabilities.

“Last year when Dr. Parker said, got an idea for an esports team, I immediately geeked out and went nuts and told my wife,” Kern said. He described starting with club play and later adding Rocket League, praising the students’ growth: “They grew as friends. They grew as competitors.”

Kern said the program began after the district obtained a grant and local volunteers helped launch the team, and he described student interest in continuing into high school. He also discussed a planned varsity pathway and a trip to a state finals competition at Ball State if the program progresses as hoped.

Kern noted the social and competitive benefits: one student initially doubted his place on the team but became sought after by peers by year’s end. Kern said he hopes unified meets will run alongside regular meets and that “you can get money for college to play video games.”

The ceremony included a brief presentation and a photo opportunity; the board did not take formal action related to the esports program during the meeting beyond the recognition award.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","MVCSC School Board Meeting - 5/12/2025","oneSentenceSummary","A sixth-grade teacher received a new district 'Ripple Award' for starting a middle-school esports program funded by an education-foundation grant; the teacher said the club plans to move to varsity and to add unified competition next year.","taxTitle","Mt Vernon Community School Corp, School Boards, Indiana","taxId",38749,"location","Indiana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6061711,"Mt Vernon board adopts 2025–26 handbooks; attendance, AI and virtual rules revised",981,1123000,2104000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9&start=1123&end=2104","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9/thumbnail_1123000.jpg","/articles/6061711/Indiana/Mt-Vernon-board-adopts-202526-handbooks-attendance-AI-and-virtual-rules-revised","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6061711-986ed2f270d746e885b9b0f4ee4d916e/orig.mp4?Expires=1775708062&Signature=TKmJBUUvzrqoYurraNveuNrTG3Bw57iuijUKy6rwCjN6ByzlFwVcE6IUrwPK5c4IJ5p-F3OJNmDFHegEqjj7-uu~3BqczzoQCwW6kkZzI3SW-zAK8dtc0qfCo3nBzfUw3zzi0wAaYZg-GWUZbCkofwXZnxVHJkoZOxIidoy9oOqOuhljAk~ooCwH2o9DhKPOpit1fsn-X-Ei6fg2bi-FUCw9Oh6n05yfjgyit1WLdwpYJ7nA1R5IHWS0Krs2n0ib8ILj1Ay5rQCQA5Cl29HlKYqYPEb82mUgriLnJJSsQMszNGD50kVpsPNtFtIWdRXVChhSLsi3p1-WfuiMz61Csg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mt Vernon Community School Corp board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt handbook changes for the 2025–26 school year that affect attendance notices, food-and-treat guidance, artificial-intelligence guidelines, virtual‑program rules and athletic eligibility.

Administrators presented coordinated revisions for elementary, intermediate, middle and high school handbooks and explained the intent was consistency across buildings and alignment with recent attendance-law changes.

At the elementary level, a speaker identified as an elementary assistant principal said the handbook removes a prearranged-absence section and reflects that “all students… get 10 parent verified absences.” The elementary updates also simplify food-and-treat wording to defer to the county board of health and the district’s approved snack list, remove outdated textbook-rental-fee language, and add guidance on artificial intelligence and head coverings (with approval required for religious reasons).

Middle- and intermediate-school administrators described parallel changes. The middle-school presenter said the school updated its positive-behavior incentives (introducing a Golden Marauder party and a raffle system) and revised the behavior-management table to clarify responses and interventions. Field-trip descriptions were generalized to avoid locking in specific destinations, and bus-safety language was tightened after staff reported large backpacks blocking aisles.

High-school presenters described amendments to the technology acceptable‑use policy, including clarifying the opt-out process and parental responsibility for device repairs if they decline the protection plan. The high-school course handbook was updated to add a virtual program and to add dual-credit English courses; a new 2029 course handbook was updated to include “preparing for college and careers,” a state-required course.

Administrators explained changes to virtual-program transfer rules: students may switch between virtual and in-person enrollment at the start of a semester. Changes outside of that window will be considered only for verifiable extenuating circumstances such as documented medical needs or case-conference recommendations. A board member sought clarification about virtual students and extracurricular participation; staff said the virtual handbook includes the regular student handbook because virtual students remain Mount Vernon students, but that the virtual program has its own eligibility limits for athletics and extracurriculars.

The athletic-eligibility language was amended so that an online class cannot be added after the fifth day of a grading period without approval; 50% of the online course must be completed by the end of the grading period, and the entire course must be finished by the certification window (10 days after the grading period) to prevent last-minute additions for athletic eligibility. The meeting also confirmed that students on a Form 16 are not eligible to try out or participate in extracurricular activities, and coaches may exclude students who violated drug-and-alcohol policies for the school year.

