Lakeland School reports no new outbreaks, progress on hiring and summer program plans

School leaders at the May 22 meeting reported health, hiring and program updates at Lakeland School.

Administrators said there have been no new chickenpox cases recently and that their health practices are meeting expectations. On staffing, the district reported progress filling several positions for the 2024–25 school year: multiple special-education teacher offers were made, an educational interpreter (ASL) was hired from a candidate pool, and the speech-language pathologist and other specialized roles were being filled. Assistant principal recruitment drew a strong pool of more than 40 applicants and multiple screening rounds narrowed finalists.

Principal Smith described school events and safety work: prom on May 3 drew about 40 attendees and was celebrated as a positive culture event; a tornado drill earlier in April was put into practice during watches/warnings, and staff successfully followed shelter-in-place procedures while communicating with families. The school’s first day of summer camp ran despite high winds, with staff prioritizing communication supports, outdoor activities and contingency plans if the off-site location becomes unusable.

Staff also announced a summer-school schedule (July 8–26) reformatted into three one-week sessions with a menu of workshop-style courses and limited enrollment by first-come, first-served registration; registration materials were distributed May 1 with a May 31 deadline.

The board acknowledged the updates and expressed thanks to staff for their response to safety events and program planning.