Board spotlights student artists, Elks honorees and district 'Love to Read' initiatives

At the meeting, the board paused regular business to recognize student and staff achievements and to showcase district literacy work.

Dana Herm, district art department chair, summarized Scholastic Art Awards results: Middletown students earned 304 awards this year, including 13 gold and 14 silver medals; regional ceremony dates and the blind-adjudication process were explained and national medalist announcements were noted as forthcoming. Winners’ names were called and several students accepted awards in person.

Representatives from the Elks presented student-of-the-month recognitions, highlighting accomplishments in athletics, leadership and academics for recipients including Sandra Haboy and Ava Negron. Elks members in attendance credited community volunteerism and the organization’s focus on youth and veterans.

District administrators presented 'Love to Read' month activities. The curriculum team described coordinated K–12 efforts: schoolwide reading goals, reading rallies, therapy dog programs, readathons, and spirit activities. The district rolled out Beanstack, a gamified reading-tracking platform, with ambitious minute goals. Middle schools reported more than 500,000 minutes read this year; the high school exceeded 332,000 minutes and planned a spirit week with events that include book-vending-machine tokens, a photo booth and a live-streamed pieing event to celebrate top readers.

Trustees praised the curriculum committee’s work, discussed plans to showcase instructional programs to the public on May 8’s Experience Our Programs event, and acknowledged staff awards including a statewide Student‑Centered Champion Award presented to an administrator who will attend a ceremony on behalf of the district.

The recognitions and literacy reports were presented as informational items and drew positive remarks from board members and the mayor, who attended and thanked the district for its work.