Board members approved the handbook revisions and related course-handbook amendments by 5-0 votes. Staff said the district will publish the revised handbooks and follow normal enrollment and scheduling procedures to implement the changes.","The school board approved handbook revisions across elementary through high school that update attendance language, add AI guidance, clarify virtual‑program enrollment and tighten online‑course rules for athletic eligibility.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6061716,"School board approves QPR youth pilot and Zoë’s Place body-safety program",393,775000,1168000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9&start=775&end=1168","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3281116-08f5f6fd050acd5a97a4249cfc9439b9/thumbnail_775000.jpg","/articles/6061716/Indiana/School-board-approves-QPR-youth-pilot-and-Zoës-Place-body-safety-program","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6061716-3b508dadb938b40bedf0dc7ba5c6e079/orig.mp4?Expires=1775708062&Signature=V3~UgzhXmp5bckY3qu5A6ZyJrRebVhQ7m4bOYEr~vmVb3yUzZz4c7wEaE36wNwp6VCqyvnVL4ys79K0srxVqJK1JNyDs3G8kWT-gU3UsHXP11jOjxt-PQvwc89p3~3yGBwSKCry48ifxg9uoYKm8UziZRSv7mfyh41HebeE6KEvalGDtUJXi0OLVbwx~zjiTfvvmF9cv8a7CBE~VKkHsmCMdlg6-DAX51FHsmbanL~IZaBvg6jhPuuJPIZbaaXzx9LODI19dexlDd-ed5liHRaGfz3J6bWTNuVuZ3yMeJbfwI9-AJzBcRW1JAWhmiRb43g825NV1ZCGXAlAH4C7KmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mt Vernon Community School Corp board unanimously approved two student-safety programs Tuesday night: a pilot of QPR for youth at the high school and a body-safety curriculum developed with Zoë’s Place, a local child advocacy center.

Board members voted 5-0 to accept both proposals after staff said the programs respond to state requirements and aim to equip students and staff with prevention and reporting tools.

Krista Weber, the district’s outstanding behavior specialist, told the board that “it is a state requirement that all staff members who work with students grade 5 through 12 are trained in QPR, which stands for question, persuade, and respond.” Weber said the district’s QPR trainers want to pilot the youth module with a few high-school leadership groups next year so peers can learn how to recognize and respond when a classmate discloses suicidal thoughts.

“We would maybe do 1 or 2 trainings, and really just be hope to empower our students because what we know is that most of the time, if a student is going to disclose something, they're actually gonna disclose it to a peer,” Weber said.

Weber and director of guidance Casey Grimm said the pilot would let the district test delivery and gather student feedback before considering expansion to younger grades. Grimm said any move to bring the youth module to middle or elementary grades would return to the board for approval after the high-school trial and local adaptation.

On the body-safety proposal, Weber described a planned partnership with Zoë’s Place. “They have a body safety program that is developmentally appropriate from K to 12 and that also is a state requirement that we provide,” Weber said. She said the district’s counselors toured Zoë’s Place and that the advocacy center will help produce videos tailored to Mount Vernon that may feature the district’s own school resource officers and counselors.

Weber framed the partnership as part of a continuum of care: “Zoë’s Place is a child advocacy center. If there is concern that a child has been abused or neglected, they do forensic interviews there,” she said, adding that having Zoë’s Place provide the body-safety presentation creates a local link between prevention instruction and services when concerns arise.

Board members asked how broadly the trainings would be deployed; staff emphasized the pilot scope and the plan to return with evaluation and recommended next steps. The motion to accept the body-safety and QPR proposals passed 5-0.

Implementation details presented to the board included the pilot scope (high-school leadership groups), planned use of tailored video content for secondary students, and a commitment to return for approval before expanding the youth QPR module to middle or elementary grades.

The board’s action does not itself change mandates beyond accepting the proposed pilot and partnership; staff noted additional approvals or scheduling for classroom delivery would follow normal district procedures.","The Mt Vernon Community School Corp board unanimously approved a pilot of QPR for youth at the high school and a partnership with Zoë’s Place to deliver developmentally tailored body‑safety lessons, both presented as meeting state requirements.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Mt Vernon teacher honored for starting esports program that could expand to unified teams

Mt Vernon board adopts 2025–26 handbooks; attendance, AI and virtual rules revised

School board approves QPR youth pilot and Zoë’s Place body-safety program